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My girlfriend and I are planning a move to NYC in around June from Portland, Or. I have been doing research on neighborhoods throughout Brooklyn as well as what might sit in our budget and be in neighborhoods we would want to actually live in.
From our trip there in October I was surprised to find the northwestern part of Crown Heights to be what we were looking for with the 2/3 a short walk away. From the information I have gathered so far that area has seen a lot of spill over from Prospect Heights and has seen some major changes in the past 10 years. Along with that, I have even had a retired NYPD officer that use to work in Crown Heights for a bit tell me that area was a decent area to look in.
But more specifically I was curious if anyone here has lived in or know anyone that lives in the old Jewish Hospital buildings? That complex has meet a number of things we are looking for, including accepting dogs, which I own a small dog that is moving with us.
So I figured I might be able to get some more input on the surrounding area and potentially the buildings we are looking at on Classon and Prospect.
A little about us, we are both in our early 30's, no kids, hopefully will have jobs lined up before the move or shortly after getting there. I am expecting at least one of us to have something set up before moving, but everything is in the air as of right now.
The area is hit or miss for the most part. If your going to live in crown heights live in the area that has gentrification spill over from prospect heights. Crone heights is very distinct araes and a huge area too. The area is mostly made up of anglophone west indians hassidic Jews and to a lesser extents some Hispanics. The area may offer a lot of taste and sound, it may be a culture shock to you or an eye opener. Me personally I would not recommend that area to anyone unless they are immigrating from the Caribbean or from other parts of the city. But for first time nyc transplants your probably better of more further west of crown heights. If your tough enough and willing to accept loud music from cars and other quality issues then move to the area. On the flipside is that there is good tasting food, fresh vegetable markets, vibrant cultures etc.
Though parts of Crown Heights can be sketchy, the areas West of Nostrand tend to be better. But Classon and Prospect is not a bad block at all, some would consider that to be Prospect Heights. Though I think its still Crown Heights.
Make sure when you get here to smugly compare every aspect of new york to portland in every way possible. Be certain to point out that the people back in the pacific northwest are all around better people and that in portland you have everything you need from urban living to nature right around the corner. Make sure people understand this. Thank you for your time.
The area is hit or miss for the most part. If your going to live in crown heights live in the area that has gentrification spill over from prospect heights. Crone heights is very distinct araes and a huge area too. The area is mostly made up of anglophone west indians hassidic Jews and to a lesser extents some Hispanics. The area may offer a lot of taste and sound, it may be a culture shock to you or an eye opener. Me personally I would not recommend that area to anyone unless they are immigrating from the Caribbean or from other parts of the city. But for first time nyc transplants your probably better of more further west of crown heights. If your tough enough and willing to accept loud music from cars and other quality issues then move to the area. On the flipside is that there is good tasting food, fresh vegetable markets, vibrant cultures etc.
I have heard about that area having a heavy influence of Hassidic Jew and West Indies, especially the further west and south you go from Prospect Heights. Not too worried about the culture shock part simply because I am originally from the east coast and grew up in a city that had serious divides within it, so I definitely have an idea of how things are and can be in an area like that.
Noise has never really been much of an issue for me when it comes to living within an urban area, I have been use to that for a long time now. And from my last visit when we were looking for potential neighborhoods, I would have to say that I was surprised with the northwestern part of Crown Heights because you can definitely tell it looked much like Prospect Heights, but for a much more affordable price.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DoomDan515
I don't recommend that area at all, especially for a couple from Portland. Plenty of better areas in Brooklyn, Try Kensington or Bay Ridge.
Neither of those two areas are really what we are looking for, both are further out than we would want, especially for me, seeing I will probably end up commuting to Manhattan more than likely for work and possibly school. Besides, we aren't really looking for an area that reminds us of Portland, we are looking for areas that are more urban than Portland. Though beyond that, I don't know anything about those two areas so they both could totally be great areas to live in for all I know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by availableusername
Make sure when you get here to smugly compare every aspect of new york to portland in every way possible. Be certain to point out that the people back in the pacific northwest are all around better people and that in portland you have everything you need from urban living to nature right around the corner. Make sure people understand this. Thank you for your time.
While Portland is a great city, if I wanted to talk "smugly" and compare everything to Portland, then I wouldn't be moving there because I would just stay in Portland. I am moving to New York because I want to live there because a city that size is something I can't get in Portland. Sure, I might comment about the cost of drinks every once in a while or whatever because life is much cheaper here, but I am not moving there to save money. Also, I am not a typical Portlander, I am more of an urban person in general and am usually happy where ever I am as long as it is an urban area of some sort.
While Portland is a great city, if I wanted to talk "smugly" and compare everything to Portland, then I wouldn't be moving there because I would just stay in Portland. I am moving to New York because I want to live there because a city that size is something I can't get in Portland. Sure, I might comment about the cost of drinks every once in a while or whatever because life is much cheaper here, but I am not moving there to save money. Also, I am not a typical Portlander, I am more of an urban person in general and am usually happy where ever I am as long as it is an urban area of some sort.
I'm happy to see that you took my ribbing like a champ and didn't get worked up like a lot of people would. You've passed my test. Welcome aboard friend...
I'm happy to see that you took my ribbing like a champ and didn't get worked up like a lot of people would. You've passed my test. Welcome aboard friend...
haha, okay. Besides, if I am ever missing Portland, I will just ride my singlespeed over to Williamsburg and hang out for a day.
haha, okay. Besides, if I am ever missing Portland, I will just ride my singlespeed over to Williamsburg and hang out for a day.
Heh yeah pretty much. I know that there's some kind of Wisconsin themed bar out that way that specializes in deep fried cheese turds or something. I'd bet that there is at least one Portland bar that won't allow you in unless you lock up your fixie on the neighbor's fence across the street.
Classon and Prospect are on the boarder, so when talking about Crown Heights people probably wouldn't automatically think about this. As for THAT area/section, I can tell you the area will change drastically within the next year (or this one in fact). The arena will be complete and Crown Heights is practically it's 'next door neighbor'. I looked up the stats for the 77th Precinct which would be your closest. The stats are ok (for what it's worth) but again, that's not an accurate view of any neighborhood.
If it's possible you guys should try to come/visit the area again at night as well as the daytime to get an overall feel for the area.
If you did from your October trip though, that's cool too. Crown Heights isn't what it use to be, so don't let people tell you otherwise.
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