renting

newkid

newkid wrote:
Im waiting for someone to tell me how long it takes me to get to LCI and if it is reasonable to stay at Park Slope if I work there.


mostly it's because you are not giving enough specific information, newbie.

Id say, from middle of PS to Queensboro Plaza, LIC.

belzjm

this is the same person that comes on and asks about how safe ps is and makes references to it being dangerous.

please don't cater to this posts.

if they were really looking for info, i don't think they'd be so rude and blunt about it.

i don't see one thanks for the info.

leave it be.

quigley

I agree, the poster is being pretty weird about the way he's asking these questions. But either way, here's your answer:

I used to live near LIC, and travel to PS often. It takes about an hour (or more, off-peak) via subway no matter how you slice it. Car service can be about 20 min, but that's only when traffic isn't bad on the BQE. It's often bad.

Honestly, it's not an ideal commute. If you're going to work in midtown or Queens, it's better to just live in Astoria or LIC. That being said, I moved from Queens and I love Park Slope soooo much more.

Also, I live in central slope and I pay $1700 for a 2-bedroom. So it's not impossible. Just the luck of taking over rent stabalization, I guess. (Or maybe I live in a dump?)

newkid

this is the same person that comes on and asks about how safe ps is and makes references to it being dangerous.

Belzjm, I did not make references to it being dangerous - where did you get that??? I only asked if it was.
Quigley, I do appreciate your info on LIC commute, even though you think I was pretty weird.
Strictly speaking, Im looking to buy but am wondering if renting first for a period of time, as someone suggested, is not a better idea. This way I would get to see if I like the area. Im quite open to suggestions and therefore the "wierd" questions. Hi, Im not doing this for fun!!

smitty

To the person who I asked, I live in the low 20s. When I first moved to the neighborhood it was called "South Slope". Now people refer to it as "Greenwood Heights". There is no "official" designation for what this neighborhood is called.

modoki

newkid wrote:

this is the same person that comes on and asks about how safe ps is and makes references to it being dangerous.

Belzjm, I did not make references to it being dangerous - where did you get that??? I

Come on newkid, you've been asking whether Park Slope is safe, as if Brooklyn is one giant danger zone: http://brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33672&highlight=

You've been leaving questions all over this board, people took the time to answer them in great detail and yet you keep asking more questions as if the information isn't good enough. In previous posts you said your office is in Times Square and now suddenly your office can be either midtown or LIC - which seems to suggest you're just making up your posts as you go along. Maybe you should go play elsewhere.

newkid

Modoki, You may think what you like, this is a free country. Thru the immense generosity of people on this board, I learned a lot about a place which I would be transfered to in the fall. This prepares me for my transfer without making too many preparatory trips. I live in Paris, France and please tell me how else I could learn. Thats the function of forums like this.
Asking more questions is for clarification and not that the earlier information isnt good enough.
BTW my office has two locations, midtown and LIC. I will be in one but have to go to the other from time to time.

Maybe you should go play elsewhere.

I think its totally obnoxious of you to say that. You should give people the benefit of the doubt. Nobody has the time to pose these dumb questions if they dont mean anything to them. In fact, I have infront of me a big map of the area and with a marker, colored all the streets which I have been told that are not worth looking at, etc. etc
My aim is to buy an apartment in Brooklyn. But with the market in its present state, would you not wait? Now THAT is another question!

belzjm

and still not one thank you for all of the people that have helped you with all of this information. i'm not buying your story one bit.

paris, france.

i'd say so...

belzjm

i'd be interested to know what company has an office in LIC AND midtown since they are all of 5 minutes apart....

seems like a false economy, if you ask me

backtopsb

Doesn't Citigroup/Citicorp have locations in both?

