I know, I know, urban couples with kids love Park Slope. People have been moving in by the droves. Real Estate prices have reflected it for at least ten years now. I myself am an 8 year veteran or newbie, (all depending on your perspective). I was one of the many Manhattanites, who, after having children, was faced with the decision- Move to the burbs or go to the next best thing...Brooklyn?
It is understood by many that while living in Brooklyn one can still enjoy the culture of the NYC, be in a close commuting distance and get more space for less money, even live near a beautiful park, blah, bah , blah...hell, you can even join the food coop.
In my case I moved two doors down from my in-laws who still lived in the same house my husband grew up in, so as a bonus I could be sort of "grandfathered in" as an actual Brooklynite, complete with family friends and good geriatric neighbors, it seemed a no brainer right?
Well... here's what I've learned...after a huge renovation (3 years) two children, a divorce and multiple school struggles; public and private, I can tell you that Brooklyn is and never was what I imagined it would be. Commuting to NYC was always longer and more of a hassle than I thought (even getting a cab to Brooklyn wasn't easy), I once had a cab driver drop me off , 8 months pregnant, when he found out I was heading to Brooklyn. Getting into a private school was torturous,then finding out it was less than mediocre ...and "couldn't meet the needs" of my son was even more horrendous.
I know Brooklyn has come a long way and Park Slope was recently listed as one of the "best places to live" and I really do enjoy Prospect Park , but I for one am ready for a real backyard and a little more room. I think I could learn to love the suburbs after all.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Loving and Leaving Brooklyn
Posted by Mary at 1:15 PM
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Well, I'm actually done, too. After 29 years in NYC, the last 3 in Park Slope, Brooklyn, the first 25 in Manhattan, I'm off to more harmonious, less intense, less pretentious pastures. In some ways, the Slope, a desperate enclave of pseudo-liberals in pursuit of the conservative American dream of their "Happy Days" childhoods, was the final straw. Whether it was the waiting lists to get into merely mediocre schools for close to $30,000 a year, or the fascist dictatorship of the PS Food Coop, or the unbelievably useless B67, B63, B69 and B75 buses, and the F train, as modes of public transportion, or finally, the fact that the imaginary isolation from the rest of New York has been broken by a current violent crime wave, I have finally been pushed over the edge. Maybe if I'd grown up in Brooklyn, and hadn't actually grown up, or if I was in my 20's and wanted to be in the big city, but couldn't afford Manhattan, or if I was super rich and could have a mansion on the park or waterfront with a driver, nanny and body guard, I'd keep on keepin' on in Brooklyn, but truth be told - Nah! Because the other reality of Brooklyn is that outside of Park Slope and some of the other gentrified hoods, Brooklyn is a retrogressive collection of ethnic hoods all as impenetrable and paranoid as any old world country was a hundred years ago. The various Italian, Irish, Polish, Hasidic, Jamaican, Haitian, Russian communities here all hate each other, and even moreso they realy hate anyone who doesn't identify with any ethnic group at all. So, I'm heading out. Good-bye Brooklyn. Whew!
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