Williamsburg

Having spent my entire life in Manhattan, I was reluctant at age 50 to cross any bridge. However I found the new condominium developments in Williamsburg offer space, value, and tax-abatement that the co-ops and condos in Manhattan couldn't come close to. Plus, the new buildings are incredibly dog friendly, as is the neighborhood in general which mattered to me. The waterfront area is now developed and being built up fast. I walk from the L stop to my place on the water and always feel safe.
Plus the East River Ferry is a great option for getting to Wall Street or Midtown and another plus to being close to the waterfront. Add to this great restaurants (with better prices than Manhattan for the most part) and I think you have an all around great place to live.
I wouldn't go back across the river to live if you paid me!!!

Today Williamsburg is bustling with a variety of activities: the home-office-at-the-coffee shop kind, the fashionista sort that brings mass crowds of people on weekends and the type that builds condos. There is something about the air around here, though - it's not uncommon to come across snotty shop keepers and baristas. It's gotten pretty swank around here in the last decade. From a neighborhood of mostly industrial warehouses (which have been converted into some pretty cool apartments where they weren't knocked down to create high rise condos on the water), Williamsburg has fast become swanky albeit in a youthful way.

On the weekends there are book vendors on the sidewalks and a farmer's market in McCarren Park (which I suppose is borderline Greenpoint area), and all the bars and places to get brunch really serve as neighborhood draws. While there are some cute clothing stores and at least one awesome shoe carrier, I don't think it attracts many people outside of the hipster circle, unless anyone outside of a hipster likes second hand "vintage" shops.

I have a few friends that live in the south part of Williamsburg, which isn't nearly as nice as the area of the neighborhood starting around Grand. Down there there are a lot of brand new buildings or newly remodeled ones, but somehow they aren't very charming. I hear the apartments around the Bedford L - besides being hard to obtain - have gotten pretty expensive for what they are, which is nothing new and nothing too special.

In the past few years rents in Williamsburg have gone up - which is why may young professionals are now spilling into the surrounding areas of Greenpoint and Bushwick. There are more shops and restaurants in the area than ever before, but the good news is that most are not very expensive even with all the condos going up on the East River.

Fornino's has a great pizza menu and offers ambiance for a decent sit-down dining experience, and Anna Maria Pizza stays open late to cater to the massive amount of bar hoppers that pervade the area.

The area around Bedford is usually crowded with twenty-somethings on any given day of the week or weekend. As far as living there goes, it's great if you want to participate in the scene but not so wonderful if you can't sleep through the noise that drunken people in their twenties like to make.

Williamsburg has a lot to offer. There are great restaurants, music spots, and young people. In addition to that, there is easy access to the Brooklyn waterfront, where I enjoyed many an amazing fireworks display on 4th of July, or hung out and gazed at Manhattan from a short distance. Rents however, have gotten pretty out of control ( I was living on Bedford Ave in an apartment and paying $1000 for a room). It is definitely not that affordable, unless you have a pretty good job. If you do, there are tiny thrift stores to enjoy, a lovely wine shop on Bedford and great people to enjoy!

Williamsburg rents are on the rise, but a glimpse into Craigslist will convince you that there are still relatively affordable places in this neighborhood. However, you may want to be advised that although this is a very fun place to live (if you are say, 25 years old), many streets on this neighborhood are beleaguered with noisy drunk long after the bars close. That being said, this still may be just your scene – I know I certainly enjoyed living here. Everything is at your fingertips: shopping, eateries, record stores, bars, music venues.
Of these places, I’d recommend Union Pool (a pretty cool music venue that showcases a lot of local bands), and Dumont Burger (it’s small and low key, and they have some good beers on tap and serve delicious giant burgers).