(Sorry to butt in--just thought I'd give the kid a fighting chance. Continue on.)

quigley

newkid, I really think it's just your tone that is bothering people. I personally don't mind giving you advice at all. I've lived in both places, I'm happy to help. It's just that when you start sentences like, "I'm still waiting for someone to tell me..." after 15 responses to your questions, it's a litte bit like, Yikes! I think maybe that puts people off.

Anyway, my opinion... you should really, really wait on the buying, and rent for a little while, and come see things to decide for yourself. Buying in NYC is a hard, laborious process for people who DO live here. And Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Ft. Green, Clinton Hill -- these are all wonderful neighborhoods, but they also vary so much street to street, building to building. Yes, we can give you our impressions, but you seem to want definite generalizations about these neighborhoods, and that's almost impossible.

If I were you, I would find myself a nice 3 month sublet, and hit the streets once you get here. You will save yourself so much time and energy, and have a much better chance of finding a place you love, that suits you, than you will be sitting by yourself in France, with a magic marker and giant map, taking your best educated guess.

And for what it's worth, I'll reitorate: If you're working in LIC and midtown, you should seriously consider Astoria. It's not as pretty as Brooklyn, but it's so much closer, and cheaper, and has a very nice community.

Ok, I'm done now.

shishkab

brilliantly said, quigley!

cazacom

Agreed

Quigly got the point across and didn't call anybody names. I'm impressed O:)

newkid

newkid, I really think it's just your tone that is bothering people. I personally don't mind giving you advice at all. I've lived in both places, I'm happy to help. It's just that when you start sentences like, "I'm still waiting for someone to tell me..." after 15 responses to your questions, it's a litte bit like, Yikes! I think maybe that puts people off.

Im really sorry that I come across like that. English isnt my mother tongue but thats not an excuse. But thanks so much for your kind advice both in telling me about the unpleasant tone (not intentional) and also for the other parts. I have already decided to lease for a year and making a trip in May to look around. I thought I could do as much as possible from here to help my transition when I move there in the fall.

Doesn't Citigroup/Citicorp have locations in both?

You guessed right backtopsb. Its good to know that there some who give me the benefit of the doubt. I know that American people are very generous.

Thru the immense generosity of people on this board, I learned a lot about a place which I would be transfered to in the fall.

When I said that, I ought to have added - Thank you all so much for all your time and effort to help a foreigner navigate thru difficult territory at an uncertain market condition.

i'm not buying your story one bit.

paris, france.

i'd say so...

Belzjm, what news should I give you from Paris at 11.30 pm. Want to hear about the recent incident at the Gare du Nord or my opinion on the latest Sarkozy/Segolene sondage?

BTW Im a single woman living alone. You can understand why safety is a very important issue for me.
Thanks again.

shmamyamy2

Newkid - Both Citicorp buildings (LIC and midtown if you mean Citicorp Center) have subway entrances right in the building (not true of Citigroup on Greenwich Street, where you'll have a big hike from the subway).

That's important because while LIC is an easy commute from Astoria, there are many places in LIC which are surrounded by warehouses and I'm not comfortable walking around there much.

I'm a single woman who has lived alone in PS for almost 10 years without incident.

If you are comfortable living in Paris and you use some general common sense (being aware of your surroundings, etc.) you will be fine. NY is one of the safest largest cities in the world. That's not to say you may not be a victim of a crime one day, but that could happen on any street in any area, just as it could in Paris.


p.s. what I want to know from Paris is how can you snuggle me in a nice epoisses

shishkab

newkid, i am so glad you can make the trip in May. it makes all the difference in the world when you see places for yourself. especially if you are a single woman living alone -- what may feel comfortable for one person may not feel comfortable to you.

overall, the areas you are interested in moving to are safe places to live. i am biased because i live here, but i think park slope is a wonderful neighborhood to come and live. and as quigley said, astoria is a good place, too. i prefer brooklyn for all the shops, bars, and restaurants it has to offer, as well as Prospect Park (when you live in the urban jungle, some grass and a few trees go a long way towards keeping you sane).

newkid

p.s. what I want to know from Paris is how can you snuggle me in a nice epoisses

Flexichick, dont know what you mean by "epoisses". Do mean "epoux". Send along your specifications and I will do my best, Thanks for your other comments, especailly about LIC

And for what it's worth, I'll reitorate: If you're working in LIC and midtown, you should seriously consider Astoria. It's not as pretty as Brooklyn, but it's so much closer, and cheaper, and has a very nice community.

