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I live in Glendale in Queens. Although I'm not fond of Queens in general, I do like my neighborhood. It's safe, quiet, and not super congested, not yet anyway. Although there are hardly any stores by me outside of Atlas Park, and public transportation isn't great, just a few infrequent bus lines, I like it here. I drive, so I don't mind.
I live in Ozone Park and I'm getting the hell out! Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven have turned into a zoo, and the animals moving in and destroying the place cannot be domesticated. Stories like this are becoming an everyday occurrence. POLICE BEAT | www.timesnewsweekly.com | Times Newsweekly
I live in Ozone Park and I'm getting the hell out! Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven have turned into a zoo, and the animals moving in and destroying the place cannot be domesticated. Stories like this are becoming an everyday occurrence. POLICE BEAT | www.timesnewsweekly.com | Times Newsweekly
I've been hearing frequently on this forum how Ozone Park and Woodhaven are getting worse...I ride the A and J/Z trains a lot and while the A train was always kinda rough to ride, and the J/Z trains were rough to ride back in the day but have gotten better, I don't see any uptick in crime moving over to the trains. For Ozone Park and Woodhaven, I still think the areas around the A train are ok, and the areas around the J train are a little worse....but FWIW I'm not surprised....when areas start going bad, the housing stock usually plays a bigger factor than most people realize. Woodhaven is actually very dense with tenement housing along Jamaica Avenue, and small congested streets. It's an old school neighborhood.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
I've always been envious of the cheaper locations, but over time due to luck and circumstance I've always found myself in Manhattan/hip parts of Brooklyn. Back in 2010/2011 I was eyeing Bay Ridge because I found some amazing deals, but being a college student, I couldn't afford to move there alone. Now that I work in a high paying industry, I value commute time as well, something I took for granted when I used to be able to walk to school. I still look at Pelham Parkway with envy, but to make my 15-20 min commute into a 45-60 min commute just seems so wrong. I tend to value inverse size (small apartments) a lot as well.
I think:
Downtown Brooklyn Sep 2010 - Jul 2014: It was alright. At first it was great as this was my entry into New York and it developed from living in dorms to living in split situations in luxury apartments. As time went on, I began to understand myself more disliking the luxury life as it gave me a weird sense that I was separated from society. DT Brooklyn also became really expensive and once I was done with college, I didn't really care for the college lifestyle. Not so ironically, I wanted to grow up haha. I also found the large amount of families and quietness was discontenting to me, having spent my years 18-22 in the neighborhood. Going to the liquor store or the deli that didn't card became mundane now that I was old enough to buy my own alcohol and go to bars. The comic book store on Montague St had closed. Willoughby St also became a bit more sterile.
SoHo Aug 2014 - Jul 2015: Expensive in the immediate area, though cheaper than living in Brooklyn especially on Canal St. A friend and I found a 2bd cheaper than the 1bd I was in, on top of it being much bigger and one block from the Hudson. I had no issues with the neighborhood except that it was a bit old and we were a little far from the subway compared to when we lived in Brooklyn. I wouldn't have minded staying there had it not been for my want to have my own place and a desire to downsize. We never furnished the living room nor the kitchen. What a waste of a +1000sq ft apartment. The nightlife was also older (40+), but I find I get along with the older generation and enjoyed it. I still love how you can draw on the tables at the Ear Inn.
Lower East Side 2015-present: Loud and dirty, but immensely cheaper than where I lived in Brooklyn. A lot more fun, easy commute, my friends love visiting me (especially my friends born and raised in Queens for some reason), the food's great, etc. This is also my cheapest apartment and it's rent stabilized. If I were to move to be cheaper, I'd have to hit at least the east side of Washington Heights, Sunset Park, Woodside, etc. I want to buy here, but that's obviously easier said than done. I'm keeping in mind that in 2010 I had no desire in the Lower East Side and the food options are relatively recent. The neighborhood changes extremely fast and if it becomes an extension of SoHo, I'm not entirely sure I'll be okay with it anymore. Even more so, I want to get to a point where I'm only paying a cheaper maintenance and while Seward Park is something like $400-500 in maint, the entry price is high.
yes. the better the neighborhood, the better quality of life. goes without saying.
