tell me about living in / near brooklyn

[Anonymous]

Currently living in Cleveland Park in DC and have a 1 year old. I got reached out to by a company in Brooklyn for a role I'd love. I'm NOT a Manhattan person but have never been to Brooklyn and don't know the region well at all to know what types of areas you can live with an easy commute to Brooklyn. DH and I make very good money (saying this b/c obviously cost of living is a factor) and love living in the neighborhoody part of NW DC with a yard, reasonable sized place, and quieter neighborhood but close to city things.

I don't know whether I should consider this job, given I definitely am generally not a super urban new yorker. What is living in or reasonably near brooklyn like for a family?

[Anonymous]

Brooklyn is not like Manhattan, at all.

It's a big areas with a lot of variations ranging from groomed and expensive to resolutely working class, although there's huge gentrification going on.

I personally prefer Brooklyn over Manhattan. The scale is much more human. Lots of great neighborhoods. It's a bit more real and gritty in areas.

It's well worth taking a weekend to explore Brooklyn. The areas to look at are Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Fort Greene, Williamsburg, Park Slope, Bed-Study and the list goes on. Google image those neighborhoods and other areas in Brooklyn too. Brooklyn is ground zero for young families these days who want more space and more greenery than found in Manhattan.

I'd happily move to Brooklyn if I had the right offer. But lifestyle is more akin to Logan Circle or Dupont. You're not really going to be getting the quasi-suburban vibe of Cleveland Park. For that you'd need to look at the suburbs, particularly the towns north of NYC like Larchmont or Bronxville or Pleasantville, but on the flip side it's a horrendous commute to Brooklyn. There are Long Island suburbs especially along the north shore that are nice but it's still a long commute (NYC has the longest average commutes in the nation). There are also areas of single family housing even in Brooklyn but I can't comment on them.

I will say if you are happy in Cleveland Park and have a life conveniently laid out for you with easy access to where you need to go, then it's probably not worth moving to Brooklyn or anywhere in NYC unless the job is truly amazing and the money is fabulous.

[Anonymous]

FYI this should really be posted in the Real Estate forum. For some reason there's many more knowledgeable posters about living in other cities on that forum than in this off topic forum.

[Anonymous]

Look at ditmas park, OP, if you can afford it for a Cleveland park... Ish vibe.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in Brooklyn for 13 years and could live here forever.

The best neighborhoods for families with young kids (IMO) are Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Boerum Hill, and Park Slope.

There is also Kensington/Ditmas park but those are a little further out. Kensington has some beautiful Victorian houses.

Areas like Crown Heights, Bed Stuy and Bushwick are trendy/hip but going through a lot of gentrification right now and still some sketchiness here and there in those areas.

Williamsburg is hipster central but a youngish/artsy couple would probably like it.

[Anonymous]

Well-off suburban(ish) neighborhoods in Brooklyn would be Midwood, Marine Park, and parts of Manhattan Beach. You would need a car to live in these neighborhoods. They are also not subway accessible (buses only).

Depending where you work and if you're willing look further south, there's Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst/Bath Beach, Gravesend. These are residential urban neighborhoods both subway and bus accessible. Mixture of single/multi family houses and condos depending on the street. You can still find relatively large houses (for NYC) with actual yards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brooklyn is not like Manhattan, at all.

It's a big areas with a lot of variations ranging from groomed and expensive to resolutely working class, although there's huge gentrification going on.

I personally prefer Brooklyn over Manhattan. The scale is much more human. Lots of great neighborhoods. It's a bit more real and gritty in areas.

It's well worth taking a weekend to explore Brooklyn. The areas to look at are Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Fort Greene, Williamsburg, Park Slope, Bed-Study and the list goes on. Google image those neighborhoods and other areas in Brooklyn too. Brooklyn is ground zero for young families these days who want more space and more greenery than found in Manhattan.

I'd happily move to Brooklyn if I had the right offer. But lifestyle is more akin to Logan Circle or Dupont. You're not really going to be getting the quasi-suburban vibe of Cleveland Park. For that you'd need to look at the suburbs, particularly the towns north of NYC like Larchmont or Bronxville or Pleasantville, but on the flip side it's a horrendous commute to Brooklyn. There are Long Island suburbs especially along the north shore that are nice but it's still a long commute (NYC has the longest average commutes in the nation). There are also areas of single family housing even in Brooklyn but I can't comment on them.