Thanks Quigley. I had to go look up where Astoria is. Quite frankly, my ulterior motive is to buy and renting at an area where I would like to buy in gives me much more information.

you seem to want definite generalizations about these neighborhoods, and that's almost impossible.

I come to understand from reading this and other threads that things vary from street to street. But still, there is a general overview to be made of any particular neighbourhood. For instance I would not buy in Harlem, even though there are some beautiful & safe streets there.

None of the information I gathered on this and other threads have been wasted on me. I now have a general idea of where I neednt waste my time on, etc. This is how Ive always worked. For instance, before I came to Paris, I talked to everybody I know who has lived there. I tell them my needs and my budget and from their suggestions I work from there. Now Im in the 16th arrondisement (safest residential) 3 mins from the River Seine, 10 mins from my church, 20 mins to the Bois du Boulogne (equivalent to your Central Park), one min from the subway. I saw one agent, looked at 3 apartments in the very area I wanted and bingo!.

BTW to share a little insight I have gathered that does not have anything to do with neighbourhoods. I really learned quite a bit of culture from listening to people on just this thread. It really is quite useful. At the very least it prepares me. I thought, for instance, that I would be leaving behind the cynicism d'apres Voltaire in this city. I didnt realise that there is another brand of it across the Atlantic (d'apres Woody Allen, no doubt).haha You know, I downloaded Googles Map page by page on Brooklyn, producing a giant two foot page and marked all the comments I heard from this blog.

In previous posts you said your office is in Times Square and now suddenly your office can be either midtown or LIC - which seems to suggest you're just making up your posts as you go along. Maybe you should go play elsewhere

If Im what Modoki says I am, and I did what I did, I've really gone mad.

That said, mostly the people I read are so wonderfully generous - with their time and their knowlege. IN France, they will simply turn the page. This is the true American spirit I know and for this reason, Im investing there.

BTW, just to let you know another insight, I lived in NY midtown in the 90s. Just didnt know Brooklyn!

cathh

Newkid - I mean this:

http://www.cheese-france.com/cheese/epoisses.htm

<---half-French girl who grew up eating very...um....fragrant cheeses

newkid

Flexichick, are you really half-French? Now youre getting me worried. Did I say anything offensive about the French....mmm mainly I like them. Ils sont gentils a ceux qui parlent Francais
I will go try epoisses. My favourite is Comte. BTW not all cheeses are fragrant, in my opinion. Some absolutely stink. There is a cheese shop near where I live and I found another route to run my errands!

sennheiserz

Flexichick wrote:

If you are comfortable living in Paris and you use some general common sense (being aware of your surroundings, etc.) you will be fine. NY is one of the safest largest cities in the world. That's not to say you may not be a victim of a crime one day, but that could happen on any street in any area, just as it could in Paris.

I've lived in NY for 6 years and it was only on a trip to St.Paul Minnesota that I got jumped. I heart NY.

lakenokomisrunninggirl

Yes, I am really half-French and it takes a lot to offend me, so don't you worry.

newkid

Yes, I am really half-French and it takes a lot to offend me, so don't you worry.

Haha. that part is not the French part

.

I got jumped.

Dont understand this expression - what does it mean. By the way, I too prefer Manet to Monet

shishkab

newkid wrote:

I got jumped.

Dont understand this expression - what does it mean.

in this case, it means robbed or attacked.

newkid

Quote:
I got jumped.
Dont understand this expression - what does it mean.


in this case, it means robbed or attacked.

I see...thanks