DC Native Moving to NY -- Neighborhood Advice (New York, Ridge: middle-class, apartment)

[ctsanchez]

Hi! I'm about to move to New York from DC, and I'm looking for some neighborhood recommendations.

I'm trying to find a place that has:

- A straightforward commute to SoHo (where I'll be working)
- Cheap, diverse take-out options
- Rooms available for $1000 or less

If you have knowledge of the DC area, and could describe some NY neighborhoods in terms of their DC counterparts, that would be a great bonus! I'm in my mid-twenties, and currently living in the Logan Circle / U St / Shaw area.

I've been told that some areas in northwest Brooklyn might have what I'm looking for, but I'd appreciate your thoughts.

[latent123]

northwest Brooklyn = Williamsburg ?

u can a lot of renters between 20 to 30 something in williamsburg

Williamsburg spilts into two parts though

South Williamsburg goes to SOHO on the M line

; While North Williamsburg goes to union square on the L line

u need more informations like :

which boroughs you are looking for ? Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan , pick one ?

commute time ?

[anon1]

Originally Posted by ctsanchez

Hi! I'm about to move to New York from DC, and I'm looking for some neighborhood recommendations.

I'm trying to find a place that has:

- A straightforward commute to SoHo (where I'll be working)
- Cheap, diverse take-out options
- Rooms available for $1000 or less

If you have knowledge of the DC area, and could describe some NY neighborhoods in terms of their DC counterparts, that would be a great bonus! I'm in my mid-twenties, and currently living in the Logan Circle / U St / Shaw area.

I've been told that some areas in northwest Brooklyn might have what I'm looking for, but I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Don't know too much about DC but yea the M or L trains will take you there directly from Brooklyn or Queens. The M travels through Middle Village, Ridgewood, Bushwick, Bed-stuy, East Williamsburg before crossing into Manhattan (all in all total travel time from start in Middle Village to beginning of Manhattan is about 30-40 minutes)... L train travels through Canarcie, Brownsville, East New York, Bushwick, East Williamsburg, and Northside before hitting Manhattan and the commute from Canarcie to the beginning of Manhattan is about 45-50 Minutes. L train commute if you're closer to the city is much faster than the M which is painfully slow once you hit Broadway and Myrtle.

Best areas within those mentioned that'll give you the most bang for your buck are Middle Village and Ridgewood. You may find a couple of decent prices along the East Williamsburg/Southside border because there are pockets within that area that despite years of gentrification across all of Williamsburg, still haven't changed that much. If you see a deal that seems too good to be true in that area, chances are it probably is.

[citylove101]

The neighborhoods that I think are most similar to where you are in DC would be Ft. Greene and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn.

Though neither is the entertainment hub that the U Street corridor is, the overall ambience is very very similar IMO -- a mix of longtime black middle-class residents with an influx of newer, affluent white residents, a bunch of students, generally low-rise brownstone (rowhouse) construction with a few big apartment buildings, a big college nearby (Pratt Institute of Art vs Howard) and also still a touch ragged around the edges. There are some bars, restaurants, and the like in these two places, as well as BAM the Barclays Arena on the edge of Ft. Greene near downtown Brooklyn, which do draw people from all over the city and region.

Both areas have become increasingly expensive with Ft. Greene (ever see Spike Lee's rant about gentrification in his home neighborhood on YouTube?) more expensive than Clinton Hill, which borders Bed-Stuy. (Bed-Stuy is a decidedly mixed bag that is overall less affluent than either Ft. Greene or Clinton Hill.) But there are many students in Clinton Hill because of Pratt, so I suspect that there are rooms for rent in the area, though I have no idea what the going price is.

Living closer to downtown Brooklyn (Ft. Greene) gives you several transit options to Soho because there is a major station on Flatbush Ave. within walking distance. Living further out you, pretty much have only one--the C train, which is a local. Unlike DC though, it runs 24/7 !