Any advice about living in Red Hook (and without a car)?

Hi, Folks-

I'm an artist, female, 30s, considering moving to Red Hook and would love some advice. A friend is giving up his lease there and his place would work well for me, but I'm concerned about feeling isolated and having trouble getting around, especially during the winter. I also have a very old dog who's not so mobile, so we'd have to take cabs anytime we went anywhere with him. I realize that there are buses to Park Slope (where my family is--plus I'm a Co-op member and do most of my shopping there), but always having to take a cab late at night is going to get pricey and hey, I'm marginally employed so... Maybe it's worth the tradeoff for more space and cheaper rent, maybe not. Also wondering about safety for women walking alone at night, what the community is like there (not far from Hope & Anchor), crime/general safety, etc. Thanks for any insight you can provide.

Thanks!

Nobody will want to come visit you since it's a pain in the ass to get there.

Thanks for your honesty, Flexichick. I may pass on Red Hook for now--see if I can find something more centrally located that will accommodate my old dog's need for accessibility. The search for the perfect apartment continues...

Sorry to squash your hopes, but it's very subway-inconvenient. I moved to BK 12 years ago and live in a pretty subway-friendly area (4-5 blocks from F train) and it sometimes is STILL hard to get Manhattan friends here....but RH can be a bit lonely at night and you have to walk far or take cabs, etc.

I don't know...I have a friend or two that I visit there, and I know plenty of people that love the place. It kinda depends what your social circle is like. I've taken the bus there a bunch of times; don't know if I could personally deal with the lack of subway.

It is really different from most NYC nabes. And it *is* a great place to walk the dog if you're anywhere near the waterfront.

They've got a bunch of artists' studio buildings, Steve's Key Limes, Fairway, the Red Hook farmer's market at Added-Value, the city rec ctr with a giant pool, the futbol ballfield's, several friendly bars with social scenes (Rocky Sullivan's) and some good restaurants (The Good Fork)

Red Hook has alot of things going for it. Might be better if you were into bike riding so the bus wasn't your primary.