Safe, affordable, Brooklyn neighborhoods for Manhattan commuter? (Ridge, Windsor: apartment, lease)

[kibokun]

I'm looking for a neighborhood where:

- I can get a 1BR for $1500 (absolute max)
- It will take ideally 30~40 minutes to commute to work in SoHo
- I can feel safe walking around at night if I have to

I'm not interested in the bar scene, hip crowds and such. I really don't want to live in a tiny place for a ton of money (Manhattan), spend 2 hours of my day commuting (A lot of places) or feel like my life is in danger every time I walk from the subway.

Here's places I've already thought of:

- Bay Ridge (Seems a little far but the price is definitely right.)
- Park Slope (Can't really afford it.)
- Greenwood (Looks good, actually.)
- Fort Green (Pricey unless you want to be in Bed-Stuy)
- Williamsburg (Way overpriced...)

Any more I should look into?

[jcoltrane]

Queens has a greater supply in your price range meeting your criteria.

BTW, Fort Greene is a single heighborhood.

Bed-Stuy is another separate neighbohood.

Clinton Hill is another neighborhood, separating the two

In Brooklyn, you could try Midwood/Madison. Take the Q train to Kings Highway and beyond.

[Henna]

Ditmas Park near Cortelyou Rd

[knh39]

I live in Fort Greene in a huge 1 bed for $1295. Its very do-able, just gotta aggressively apartment hunt lol.. My morning commute to the E. Village takes me 25-30 mins by train, 20 by bike.

[Henna]

Originally Posted by knh39

I live in Fort Greene in a huge 1 bed for $1295. Its very do-able, just gotta aggressively apartment hunt lol.. My morning commute to the E. Village takes me 25-30 mins by train, 20 by bike.

If that's not market rent for that area, what is the motivation of the landlord to take a loss on the apartment? Of course I know there is a range for rents in any neighborhood, but in most cases it seems you get what you pay for (unless you stumble onto something rent-stabilized that had one long-term tenant for years before you take the lease).

How long did it take you to find your place?

[knh39]

Yeah, mine is rent stabilized and the people before me were here for awhile. The worst thing is I was accidentally given the rent stub for the apt below mine once and they were paying $785. I nearly had a heart attack, lol. It took us about a week to find the place, and we looked at several others in the price range. Most of the others that we saw were in less desirable spots- right under the BQE, further from the train, etc. But they were all in the under $1400 price range. We saw our place on craigslist and within an hour of it being posted we were in the apt putting down a deposit. We basically just took a week to be on standby so we could grab a deal as soon as we saw it. We did pay a 2,000 brokers fee, but we justified it by the fact that it only increased our net monthly rent to $1378 on our two year lease, so we thought it was worth it.

[jax12479]

Try Windsor Terrace and Prospect Heights - both border Park Slope, but are not as expensive.

[DAIRYDAD]

Bay ridge go there first!