I will say if you are happy in Cleveland Park and have a life conveniently laid out for you with easy access to where you need to go, then it's probably not worth moving to Brooklyn or anywhere in NYC unless the job is truly amazing and the money is fabulous.

I moved from Petworth (but was in DC 10 years and also lived in Cleveland Park and Mt Pleasant, for context) to Brooklyn a little over a year ago. We were living in a 4br rowhouse and for comparable cost, moved into a 2 br apartment. People in any of the boroughs are just used to much less space than is typical in DC. They utilize parks, which are therefore crowded. There is nowhere in Brooklyn with a Cleveland Park feel. This city is just overall more densely populated and dirtier than DC. You do meet more of a variety of people here and there is less focus on career as identity. There is so much to do with kids too. Other than housing, which is major, I find the cost of living pretty comparable to DC. Ultimately, with a 2 year old, we felt claustrophobic in Brooklyn and just bought a house in the burbs. But many, many families are happy in Brooklyn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Brooklyn is not like Manhattan, at all.

It's a big areas with a lot of variations ranging from groomed and expensive to resolutely working class, although there's huge gentrification going on.

I personally prefer Brooklyn over Manhattan. The scale is much more human. Lots of great neighborhoods. It's a bit more real and gritty in areas.

It's well worth taking a weekend to explore Brooklyn. The areas to look at are Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Fort Greene, Williamsburg, Park Slope, Bed-Study and the list goes on. Google image those neighborhoods and other areas in Brooklyn too. Brooklyn is ground zero for young families these days who want more space and more greenery than found in Manhattan.

I'd happily move to Brooklyn if I had the right offer. But lifestyle is more akin to Logan Circle or Dupont. You're not really going to be getting the quasi-suburban vibe of Cleveland Park. For that you'd need to look at the suburbs, particularly the towns north of NYC like Larchmont or Bronxville or Pleasantville, but on the flip side it's a horrendous commute to Brooklyn. There are Long Island suburbs especially along the north shore that are nice but it's still a long commute (NYC has the longest average commutes in the nation). There are also areas of single family housing even in Brooklyn but I can't comment on them.

I will say if you are happy in Cleveland Park and have a life conveniently laid out for you with easy access to where you need to go, then it's probably not worth moving to Brooklyn or anywhere in NYC unless the job is truly amazing and the money is fabulous.

I moved from Petworth (but was in DC 10 years and also lived in Cleveland Park and Mt Pleasant, for context) to Brooklyn a little over a year ago. We were living in a 4br rowhouse and for comparable cost, moved into a 2 br apartment. People in any of the boroughs are just used to much less space than is typical in DC. They utilize parks, which are therefore crowded. There is nowhere in Brooklyn with a Cleveland Park feel. This city is just overall more densely populated and dirtier than DC. You do meet more of a variety of people here and there is less focus on career as identity. There is so much to do with kids too. Other than housing, which is major, I find the cost of living pretty comparable to DC. Ultimately, with a 2 year old, we felt claustrophobic in Brooklyn and just bought a house in the burbs. But many, many families are happy in Brooklyn.

PP here, meant to add that I bolded the above bc I totally agree. Live was easier in DC and we sometimes wish we had stayed put, even though this has been a great career move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently living in Cleveland Park in DC and have a 1 year old. I got reached out to by a company in Brooklyn for a role I'd love. I'm NOT a Manhattan person but have never been to Brooklyn and don't know the region well at all to know what types of areas you can live with an easy commute to Brooklyn. DH and I make very good money (saying this b/c obviously cost of living is a factor) and love living in the neighborhoody part of NW DC with a yard, reasonable sized place, and quieter neighborhood but close to city things.

I don't know whether I should consider this job, given I definitely am generally not a super urban new yorker. What is living in or reasonably near brooklyn like for a family?

Maybe you could find a nice place in Brooklyn by a park and get by without a yard? Or go live in a part of Queens or Long Island where everybody has yards.

[Anonymous]

Brooklyn is my dream! Good luck, OP!