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The part of Williamsburg you are thinking about is a very( not just kind of or reasonably) safe area at just about any time.Lots of people out almost all the time.
It can get a bit creepy late at night on the other ( East) side of the BQE and the South side but even there it's not anywhere near "war zone" level .NY has very few neighborhoods these days that are like war zones and around that area of Bedford Ave you have a substantial buffer around you.
The short summary is that you are too old to live in Williamsburg, but your wife might like it.
I've been here off and on for far too long (decades), and it's evolved from a post-apocalyptic wasteland where artsy people partied into a post-apocalyptic pub-crawl/shopping mall where dumb 24 year old girls come to party. I'm not sure that it's been a great place to DO art for 10 years, now. You could always find better deals in nicer neighborhoods for studio spaces, and that's certainly the case now.
Just so you understand my perspective, my dream is to get out of here and move somewhere with more sun and space, and less urban grime and noise. That which does not kill you doesn't always make you stronger. W-burg is built on a toxic waste dump - it will take years off your life. If I knew then what I know now, I would have moved to Carroll Gardens and gotten studio space in Gowanus. But I didn't, and if I'm going to make that kind of move now, I'm moving somewhere with better weather...
The haul from the Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and Farmer's market from Union Square isn't too bad on the subway. The grocery stores and bodegas that are around where you're looking for can take care of most of your needs (though you sacrifice a bit of money for convenience). Also, I'm pretty sure FreshDirect serves Williamsburg.
As far as groceries go, Zipcar to Fairway market in Redhook is the only sensible choice.
There are no grocery stores in Williamsburg. Unless you count Khim's, the weird bodega-grocery hybrid.
However, Williamsburg is not the kind of place you move if you're a guy who buys groceries.
I'm kind of mystified as to why people are saying there are no supermarkets in williamsburg. Just googling 'supermarkets 11211' tells you otherwise. There's a c town on havemeyer and s 1st, a key foods and an associated on grand near lorimer and for more organic, healthy (expensive) choices, there's the newer Khims on Driggs and n 11th and Sunac on Union near Metropolitan.
So what I have decided for sure, No. 1 is we are going to rent our property here, and rent one there, maybe a few places, to get a better idea of what we want. and No. 2 if we choose brooklyn, we are staying between the water and the park, close to the bedford stop, for the most part. (It just seems to me that from Bedford Ave. to pretty much anywhere in central manhattan is going to be an easy commute via the subway). Also, what areas close to Manhattan that have single family homes and/or townhomes would you recommend a look?
SUPERB choice deciding to rent instead of buy when you first get here. Comments on here can be really helpful but you will not truly know how you feel about a place until you have lived here. Even one block can be so different from the next. It is really hard or impossible to sell right now and when you want to move but can't - that's what is called STUCK. Not a fun place to be.
I don't know of anywhere in BK close to Manhattan where you can buy a single family home for $615. For that price you are looking at apartments, not houses. You said you want to stay in Wburg between the river and McCarren Park. Are you asking for suggestions as to that area, or other neighborhoods?
While the graffiti would affect me none, as i could care less about it, the dirty and grim, not so much. Baltimore may be known for many things but quite honestly with a few exceptions the most central areas are impecably clean. The supermarket thing I had come to realize earlier doing research and was very disappointed to find that, one; there really isn't a farmers market or fresh food open air market to speak of in the area, or for the most part, brooklyn altogether, unless i am not finding it, and two; the closest whole foods or otherwise is in park slope.
You stated that the area real estate is overpriced; do you have a suggestion of another area that is a better buy, considering the 615k price cap? One option I have considered is renting for the first year to really take time to find the right place, and after reading your post and doing a bit more research it is becoming a better idea.
How does the union ave/broadway area stand up to Williamsburg as a whole?
Hello,
To start off let me just say the Williamsburg part of Brooklyn is a scene for the young "hipster" people who some might call "artists". In all actuality they are just spoiled rich kids in which who woke up one day and decided that they wanted to move to Williamsburg. In turn, all these "artsy" kids are living in $1,800-2,500/month apartments financed by their mommies and daddies.
If you consider yourself a genuinely real artist, you might be overwhelmed and insulted with the artistic posers who just dress like they are into that culture but in reality they are just spoiled babies from the richest parts of the country who gathered there to portray themselves as struggling young talented artists.
Also, the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is very weird in terms of the demographics. You see some artsy kids living in a building that is all hispanic and just a little while ago was known as the best place to buy crack, cocaine, heroin and was the setting for a few homicides. It is like day and night living together.
Many of us on here expect neighborhoods for the most part to be comprised of generally one ethnic group but that's not the case in Williamsburg. For the most part the south side of Brooklyn (Williamsburg) is predominantly made up of Puerto Ricans Mexicans and Dominicans. However, the streets seem to be filled with thin wiry lanky white kids riding antique 10 speed bikes down a street that most cops wouldn't even travel.
