BROOKLYN

Williamsburg

Just one short train ride from Union Square in Manhattan is the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg. Long a mixed neighborhood of Hasidic Jews, Polish, Italians and Puerto Ricans, Billyburg became an artist haven after SoHo and the East Village became gentrified. It went on to become a hotbed of emerging indie rock bands in the 90’s, and finally peaked in the past few years, when loads of “trustifarians” (expertly styled, unemployed trust-fund kids who complain they don’t have a job) took over Bedford Avenue. Still, Williamsburg is much more than dissing the fake-poor. The neighborhood is now full of great restaurants, neo-dive bars with great music and one-of-a-kind clothing stores.

DUMBO

This Brooklyn neighborhood was originally a manufacturing-only district filled with warehouses and factories that made machinery, paper products and Brillo soap pads. Artists and homesteaders took a liking to the raw open spaces and called it home. Real estate developers blessed it with a hot acronym, and Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass gave way to “DUMBO” and what’s now one of New York’s premier arts districts.

Fort Greene

Dubbed “Chocolate Chelsea” due to the amount of black gay professionals who continue to move into this area of Brooklyn. However, residents are attracted by the beautiful brownstone buildings rather than the nightlife; this isn’t Manhattan and the pace reflects it.

Park Slope

Life on the actual island of Manhattan can drag you down after a while; people who swore they’d never live in Brooklyn, now live in Brooklyn, often a result of answering the call of parenthood. Dyke Slope – nicknamed so from the large number of gay women in the area, opening bars, cafes and other businesses – has attracted its fair share of newly minted parents. Cue the jogging strollers and lesbian softball games.

Sunset Park

Sunset Park is slowly transforming from South Brooklyn’s down-and-out neighborhood into a revitalized neighborhood with a style all of its own. With terrific views of the Manhattan skyline, burnt out warehouses and vacant industrial spaces on the waterfront are being converted to artist spaces and apartments.