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Hello all, my family is moving to Brooklyn, and is looking to buy a single family home. We are looking at homes in the 650-750k range. We have two kids that are grown-up, so we do not care about the quality of the local schools. We are Asian-Americans, and want to find a neighborhood that is quiet, clean, safe but convenient, and somewhere where we will not "stand out" so much to feel uncomfortable. We have been looking at Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights. What are the pros and cons of those neighborhoods?
Bay Ridge has the best shopping, dining and shortest trip to Manhattan of those areas. It is also the most difficult to park and most congested of your choices. Dyker is far more suburban and quiet, parking is decent and some of the houses are well over $1million.
Being Asian you will not stick out in any of them, except maybe the Southern portion of Dyker.
Bay Ridge is the most "city like" and cosmopolitan, and is probably my favorite choice, but I am the type who likes walking to restaurants, stores, and the like. Bay Ridge also has excellent subway and express bus service. I'm not sure if you can get homes in the 650-750 range, though. There are plenty of Asian Americans in Bay Ridge, but not as many as in neighboring areas (Sunset Park, Bensonhurst and Dyker). And, while Bay Ridge isn't "loud" it isn't as quiet as those other areas (Bay Ridge has lots of late night activity in restaurants and bars).
Dyker is very quiet and has few amenities. It was traditionally Italian and is still probably the most Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn around 13th Ave. and 86th Street. Further north, towards Sunset Park, Dyker is turning mostly Chinese. For most of Dyker there's no subway so you take the express bus or maybe walk to the N train on the neighborhood's northern border. I like Dyker too but too quiet and boring for me (but might be perfect for you). Again 650-750k will be a stretch, but I bet you get a little more for your money than in Bay Ridge, especially closer to Sunset Park and maybe way south, around Bath Ave.
You should also look into Bensonhurst, which is quieter than Bay Ridge (but not as quiet as Dyker) and more affordable than either. You are more likely to get a home in your price range. Bensonhurst, like Bay Ridge and Dyker, is safe and has good schools. Bensonhurst is very Asian these days. Parts are majority Chinese (esp. around 18th Ave.). Also good amounts of Italians, Russians, Orthodox Jews (near Borough Park). There are multiple subway lines in Bensonhurst.
All these neighborhoods are good, and could potentially work, for someone of Asian descent, or really anyone. There is no area to avoid in SW Brooklyn.
All of four neighborhoods you mention have a very notable Asian population and you wouldn't stand in any of them.
-All 4 are safe
-Dyker Heights and Bath Beach are quiet pretty much all around. Dyker doesn't have too much shopping but is close to Bay Ridge by car.
-Bay Ridge is very busy and lively on its commercial strips, 3rd, 4th and 5th avenues. It is very quiet and very nice closer to Shore Road, particularly in the 80s and 90s streets. But you'd be hard pressed to find a home under $900,000 in that part.
-Benhonhurst is probably the most culturally diverse of the four, and in my opinion is the least quiet and least clean. Lots of major commercial strips run through Bensonhurst (Bay Parkway, 18th Avenue, 86th Street) and these streets are not even nearly as clean as anything in Bay Ridge and don't offer the same caliber of restaurants and bars.
Based on what you said was important to you, I think Dyker is your best bet.
You can find a home in your price range in BR. Not usually a multi-family but a SFH, yes. You are limited but if you keep an eye out, you can find something, but there aren't too many.
You will be fine in any of those neighborhoods. Though, if you want easier train access and more shops, I'd choose BR or Bensonhurst.
Out of the choices youve listed, all I have to say is if you have cars, don't bother with Bay Ridge unless you find a place with parking spots or a driveway. The parking situation there is awful.
Ive lived in Dyker Heights before and was always able to find parking, and I now live in Bensonhurst, I have a driveway but we have four cars and have to park one or two on the street at times and never have a problem finding a spot.
Also..the public transportation in Bensonhurst is great, you have a bit of a walk to get to a train from Dyker Heights. This is the main reason why we moved to Bensonhurst. I was walking 15-20 minutes a day to the D train at 79th street When the weather was nice it was fine but it was awful in the summer and dead of winter. Plus the place we are living in now is twice the size of our apartment in DH, with a driveway and backyard, and it allows pets.
If shopping is a concern I would still move to DH or B'hurst and just go to Bay Ridge to shop, dine etc.
Out of the choices youve listed, all I have to say is if you have cars, don't bother with Bay Ridge unless you find a place with parking spots or a driveway. The parking situation there is awful.
I lived in Bay Ridge with a car, and didn't have a problem. There are plenty of parking spaces, you just have to pay for them. My building had a parking garage, and lots of property owners have spaces for rent.
You don't really need a car in any of these neighborhoods, though. Transit and walking/biking will be good enough for most folks.
I lived in Bay Ridge with a car, and didn't have a problem. There are plenty of parking spaces, you just have to pay for them. My building had a parking garage, and lots of property owners have spaces for rent.
You don't really need a car in any of these neighborhoods, though. Transit and walking/biking will be good enough for most folks.
OP can afford a house in BR with a garage but they are few and far between. This is one on a block with a decent number of Asians:
Most of the buildings here have waiting lists for parking and parking can be awful. If they want a house, they aren't going to be getting spots in buildings. Street parking in the area above---blech.
Honestly, parking is pretty awful in some areas of BR. Where my parents live---forget it, you'll want to pull your hair out. But where I am, it's great---we decided to not put our names on the waiting list for a garage spot---but you have to know where these decent parking places are and OP cannot afford a house in these areas. And there aren't that many "decent parking" areas over here anyway.
All those areas are fine. Bensonhurst & Bath Beach have noticeably more East Asians then Bay Ridge & Dyker Heights.
Also check out Homecrest.
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