It’s been eight long years since we went apartment hunting in Brooklyn, New York. Things have changed since we went on this seemingly impossible mission. Broker’s fees have been a constant topic in the courts, and inventory numbers have changed with the pandemic. But it’s still a story worth sharing because it highlights the challenges of living in New York City and just how sweet victory tastes when it happens.
We live in the Clinton Hill neighborhood in Brooklyn now. After weeks of apartment hunting and dealing with sweaty brokers, we got a tip from someone in jail, so we met with an awesome dude who was super flexible and showed us an awesome apartment, and we signed on the dotted line over beers and a cheese plate that night. But let me go back a little ways…
When we started thinking about our next home, we were interested in a neighborhood in NYC that is somewhat affordable (because it’s NYC and we aren’t stupid), dog-friendly, has trees, is airport accessible, and can be kind of managed with a car. The neighborhoods on our list were Astoria, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and the northern tip of Manhattan, like Harlem, Fort George, Inwood, and Morningside Heights.
We were sure we had narrowed it down once we started getting an idea of what those neighborhoods would cost and look like. This is where the convict piece comes in. Obviously, it’s not a real felon. It’s Taylor Schilling from Orange is the New Black… she just plays a felon on TV, but catchy titles are important, right?
She did an interview with Delta Sky magazine, in which she described her favorite parts of NYC. One of them was an area called Fort Greene, and we had never been there. We decided to add it to our list, and if the opportunity ever arose, we would head in that direction.
Well, we did. Right before we actually dove into apartment hunting. A neighborhood with beautiful brownstones, a central location, and really tall trees? Probably no chance we will find a place. Its proximity and stunning historical buildings seemed too good to be true.
After losing an amazing two-bedroom affordable apartment and missing out on a 3rd floor walk-up in Astoria with a private roof deck, we were determined to make a decision quicker. To summarize our apartment hunt, it was 110 degrees, pouring rain every day in the middle of hunting, sweaty brokers, awkward apartment showings with other couples… Looking for a place to live here is a shit show – there is no other way to describe it.
We had meetings out on Long Island on a Friday, and the traffic was atrocious. We had made a few apartment showings over the weekend, but just two on Friday on our way home. We were running late, and the guy was super flexible about our timing, which was RARE (and understandable.) We were looking near the Ft Greene area, which we didn’t know very well. The pictures we had seen were really cluttered with other people’s stuff. We were feeling “meh” about the showing.
After ten minutes of standing in the apartment, we did a 180 on our “meh” feeling. We were in love. We got in the car and drove to our second showing, but we couldn’t stop thinking about the place. It was easy to picture ourselves living there.
We started stalking the broker we had just left. We wanted the apartment. We couldn’t get it out of our heads. We called him at least 10 times in a 30-minute period, and it kept going straight to voicemail. We were sure he was showing it to someone else, and they were putting money down. We went to our second showing and were feeling completely defeated, but right as we were getting in the car, the phone rang.
IT WAS HIM. Turns out, he was getting a quick 60 minute massage in between appointments and called us right before his next showing. We told him we’d meet him immediately with money, and we could make a deal.
Twenty minutes later, we met at a local spot over beers and a cheese plate and made it officially. We would be Clinton Hill residents – after our application was approved and millions of dollars were paid. But look how pretty our neighborhood is:
I was so happy I could cry. Looking for apartments in NYC is exhausting. I was finally able to stop stalking Street Easy and tracking emails, calls, and texts with brokers. The search was over.
It’s been almost one full week here and I’m so 100% certain that we landed in the right spot. We love the neighborhood, we love our apartment and it feels like the perfect fit.
I’m sure there will be shenanigans, parking tickets (we’ve only got one so far), weird neighbors and interesting encounters – but that’s kind of what you sign up for living in New York City. We were sure that we would end up in Queens originally, but once we found this place – we knew there was hope for us in the land of the hipsters. I’m working on my closet as we speak. Maybe I’ll start a whole new series on my slow transition to a “Brooklyn hipster,” but most likely, I’ll just keep living life in leggings and baggy shirts. Who cares?
Also, I just recently took a quiz about which borough I should live in and got this, so I definitely feel good about my decision. Thank you, Taylor Schilling, for your suggestion in an airline magazine—we wouldn’t be here without you.
If you are in the middle of a nightmare apartment hunt, I’m here to tell you that you will find something. Just move quickly, have your ducks in a row, and do not rely on the photos alone. Some of the places we saw were VERY different than advertised. And if you’ve never been to Clinton Hill, plan a trip there immediately and use this Clinton Hill Neighborhood Guide.
