that was in 1998, a tiny studio in Brooklyn Heights. My sister just got a tiny studio in brooklyn heights for $1300.

So Queens vs Brooklyn, what does everyone think??? i'll be working at 767 Fifth more than likely (or SoHo but doubtful). which is closer? more affordable or better place for the money?

Queens generally gives you much more value for money, but at the price of "hipness". Somewhere like Sunnyside would be a cheap and easy commute for you, but you wouldn't be in a community of young people with a lot of hip businesses. Astoria, I think, delivers the best balance of pretty much everything in the city. Nearby parts of Brooklyn tend to be more expensive than nearby parts of Queens; to get Sunnyside or Astoria-level rents you need to go out to Leo's territory, which is a much longer commute. But Brooklyn has "Brooklyn-ness," which a very many people are willing to pay a premium for!

what do you mean by hip, just younger people around? and also "Brooklyn-ness"? i've never spent time in either place so i'm not really familar with them. i usually have time for manhattan when i'm visiting so when i'm there next week i am going to explore. so astoria and sunnyside in queens, anywhere else? where in brooklyn?

hip = Vintage shops, health food stores, restaurants that are full of young white people rather than families or immigrants, vegan cafes, expensive coffee shops, bookstores that sell books in English, that sort of thing.

Reasonably priced in Brooklyn but not too long of a commute, I'd shoot for Clinton Hill - check out the area around DeKalb and Vanderbilt. Or Greenpoint, up Manhattan Avenue from the Nassau Avenue subway station.

He means...Brooklyn has a certain quality that's hard to define. If you try to use words to describe it -- raw, urban -- it's not like those same words can't be used to describe Queens. BUT you would be more likely to find a performance space/collective and/or a bunch of kids drinking PBR wearing trucker caps (this is 3 years ago) in Brooklyn.

Hip, as in, you are more likely to find a 35-yr-old performance artist living in a former sewing machine factory now converted loft w his Doberman Pinscher and collection of The Clash LPs in Brooklyn than you would in Queens.

Right. In Queens you're more likely to live next door to a Cuban family, down the block from a tacqueria whose entire staff and clientele come from the state of Hidalgo and upstairs from a fresh off the boat Irish couple with a baby. Or maybe that's just me.

so bottom line is....??? which would you choose, keeping in mind i'm a 26 year old white female? or should i just busy my tail to get in manhattan?

Depends on how pretentious you are, chief.

What Red and I are saying is that in parts (NOT all) of Brooklyn, one will find very self-consciously fabulous hipsters (in an annoying way sometimes), whereas Red is saying Queens is relatively more full of normal honest people earning a living.

Do you listen to the Strokes or Mommy and Daddy? Do you take photographs w a vintage camera? Do you enjoy vegan carob muffins for breakfast? Then you may want to think about Brooklyn, Williamsburg specifically. If, in addition, you are a lesbian and own three cats, you may also want to consider Brooklyn, but try Park Slope instead.

If you are just a laid-back, go w the flow person, who wants an apartment surrounded by ethnic food eateries which employs people of those ethnicities, you want Queens.

well, not to be difficult, but i don't really fit into any of that. i guess i'm more mainstream than all of that, not to sound like a sheltered white girl. i'm open to living with just about any type as long as its safe and hopefully full and character and charm. i guess i just need to check out everything and see how i feel. thanks for the insight, that helps a lot!!!

Jeff, I found your comments interesting. Lyndsey seems to be a spoiled, immature child and she won't last a day in NYC if she ever even moves there. What an annoying, unrealistic brat.
"where would the waitresses and bartenders and starving artists live" -- it's called living on someone's couch or living in a 400 sq ft studio with 2 other people.
Next time you ask for advice on here, Lyndsey, you should be a little more respectful and grateful that you got replies, however misdirected you think they are.

MeMe. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Jeff, I found your comments interesting. Lyndsey
> seems to be a spoiled, immature child and she
> won't last a day in NYC if she ever even moves
> there. What an annoying, unrealistic brat.
> "where would the waitresses and bartenders and
> starving artists live" -- it's called living on
> someone's couch or living in a 400 sq ft studio
> with 2 other people.
> Next time you ask for advice on here, Lyndsey, you
> should be a little more respectful and grateful
> that you got replies, however misdirected you
> think they are.


The info I posted of the amount of money it'll take to first rent an apt compared to a yearly salary are actually based upon people that have lived there extensively or those that have vast experience with living there.
Even though I've never lived there, visited there for 4 days, I would easily stand by those figures I made. Let's remember, when I stated it'd take at least $75K + to rent a suitable apt for $1500-2000 +, I'm refrerring to Manhattan, and not other boroughs.
I know you can live cheaper in the Bronx or Brooklyn. I also know that you won't find a decent priced apt for less than half a million, really closer to $750K.
That's real estate in Manhattan. The flip side of that is once you get accustomed to and know how real estate works, you can use it to your advantage.

I found Lindsay's responses amusing since she's done 10+ years research in NYC, yet STILL doesn't live there.......AND.....is still asking questions on this board. With that time period of info, I'd think she'd be helping others with info instead of still asking.
Whether or not she's a annoying, spoiled brat, I could care less.

If you are one of those that make a very, very modest amount of less than $50K in Manhattan, then you will be living & sharing a small apt with others.

But.........I see no reason to pursue that road long term. In the short term, it's ok to get a place in Manhattan or other boroughs. But there's just too much opportunity and ways to create income to not live and have the lifestyle you'd dream of in NYC.

btw, MeMe;
If you're interested in making additional income, I'd be glad to put you in touch with my business mentor. He lives in the Raleigh, NC are, and is one of the richest men on the East coast. He currently makes over $100,000 a month......month...........my e-mail address is jsmith27379@triad.rr.com