Better is subjective.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Javawood
I've always been envious of the cheaper locations, but over time due to luck and circumstance I've always found myself in Manhattan/hip parts of Brooklyn. Back in 2010/2011 I was eyeing Bay Ridge because I found some amazing deals, but being a college student, I couldn't afford to move there alone. Now that I work in a high paying industry, I value commute time as well, something I took for granted when I used to be able to walk to school. I still look at Pelham Parkway with envy, but to make my 15-20 min commute into a 45-60 min commute just seems so wrong. I tend to value inverse size (small apartments) a lot as well.
I think:
Downtown Brooklyn Sep 2010 - Jul 2014: It was alright. At first it was great as this was my entry into New York and it developed from living in dorms to living in split situations in luxury apartments. As time went on, I began to understand myself more disliking the luxury life as it gave me a weird sense that I was separated from society. DT Brooklyn also became really expensive and once I was done with college, I didn't really care for the college lifestyle. Not so ironically, I wanted to grow up haha. I also found the large amount of families and quietness was discontenting to me, having spent my years 18-22 in the neighborhood. Going to the liquor store or the deli that didn't card became mundane now that I was old enough to buy my own alcohol and go to bars. The comic book store on Montague St had closed. Willoughby St also became a bit more sterile.
SoHo Aug 2014 - Jul 2015: Expensive in the immediate area, though cheaper than living in Brooklyn especially on Canal St. A friend and I found a 2bd cheaper than the 1bd I was in, on top of it being much bigger and one block from the Hudson. I had no issues with the neighborhood except that it was a bit old and we were a little far from the subway compared to when we lived in Brooklyn. I wouldn't have minded staying there had it not been for my want to have my own place and a desire to downsize. We never furnished the living room nor the kitchen. What a waste of a +1000sq ft apartment. The nightlife was also older (40+), but I find I get along with the older generation and enjoyed it. I still love how you can draw on the tables at the Ear Inn.
Lower East Side 2015-present: Loud and dirty, but immensely cheaper than where I lived in Brooklyn. A lot more fun, easy commute, my friends love visiting me (especially my friends born and raised in Queens for some reason), the food's great, etc. This is also my cheapest apartment and it's rent stabilized. If I were to move to be cheaper, I'd have to hit at least the east side of Washington Heights, Sunset Park, Woodside, etc. I want to buy here, but that's obviously easier said than done. I'm keeping in mind that in 2010 I had no desire in the Lower East Side and the food options are relatively recent. The neighborhood changes extremely fast and if it becomes an extension of SoHo, I'm not entirely sure I'll be okay with it anymore. Even more so, I want to get to a point where I'm only paying a cheaper maintenance and while Seward Park is something like $400-500 in maint, the entry price is high.
I love the LES, it's one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city along with the East Village.
While both neighborhoods in 2016 are super gentrified, they're not overly polished looking like their neighbors to the West.
I live in Ozone Park and I'm getting the hell out! Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, and Woodhaven have turned into a zoo, and the animals moving in and destroying the place cannot be domesticated. Stories like this are becoming an everyday occurrence. POLICE BEAT | www.timesnewsweekly.com | Times Newsweekly
My friends said there was recently a shooting in OZP by MS 202. I still go there every once in awhile but I'm glad I moved out. I use to live on Pitkin.
My friends said there was recently a shooting in OZP by MS 202. I still go there every once in awhile but I'm glad I moved out. I use to live on Pitkin.
There's been a few shootings along with alot of other ghetto nonsense that goes on here.. The area has tanked fast in a short period of time. Problem is East Brooklyn has crossed over. Gentrification is pushing all the riff raff into OP, Woodhaven, and Richmond Hill. Tudor Village and Centerville are still nice, though. When my family was looking to purchase a home the realtor wouldn't even show us anything in Woodhaven, she said the the area has gone downhill and the only nice area is by Forest Park. We found a house in Queens Village in a very quiet section with no trash on the sidewalks or any ghetto BS going on. We will be closing soon, and I can't wait to leave.
I'd advise you to look into South Slope, Gowanus and Greenwood Heights. These areas aren't quite as expensive as historic Park Slope, but they are also safe, walkable, pretty clean, fun and still getting you super close to your job in Sunset Park.
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