Is Prospect Heights for me?
Hey all, so to keep this somewhat brief, I'm in my mid-20s and looking to buy my first apartment. I've been living in Brooklyn Heights and love the quiet, neighborhood feel, and enjoy being close to Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill with all its food options for groceries and take out/delivery. Prospect Heights seems appealing as it good subway access and is right by the park, among other things.
Can anyone comment on a few items for me:
-How is the street noise level in most of the neighborhood? I can hear a pin drop anywhere in my apartment and I would like to keep it that way
-I equally split dinners between cooking and getting delivery...are there good organic markets, and is there a good supply of delivery options?
-What sort of vibe does the neighborhood have?
-Are there good gym options?
I realize I can learn a lot of these things on my own (walking around the streets, looking at menupages, etc.) but I like to hear these things directly from the people's mouths. Thoughts?
Can anyone comment on a few items for me:
-How is the street noise level in most of the neighborhood? I can hear a pin drop anywhere in my apartment and I would like to keep it that way
-I equally split dinners between cooking and getting delivery...are there good organic markets, and is there a good supply of delivery options?
-What sort of vibe does the neighborhood have?
-Are there good gym options?
I realize I can learn a lot of these things on my own (walking around the streets, looking at menupages, etc.) but I like to hear these things directly from the people's mouths. Thoughts?
Comments
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My only advice is to not buy a place on Vanderbilt, starting Thursday night is Amateur drunken night. Almost like 5th ave feel to it.
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Prospect Heights: if you have to ask, you can't afford it.
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^ * or you can afford more than you think, if you are moving from Brooklyn Heights
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I can afford Prospect Heights, and Brooklyn Heights as well, but it seems like PH offers more for the money and has great potential for the value going up.
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I think you'll enjoy it. given the number of muggings, etc, on court st etc in bklyn heights you have some sense of this shit. you may or may not have to have some more caution in the nabe but otherwise, I think PH will be a good fit. I have a friend that lives in bklyn heights and, while she loves the variety of food on montague, she does envy the neighborhood aspects of PH. but that takes investment. you have to try to want to be here. love it. embrace it. you can do it ... if you want this lifestyle.
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fishermb wrote: I can afford Prospect Heights, and Brooklyn Heights as well, but it seems like PH offers more for the money and has great potential for the value going up.
Most of the value going up happened already and the market may be peaking for the near term at least. If you're thinking of buying now, you probably should be thinking of staying at least 10 years. If you're not ready to make that kind of commitment to the neighborhood, in the current market it may be a better idea to try renting here first to see how you like it. -
I think you'd dig it - it has a lot of what you're looking for and you can improvise the rest. as for noise levels, there's really no substitute for being there at different times of day (and night, but cautiously, of course, with friends is a good idea) to see what you can live with - noise levels vary a lot from block to block - certain places are country-quiet, some are quietish, and some are full-on every evening. I agree that you get a lot for your money here, it's super-connected subwaywise, and it is a true neighborhood. Either way, good luck to you -
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I love it here. And it is a great neighborhood. There has been a lot of change in the last 9 years I have lived here.My husband and I are planning on selling our apartment. pm me for more info.
Your questions:
Can anyone comment on a few items for me:
-How is the street noise level in most of the neighborhood? I can hear a pin drop anywhere in my apartment and I would like to keep it that way
It is not as quiet as BH
-I equally split dinners between cooking and getting delivery...are there good organic markets, and is there a good supply of delivery options?
Farmer's Market every saturday and the Korean Deli on Flatbush really good. All of your basic delivery options are covered.
-What sort of vibe does the neighborhood have?
Relaxed
-Are there good gym options?
I cannot comment on this. You could check the boards for gym options. I tried to go to crunch on flatbush, but they wouldn't give me a straight answer on price which made me mad, so I left. -
there is a Crunch on Flatbush but for the less vein and better facilities, check out Eastern Athletic on Eastern Parkway between Plaza and Underhill. They have a pool and it is never crowded.
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The gym options in the neighborhood are not very good. I have a passport membership to New York Sports Club and like their location on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights and the one on 9th Street in Park Slope. During the week I use their Manhattan locations.
Shopping/delivery options are good and the subway access is great.
As for noise levels, it really depends on which block you live on. I'm on Park Place between Flatbush and Vanderbilt and it is a one way street that is very quiet with lots of trees but other blocks can be quite noisy particularly in the summertime. I would say check out some open houses, spend some time in the neighborhood and see if you like it. -
Carnivore wrote: [quote=fishermb]I can afford Prospect Heights, and Brooklyn Heights as well, but it seems like PH offers more for the money and has great potential for the value going up.
Most of the value going up happened already and the market may be peaking for the near term at least. If you're thinking of buying now, you probably should be thinking of staying at least 10 years. If you're not ready to make that kind of commitment to the neighborhood, in the current market it may be a better idea to try renting here first to see how you like it.
Carnivore--do you really think you have to wait at least 10 years to see value go up? I've usually heard 5 years to recoup closing costs etc. -
In addition to what folks have said here, you should also just read this site -- check out the first few pages of threads here on the Prospect Heights board and use the site search for some of the specifics you've asked about. We've got a few years' worth of discussion on just about everything you've asked about.
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brooklynbubba wrote: Carnivore--do you really think you have to wait at least 10 years to see value go up? I've usually heard 5 years to recoup closing costs etc.
