Williamsburg Brooklyn or Cobble/Boerum Hill? 30 year old single male

Hello all,
I am a 30 year old mortgage broker from eastern long island. I run a successful business on Long Island but I am bored out of my mind here. I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I am currently single. I have been itching for a move for a long time now, and I really fell in love with certain areas of Brooklyn...I will be commuting to Melville Long Island 2-3 days a week to maintain my current business I have there. I also work with an attorney in Sheapshead Bay, so I will need to show my face over there a day or two a week.
My income is around 150k per year...

I am having a very hard time making a decision on what part of Brooklyn I really would like to be in, Cobble Hill or Williamsburg...
Cobble hill is the best of the best. You have fantastic brownstones, tons of bars and restaurants, easy access to Manhattan, ect.
The average age in Cobble Hill seems to be much older than in Williamsburg and very different vibes.

Williamsburg is very "hipster".. Alot of beards and grungy looks going on. I walked around the streets today and there were people everywhere and tons of girls which I found quite appealing but I have never hung out there at night. I was surprised by how many luxury buildings there were in Williamsburg. They are not cheap by any means, so these people must be making money somewhere.
I wear a suit to work everyday and would like to think I am successful. I will be turning 31 in May and I do not wish to surround myself with a bunch of young kids... Another reason why I recently found Williamsburg more appealing is the idea of living in a Luxury building. Not so much of the idea of all the bells and whistles that come along with that, but more so being able to meet more people quickly. I would be making the move by myself. I have friends in the "city" and my best friend lives in Astoria, but no one in Brooklyn.
Having a good, solid social life with lots of access to meet girls is important to me, and im afraid that might not be the way of life in Cobble Hill. Especially living in a brownstone there, because there really are not any Luxury buildings there and I wouldnt even want to know what they would cost if there were...

SO.... In summary, what do you all think? I also just leased a new truck and I have about 27 months left on it, so I would need my car with me for my Long Island trips. I very rarely go to Manhattan. Only once in a while to party here and there.
I think i have laid a good foundation on what is important to me in finding a place and i would truly appreciate peoples input in helping me make the right decision. Thanks!!!!

I'd rank Brooklyn neighborhoods something like this for 30ish males.


1. Cobble Hill/ Boerum HIll
2. Park Slope (A really well rounded neighborhood with great park access and quality dining; stroller and Volvo friendly; it's similar to Cobble Hill, but less accessible from Manhattan)
3. Clinton Hill/ Fort Greene (similar to #1 but cheaper and quieter; lower density of good dining options, but enough to eat really well; pretty light on nightlife)
5. Greenpoint (lots of ethnic Poles and Turks, with a solid mix of yuppies; very quiet and clean)

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6. Brooklyn Heights (very beautiful, but very expensive, and a bit older)
7. Dumbo (ditto, but more industrial and lower ratio of residents to businesses)
8. Williamsburg (too many losers, but great food and nightlife, if you're into those people)
9. Carroll Gardens/ Red Hook (a bit on the isolated side, but "nice")

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Everything else

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Use this NYMag "Best Neighborhood" guide and customize it to find what you're looking for by eliminating factors like schools and diversity and that type of stuff.

Rankings:

http://nymag.com/realestate/neighborhoods/2010/65374/

Livability calculator:

http://nymag.com/realestate/neighborhoods/2010/65355/

I love Cobble Hill and would move there in a heartbeat if I could. But the scene there (restaurants/bars) isn't really all that vibrant, and it sounds like you're looking for some excitement. It really is more of a baby stroller scene. Williamsburg is the place that I always want to hate but I end up having a good ******* time whenever I'm there. Doesn't sound like you'd fit into Williamsburg either, though, given the fact that you're a corporate suit.

My hunch is you'd be comfortable and happy in Park Slope or Fort Greene.

Thanks for the feedback. The suit is only Monday - Thursday. Park slope is the stroller capital of Brooklyn. Kids everywhere and lots of couples. What's your take on living in a brownstone single? Where do you live now?

If I have to deal with whining insufferable babies, I'd rather deal with the ones in Park Slope strollers than the ones in W'burg falafel shops. The good thing about Clinton Hill and Cobble Hill (to a lesser extent) is that they're right off the G train which can be taken to Williamsburg in 3-4 stops (6-10 minutes) if one wants to switch crowds for nightlife. So those two places might be the perfect scenario for you.

And don't be so quick to believe strollers and excitement are mutually exclusive. Park Slope can get a little rowdy.

Stephen, just seeing your response now. Damn iPad
I would have to agree with you. Like I said I have never been out at night in Williamsburg and def don't want to surround myself with a bunch of losers, but my question to myself was how much of a loser can they be to swing these 2500-3500 per month apartments?



newintown23 said:

Thanks for the feedback. The suit is only Monday - Thursday. Park slope is the stroller capital of Brooklyn. Kids everywhere and lots of couples. What's your take on living in a brownstone single? Where do you live now?

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I live in the worst borough of them all (minus Staten Island)--Philadelphia.

StephenHero said:

If I have to deal with whining insufferable babies, I'd rather deal with the ones in Park Slope strollers than the ones in W'burg falafel shops.

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Well, the parents of the stroller-monsters are often far more insufferable than their offspring. And since I'm not a proselytizer for the Protestant work ethic, carousing with trustafarian hipsters at 1 a.m. on a Wednesday doesn't really fill me with self-loathing, even though I agree with you that they're generally risible people.

I have a suspicion that Williamsburg residents compile lots of credit card debt. I also wouldn't be surprised if there was a tendency for lots of them to share their living arrangements with other members of their fledgling folk-ska bands. And everybody dresses in rags, which are pretty cheap. Some of them have shoes though.

I have read that article and used that calculator thanks it's very helpful

Hahaha! They do have a very unique style about them huh haha. Do you livein BK?

I live on the edge of Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy. I like it, but it's got its own issues. For example, some unruly youth stole a package from my doorstep yesterday as I watched from my bedroom window. Luckily, I find crime more tolerable than hipsters.

Haha sorry to hear that. I looked up the demographics on zillow for boerum hill, cobble hill, and Williamsburg and was surprised to see that boerum hill had the most singles and park slope being next. He average age in park slope was 35 and Williamsburg 30. Cobble hill was 37 with a much smaller percentage of singles. There is always the don't **** where you eat attitude. Live in park slope and go out elsewhere. I need a new 25 year old

Park Slope has lots of young womminz. I suspect because it's very, very safe. It's surrounded on three sides by other neighborhoods with lots of higher income people (but not creative types), and a park on the fourth side, which makes it the epicenter of Brooklyn whiteness. I suspect lots of relocating ladies feel comfortable bringing their parents in for a visit as opposed to Williamsburg, which has some serious crime. You can do some quality gal-fishing in Park Slope.



StephenHero said:

I live on the edge of Clinton Hill and Bed Stuy.

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I had no idea. That's the very first neighborhood I saw when I went apartment hunting in New York back in 2007. I was crashing at my friends' (gorgeous) place in Cobble Hill and then saw some shoddily rehabbed places that a guy was trying to rent. It was really a shock to the system for a naive asshole moving to NYC from Virginia.

Your selling me hard on park slope right now, and the kicker is, it's much cheaper than cobble hill. At least 3-4 hundred