Time has come, Manhattan here I come

Originally Posted by norcaltransplant

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Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens have appreciated to prices equivalent to Manhattan. Square footage in the North and Central Slope is about as pricey as the East Village.
For me it's not about prices. It's mostly about what is available -- art, music, theater, dining -- in close proximity.

Originally Posted by RSS

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I'm curious as to why? Perhaps your answer will help our OP. Don't get me wrong ... Brooklyn has some great neighborhoods ... and its offerings in the arts and other amenities have come a long way in the last several decades. Of course, it always had a few choice plums. Still, The City is a world class destination ... the other four boroughs are not. They can be okay ... even good ... and occasionally great ... but they are not The City. If it's to be experienced or had, New York offers everything but country living. And from my point of view, Brooklyn isn't the Rive Gauche ... that's the Upper West Side or maybe Downtown.
Hey, I don't necessarily disagree with you. I could tell you all the reasons why Brooklyners annoy me, but if I go down that road there isn't a single neighborhood in NY that wouldn't get me complaining. To be honest, your politic leaning is towards the left and you work in a creative field - that screams Brooklyn. Brooklyn is very "neighborhoody" and certain parts have a lot of night life just like downtown in Manhattan. Btw, here's something funny for you, a lot of the children that grew up on the UWS moved to Brooklyn post college. Many of their parents also followed them. The UWS really is like a black hole for life and culture, but perhaps in your circles there are more happenings up there. I like my new neighborhood, and my coveted key to the park that I never use but casually drop into conversations (like so).

Originally Posted by haganah

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Brooklyn is very "neighborhoody" and certain parts have a lot of night life just like downtown in Manhattan.)
Nightlife might have meant something to me in my younger days ... but of late I'm asleep long before any serious nightlife begins.

Originally Posted by norcaltransplant

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Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Park Slope, and Carroll Gardens have appreciated to prices equivalent to Manhattan. Square footage in the North and Central Slope is about as pricey as the East Village. I used to live on the Upper West Side off CPW, and now live in Park Slope near Prospect Park. Central Park is nicer than Prospect Park, though I prefer 5th and 7th Avenues to Amsterdam, Columbus, and Broadway. Commute time to downtown is comparable.

OP, if you're looking for places to live without much personal context, you could do much worse than Nate Silver's NYC livability index.

Notice that Brooklyn has more spots in the top ten than Manhattan. Nearly everyone under 30 lives there--seriously.

Originally Posted by RSS

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Nightlife might have meant something to me in my younger days ... but of late I'm asleep long before any serious nightlife begins.

I seem to remember a picture of you in a cowboy hat. I don't recall many of those in NY.

OP: you ever lived on next to nothing before? If you can pull that sort of thing off comfortably, then **** the haters. If the thought of waiting tables, eating off the dollar menu, and staying in a crappy basement because you ran out of time and money scares you, then it may be worth putting some more thought in to jumping head first.

Originally Posted by HgaleK

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I seem to remember a picture of you in a cowboy hat. I don't recall many of those in NY.
I only wear that at the ranch. Savile Row suits don't cut it there ... but they work quite well in NY.

Of course, I did try it once ... but I almost froze the family jewels:

Glad to know that you old timers are staying in shape

I have several different friends who have lived in Manhattan all their lives and they either have or are moving to Brooklyn.

Originally Posted by RSS

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For me it's not about prices. It's mostly about what is available -- art, music, theater, dining -- in close proximity.

Exactly what many parts of Brooklyn now have.

As I wrote, times have changed.

Originally Posted by mack11211

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Exactly what many parts of Brooklyn now have.

As I wrote, times have changed.
I agree that Brooklyn has changed ... as I noted above. It's not as if I'm unfamilar ... in fact, I still maintain living quarters in New York and do -- from time to time -- make it to Brooklyn. I know what it offers and yet I've not found myself thinking that I might want to live there. This is not to say it isn't the right place for others.

Originally Posted by RSS

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Nightlife might have meant something to me in my younger days ... but of late I'm asleep long before any serious nightlife begins.

Me too.

Mmmm...I can't get a job out there so I will just move out there and hopefully I'll get that job.


Something is wrong with that logic, but maybe it's just me....

Good luck to you friend.

Originally Posted by Valor

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I think I sent some messages to Imagewis regarding this before, but I was in a similar situation once.

1. NYC costs about 2.5x as much as Florida.
2. If you have a finance degree from a Florida school, you're not finding a job that's not complete bullshit if you haven't found one already.
3. You probably can't afford most parts of Manhattan without a solid job.
4. Living in Queens/Brooklyn ain't bad at all.
5. You can't afford UWS unless you live North of 110ish in which case, you may as well live in Harlem.

Make a spreadsheet, I did when I first moved here. It should go something like this per month

Subway pass: $100
Food: $300-500 (**** is mad expensive in NYC)
Going out: $300-??? (Models and bottles baby!)
Rent: $500-$??? (depends where you live, if you live in Harlem with 3 roommates, you can get rent for 500 a month, if you live elsewhere, it's going to cost you, most of my friends pay around 1k-1500)
Utilities: $100
Else: $500-$???

That comes out to a minimum of 1800$/month. At bare minimum I think your expenses are going to look at 1500$ a month assuming you live in a shithole somewhere (the other Manhattan option is living with some family in Chinatown).

My advice: Don't come to NYC without a job.

Also, if you haven't found one so far, the odds of you finding a job in New York are hilariously low. If you didn't go to a top 20 school and you want a job in finance, you may as well invest in the lottery, I've got a dozen friends who are more qualified and hungry than you, they already live in NYC and can't find jobs.

Morningside Heights is at least another 15 blocks north and it's right where Columbia is. Very nice if you ask me. You won't find anything for $500 though.

Originally Posted by randallr

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Morningside Heights is at least another 15 blocks north and it's right where Columbia is. Very nice if you ask me. You won't find anything for $500 though.

I lived in that area as a child, when it was called Harlem.