Choosing the Suburbs Over Brooklyn
Are would-be Brooklynites flocking to the suburbs? The cover story in yesterday’s real estate section of the Times looks at how relatively cheap home prices in the suburbs are luring New Yorkers who find they can get way more bang for their buck in parts of Westchester, Connecticut and Jersey than in the city. While…
Are would-be Brooklynites flocking to the suburbs? The cover story in yesterday’s real estate section of the Times looks at how relatively cheap home prices in the suburbs are luring New Yorkers who find they can get way more bang for their buck in parts of Westchester, Connecticut and Jersey than in the city. While the article mostly focuses on the widening price gap between Manhattan and suburban properties, it notes that some people who would’ve bought in Brooklyn are also finding the suburbs cheaper:
Ludovic and Fabienne Ledein, who live and work as jewelry designers in Dumbo, visited nearly a dozen lofts in Dumbo, Red Hook and Williamsburg looking for something to buy for less than $600,000. They needed enough space to work at home and to put up friends and relatives from Europe. But what they wanted cost more than twice what they could afford…They found their answer in Westchester County, in New Rochelle. For about $600,000, they bought 1,350 square feet in the newly renovated Knickerbocker Lofts, a converted factory downtown that was built 117 years ago.
Any readers contemplating a similar move?
Cashing Out of New York City [NY Times]
Photo by uicukie.
9:36, you wrote:
“I grew up in Manhattan. My teenage life consisted of lots of drinking and loads of drugs, hanging out on the street, and the occasional thrill of a party when someone’s parents went away.”
What’s your attitude toward the teen years of your kids? Are you willing to let your kids have the same freedom you had?
I have two young boys and live in Brooklyn.
10:24, Croton has rural areas, yes. I live on six acres and our neighbors all have 5 to 40 acres. The houses are mostly farmhouses from the 1700’s and 1800’s. There are about 15 houses on our 2 mile long road. I’m from the city, so it feels very rural to me.
I totally get 10:48’s point. I used to love the constant hum of activity too. But now I love privacy and quiet and natural beauty–as long as it is close to a coffee house, gourmet food store, and a good thai restaurant.
To 10:48 – Beautifully said.
I like cities because I personally enjoy being surrounded by hordes of people and movement and activity when I step outside my door. I like having the option of visiting tons of museums and theaters and restaurants and cafes on a daily basis, and of walking there. I also enjoy being close to my job. But, all that convenience and proximity is a luxury and comes at a price. It’s expensive to live in the city.
At the same time, I’m not so smug as to think that city life is the one true path, or that I’m somehow morally superior to those who live elsewhere, whatever their reasons (even if it’s because they want a McMansion). I do get kind of depressed when I visit the suburbs, but it’s only because I miss the flurry of activity and the bright lights. Not because I think the suburbs are populated by fat, materialistic philistines who roll into their SUvs and stuff their faces at the Olive Garden or the Cheesecake Factory. And even if they were, who am I to judge them or think I’m inherently better than them for living in the city?
I think the point of the original NYT article was that many people would rather pay say $600K for a nice little house with a yard in a less-congested suburban area close to the city than for a studio or 1BR apartment in a prime part of NYC. And what is wrong with that? When every penny counts and you’re starting a family, it makes perfect economic sense.
“Out in the wasteland of suburbia, the only option I had was laser tag or the UA theater.”
Sounds like my childhood in outer Queens.
Croton counts as rural?
9:36 – at least you had the option of other things to occupy your mind and time…
Out in the wasteland of suburbia, the only option I had was laser tag or the UA theater.
I am bringing my kids up in Brooklyn, but I wonder what some of you think the experience of growing up in the city is like. I grew up in Manhattan. My teenage life consisted of lots of drinking and loads of drugs, hanging out on the street, and the occasional thrill of a party when someone’s parents went away. Now and then we’d try to get into a club or bar, but that never worked so we head back to the corner or to someone’s bedroom where we did more drugs. Sounds just like 9:06’s life in LI. That’s what being a teenager is like, no matter where you are.
9:06 Here again – Forgot to mention the fabulous diversity in my school: The asian guy was the one everyone cheated off of, and the black kid was the whitest guy I have ever known.
Not race baiting or exaggerating by any means, just the reality of my past suburban life.