in defense of bay ridge
21 January 2011
This weekend, my lady and I are having a housewarming brunch and bar crawl in our new(-ish) apartment in our new(-ish) neighborhood, Bay Ridge (Brooklyn). The push-back about attending an event in Bay Ridge from both our groups of friends has been enormous; “Where is Bay Ridge, anyway? Isn’t that, like, near Delaware?”
In part, I don’t blame them. When I lived in Manhattan, I viewed Brooklyn like all Manhattanites do: as a place for poors and hipsters. A buddy once said of Hoboken that being able to afford to live in Manhattan but choosing to live in Hoboken is like going to see Led Zeppelin in their prime and spending the whole concert listening from the bathroom. Something similar, I felt, could be said of Brooklyn, and so I was especially confused when I saw my friends moving there and paying gigantic prices to live in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill or even Park Slope. The point is that I’m not so far removed from being a Manhattan snob that I don’t understand where these reluctant friends are coming from when they express emotions ranging from indifference to disgust about coming to our little brunch/bar crawl waaaaaaaay out in Bay Ridge, which is really only about a 35-40 minute subway ride from almost anywhere in Manhattan.
But I will say this: I have a four bedroom, two bath apartment. That’s a master bedroom, a proper guest bedroom (with full-sized bed and closet), an office for me and a dressing room (with two closets) for the lady, in addition to his and her full baths. For all I know, my girlfriend could be keeping dead runaways in her dressing room and bathroom and I’d have no idea, because I never enter these rooms. We also have a real living room with gigantic windows from which I cannot touch the wall of the neighboring building, and a real kitchen with a six-feet long island (well, technically it’s a peninsula, but you get it).
There is a Welsh pub on my block and numerous Irish pubs ranging from “real dive” to “posh dive” within walking distance; a supermarket two blocks away and a bodega on nearly every corner; plenty of Laundromats and dry cleaning options; and terrific Italian, Chinese, Mexican and cheesesteak (!!!) places within a tennis ball’s throw of our place. If I wanted, I could own a car and either park on the street or pay a relative pittance to park in a nearby garage.
And now, the best part: We pay less than $2000 per month – I would even say “comfortably” less than $2000 per month. For non-New Yorkers, this still may sound like a lot money to pay for rent, but check out the prices for Manhattan one bedrooms on craigslist, and good luck finding even a one bedroom for less than $2000 (and again, we have four bedrooms) (and two bathrooms). At 31, I am paying the cheapest amount of rent I’ve paid since I was 24, and I am saving so much money that after my rent is deducted from my bank account, I do not know what to do with all the extra cash.
(Well, that’s not true – I’m doing pretty well spending it, mostly on trips and luxury items.)
So after seven years and most of my 20’s living in Manhattan, I am happy to have my little place in the relative hinterlands of NYC. I love my apartment and my neighborhood. And if you don’t, that’s fine. But please, don’t talk crap on my ‘hood, just because you’re bummed that every month you have to write a rent check that constitutes 64% of your monthly take-home pay.
And if you’re nice, next time we hang out maybe I’ll buy you a beer – Lord knows I need to find ways to spend all this extra cash!
[laughing maniacally]
[more laughing maniacally]
[coughing]
[clearing throat]
[sighing]
Well, anyway.
In part, I don’t blame them. When I lived in Manhattan, I viewed Brooklyn like all Manhattanites do: as a place for poors and hipsters. A buddy once said of Hoboken that being able to afford to live in Manhattan but choosing to live in Hoboken is like going to see Led Zeppelin in their prime and spending the whole concert listening from the bathroom. Something similar, I felt, could be said of Brooklyn, and so I was especially confused when I saw my friends moving there and paying gigantic prices to live in Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill or even Park Slope. The point is that I’m not so far removed from being a Manhattan snob that I don’t understand where these reluctant friends are coming from when they express emotions ranging from indifference to disgust about coming to our little brunch/bar crawl waaaaaaaay out in Bay Ridge, which is really only about a 35-40 minute subway ride from almost anywhere in Manhattan.
But I will say this: I have a four bedroom, two bath apartment. That’s a master bedroom, a proper guest bedroom (with full-sized bed and closet), an office for me and a dressing room (with two closets) for the lady, in addition to his and her full baths. For all I know, my girlfriend could be keeping dead runaways in her dressing room and bathroom and I’d have no idea, because I never enter these rooms. We also have a real living room with gigantic windows from which I cannot touch the wall of the neighboring building, and a real kitchen with a six-feet long island (well, technically it’s a peninsula, but you get it).
There is a Welsh pub on my block and numerous Irish pubs ranging from “real dive” to “posh dive” within walking distance; a supermarket two blocks away and a bodega on nearly every corner; plenty of Laundromats and dry cleaning options; and terrific Italian, Chinese, Mexican and cheesesteak (!!!) places within a tennis ball’s throw of our place. If I wanted, I could own a car and either park on the street or pay a relative pittance to park in a nearby garage.
And now, the best part: We pay less than $2000 per month – I would even say “comfortably” less than $2000 per month. For non-New Yorkers, this still may sound like a lot money to pay for rent, but check out the prices for Manhattan one bedrooms on craigslist, and good luck finding even a one bedroom for less than $2000 (and again, we have four bedrooms) (and two bathrooms). At 31, I am paying the cheapest amount of rent I’ve paid since I was 24, and I am saving so much money that after my rent is deducted from my bank account, I do not know what to do with all the extra cash.
(Well, that’s not true – I’m doing pretty well spending it, mostly on trips and luxury items.)
So after seven years and most of my 20’s living in Manhattan, I am happy to have my little place in the relative hinterlands of NYC. I love my apartment and my neighborhood. And if you don’t, that’s fine. But please, don’t talk crap on my ‘hood, just because you’re bummed that every month you have to write a rent check that constitutes 64% of your monthly take-home pay.
And if you’re nice, next time we hang out maybe I’ll buy you a beer – Lord knows I need to find ways to spend all this extra cash!
[laughing maniacally]
[more laughing maniacally]
[coughing]
[clearing throat]
[sighing]
Well, anyway.
