Thinking of moving to Williamsburg? Here’s what you need to know.
Williamsburg is located within one of New York City’s five boroughs: Brooklyn. The notoriously hipster neighborhood is home to 128,000 residents within 2.18 square miles. Connected to the Big Apple’s Lower East Side via the Williamsburg Bridge, this artsy area enjoys four distinct seasons as well as the Manhattan skyline, seen from the shore of the East River. To the north, it’s bordered by Greenpoint, while Bedford-Stuyvesant is south and Bushwick and Queens lie east.
Who’s There?
Williamsburg is best known for being a bohemian area full of artists and musicians from diverse cultures. ‘Single, young and having fun’ describes a lot of the folks you’ll see on the streets, but there are also a lot of young professionals moving in who can afford the steep rise in living costs that’s occurred in recent years. Most of Williamsburg’s occupants work there in sales and office occupations, followed by service jobs, arts, design, entertainment, sports and media jobs and education. However, many residents commute to nearby Manhattan for work as well.
What’s Around Williamsburg?
Take the L train to Bedford Avenue and emerge from the station to find where the hipsters hang and thrive. Ethnically vibrant Williamsburg includes subdivisions like South Williamsburg (Puerto Ricans and Yiddish-speaking Hasidim), the South Side (Puerto Ricans and Dominicans), the North Side (traditionally Italian and Polish) and East Williamsburg (Italian, African-American and more). The rest of the city is easily accessible via the L, J, M, Z and G trains, a slew of buses and even the East River Ferry. Owning (and parking) a car is a laughably large expense that most folks forego.
What Do You Do In Williamsburg?
Known for its indie music scene, there are plenty of bars and venues—like the Williamsburg Hall of Music—where you can catch a show, but you can actually also do that on the Williamsburg waterfront, on a rooftop or inside a bowling alley. Shop anywhere from thrift stores to trendy boutiques, drink craft beer or the ever-popular PBRs and rest or play at East River State Park.