Another point i can attest to are the supermarkets. The south side of Brooklyn can boast having either tons of Bodegas(small Puerto Rican or Dominican deli's where most of the hispanic population do their compra(food shopping) or little arab owned smoke shops where u can buy some bootleg bread milk or loose cigarettes(loosies), both are equally unsanitary.
Dont forget the one and only location of the local Key Food supermarket which is the only thing that comes close to a real supermarket (Grand Street). Im not going to lie this supermarket has come a LONG way, the management has caught on that all these "trendy" and "artsy" white kids who go out of their way to look as weird as possible, have started to inhabit the area, so the managers started to clean up their acts and started to stock the shelves with more organic/soy products. Also they are maintaining the store in a half way decent manner in terms of keeping things clean and sanitary as best as a low budget supermarket can do(unlike the local bodegas previously mentioned).
I saved the best for last......I noticed you mentioned on moving to the Union Ave/Broadway section of the South Side. That to me sounds like a HORRIBLY WRONG move that you will live to regret. First of all, that area is mostly inhabited by a HUGE Hasidic population for the most part are a very peaceful self-contained people that keep to themselves, however, there is no room for outsiders, its their own world. If you travel up one block on Broadway along the J train under the train tressel towards the infamously fabulous Woodhull Hospital(sarcasm) you will feel like you have just entered some third world country. I mean this place is the poorest of the poor, this area can be defined as nothing more than a GHETTO! Continue up a few more blocks pass the crackheads,drug-dealers and criminals without being robbed, you will eventually run into Tompkins Housing Projects
where i'm sure a man of your status and physical appearance would become an instant victim of a crime.
If you plan on having children with your wife/girlfriend, PLEASE take her to a hospital in Manhattan. I was in Woodhull Hospital visiting a friends father(diabetic)when we asked the nurse to give him food she said the drunks and homeless people came in and stole all the food and then she proceeded to direct me to go to the closest Kennedy Fried Chicken which was located in that war-zone called Broadway. Not to mention the inside of that hospital looked like something out of a horror movie. The staff?! forget about them its like the director of the hospital went out on the streets and into the Thompkins Projects and asked anybody if they wanted a job, in other words they hired anybody who had a pulse.
If you have a 615k cap and you really want to move to Brooklyn i would cross Williamsburg off your list. I would suggest Park Slope, this area has a wealthier/safer community. Alot of beautiful Brownstone buildings that should be around your range, plus the fiber and character of the people would be more suitable for you and your wife/girlfriend. Park slope also has a mediocre hospital called New York Methodist.
The difference between these two neighborhoods is that the Southside of BK is mostly for either hispanic, black, or rich white kids that dont mind living in undesirable conditions on the false notions that they are artists. The Southside Williamsburg has a high crime rate even though the police precinct is on the corner of Union and Broadway.
I hope this helps i just dont want you to waste your time or money. Good Luck!
I'll throw in my 2 cents, although it may be very late.
I sold real estate and rented apartments in Williamsburg from 2003 until 2008. I lived there from 2001 until 2006. I know the neighborhood well--and it changes FAST. The neighborhood is very different and changes from street to street in a lot of areas. On the whole, it was the #1 new development hood in Brooklyn--if not NYC for several years running. Today, there are still a ton of new buildings everywhere, and a lot of them have stalled, waiting financing to complete construction.
The north side of Williamsburg--and portions of the south side--have changed so drastically--even from where they were in 2005. Today, Williamsburg's northside is not so much an artist destination as it is a wealthy European/trust fund/yuppie destination. The hipster movement is not really there anymore, and those who think it is are really behind about 2-3 years. The hipster movement is arguably in Bushwick and BedStuy or even Crown Heights these days. Artists are mainly hitting up Astoria and Bushwick too. Williamsburg is like the box office blockbuster that gets all of the attention--and used to be an independent "hit" on its way to making a profit. But, no more, it's moved on to a status of being bigger than it thought it would be.
Regarding the overall vibe of the neighborhood, it is now very crowded, and getting even much moreso. I don't like it as much, since it lost its "independent" vibe for the most part. My favorite part of the neighborhood is the area from Lorimer L train stop to Graham L train stop--quiet, tree-lined streets with an Italian tradition and reminiscent in parts of the way it was 20 years ago. But, still it is growing super fast.
Best of luck!! Hope you enjoy the move and the 'hood!
The short summary is that you are too old to live in Williamsburg, but your wife might like it.
I agree with this sentiment. Williamsburg has a kind of icky feeling to it. I'm only 27 and not only do I feel too old (and poor) to live there, but just generally wouldn't want to live there. Nearby neighborhoods like Clinton Hill and Fort Greene are much more appealing and have a wider range of races, ages and incomes.
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