I don't pretend to be able to see the future, and I have no particular expertise regarding investment or real estate. I think it's really hard to say right now which direction the market is going and where it will be in 5 years. That's not that far in the future, and if your life is such that you know you're going to need to leave in 5 years, for school, child-rearing, or whatever, or if you don't know the neighborhood well enough to know whether you'll be able to tolerate living here for more than 5 years, you could be stuck taking a loss when it's time to move. That said, I think the area is great and that long-term, the value will be there. When I bought my place, I knew that I would never have to move. My mortgage is well within what I can afford even if my maintenance costs rise considerably, and my place is suitable for whatever changes in lifestyle may come my way (no plans for a kid, but it would even work for that, or if I had to take in a sick relative or whatever). I felt comfortable that even when/if the market takes a downturn, I won't be in a position where I have to take a loss on it. I wouldn't have bought my place if I hadn't felt that way. But I'm naturally pessimistic and pretty conservative with my finances, so maybe someone who isn't as risk-averse might consider it reasonable to hope that 5 years from now your property won't have lost too much of its value. -
brooklynbubba wrote: [quote=Carnivore][quote=fishermb]I can afford Prospect Heights, and Brooklyn Heights as well, but it seems like PH offers more for the money and has great potential for the value going up.
Most of the value going up happened already and the market may be peaking for the near term at least. If you're thinking of buying now, you probably should be thinking of staying at least 10 years. If you're not ready to make that kind of commitment to the neighborhood, in the current market it may be a better idea to try renting here first to see how you like it.
Carnivore--do you really think you have to wait at least 10 years to see value go up? I've usually heard 5 years to recoup closing costs etc.
I'm looking at some housing pricing data for the NY metro area. Longest period of zero price appreciation was Sept 1988 to May 1998 - just shy of 10 years. (Data only starts in 1987, and that NYC definition probably includes surrounding tri-state area...northern NJ, CT, etc).
Of course, if you held on for another 10 years after 1998, you'd be up 147%. -
arches wrote: I'm looking at some housing pricing data for the NY metro area. Longest period of zero price appreciation was Sept 1988 to May 1998 - just shy of 10 years. (Data only starts in 1987, and that NYC definition probably includes surrounding tri-state area...northern NJ, CT, etc).
But I'd bet there were periods of at least 5 years with negative appreciation during the 70s.
Of course, if you held on for another 10 years after 1998, you'd be up 147%. -
Carnivore wrote: [quote=arches]I'm looking at some housing pricing data for the NY metro area. Longest period of zero price appreciation was Sept 1988 to May 1998 - just shy of 10 years. (Data only starts in 1987, and that NYC definition probably includes surrounding tri-state area...northern NJ, CT, etc).
But I'd bet there were periods of at least 5 years with negative appreciation during the 70s.
Of course, if you held on for another 10 years after 1998, you'd be up 147%.
Could be....the 70's were pretty inflationary though, which tends to be favorable for real estate values. Of course it was also pretty recessionary. There's probably broad housing value data somewhere.
The worst sustained 5 year performance in the 1987-present NYC data I see is -10.7% (Dec '87 to Dec '92).
The worst absolute loss Sept '88 to April '91, a 15.5% decline. -
My wife and I just bought our first place in PH, leaving a gorgeous garden duplex rental in Cobble Hill. We are really loving the neighborhood. It is beautiful (in many places), it is convenient in terms of transportation and amenities (except for movies), and I feel it is generally undervalued long term compared to Park Slope and BH/CH/CG (aka South Brooklyn). If money is an object of consideration at all, and you don't require being in the epicenter of a post-gentrification neighborhood, you've found the right nabe.
If you are looking to buy in this or any market, PH is a good bet. -
arches wrote: Could be....the 70's were pretty inflationary though, which tends to be favorable for real estate values. Of course it was also pretty recessionary. There's probably broad housing value data somewhere.
The 70's were not good for real estate in NY. Lots of middle class people were fleeing to the suburbs. That's when my parents and their cohorts got their Brooklyn houses for under $30k.
The worst sustained 5 year performance in the 1987-present NYC data I see is -10.7% (Dec '87 to Dec '92).
The worst absolute loss Sept '88 to April '91, a 15.5% decline.
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Just bought 1BR in PH after renting in Cobble Hill. Live on Butler Pl. very quiet except for the occasional late-night cell yeller (I live in front of building on lower floor). Other than that I love the area for all of the above-mentioned reasons.
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I find Crunch on Flatbush to be pretty convenient, although I'd like to hear more about Eastern Athletic, since it's closer to me! For some reason it always struck me more as a physical therapy place rather than an actual gym, obviously never been inside. I really wish there was a NYSC here, as I could get a discount through work but I'd rather have a gym that was also near home, not only near work.
As for quiet, it will depend on your individual apartment. Of course we have loud block parties here, or just...building parties...and I can hear those. But my block is all large buildings, no brownstones, and my apartment, though I love the location and space, has windows that face other buildings and the spaces between buildings. So I don't get much light BUT I also barely hear anything...those parties are pretty extreme for me to hear them. Very different when I lived in Williamsburg with a window over the street...I could hear every casual conversation.
I think the food situation is getting better. I only moved here 2 1/2 years ago and I remember then thinking: no pizza? no Mexican and/or Latino? nothing open past 10 (except bars w/ food)??? (all of this was so easy to find in Williamsburg, even with the Lorimer area not super-developed when I first moved there). But you get used to the Caribbean options, look for options other than pizza, and with newer places like Chavella's, Teddy's, etc, Mexican & latER-night is taken care of. And if you're NOT talking late night or delivery-only, 5th Avenue is walking distance and Sunset Park is not too inconvenient.
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