Moving to Brooklyn?
March 10, 2004
Apparently, for all of you out there who have been gunning for me to move to Brooklyn, there may be yet another reason for me to move out there. According to "The Sexual Organization of the City," (which is based on Chicago, but has been analyzed by the New York Post for NYC), some neighborhoods are "transactional" and others are "relational marketplaces." My 'hood? Transactional -- good for short-term non-committed relationships. Tell me about it. Basically, the world below 14th street, which is where I spend the majority of my social time, "attracts young, single people who spend the bulk of their time in local hangouts - bars, gyms, coffee shops, clubs." Park Slope and Carroll Gardens (neighborhoods in which I've thought about living in Brooklyn)? Relational. "These neighborhoods tend to be peopled with married or cohabiting couples, and their single friends tend to meet potential partners through already-committed mutual friends." The article and the book go on to say that there's no guarantee that a move to a relational neighborhood will guarantee a long-term relationship, so it's somewhat of a Catch-22 situation.
Hmm. Decisions, decisions. My current lease isn't up until September, and the thought of moving yet again makes me nauseous. It's not outside of the realm of possibility, however. What do you recommend? Should I move to Carroll Gardens in hope of finding love? Trade in the ability to walk to work for a long schlep on the F train and a boyfriend? Or stay in my centrally-located, Greenwich Village apartment, and live a life of singledom, surrounded by my extended social network of fellow "transactional" neighborhood folks? Any and all thoughts are welcome. Does your neighborhood help or hurt your chances of finding love?