Victorian Flatbush
Brownstoner published a post today that talks about Victorian Flatbush.
I’ve been walking around Victorian Flatbush once a week for a while now. It made me want to sell our house and move to that neighborhood the first time I walked along Buckingham Road. I love the sense of suburban enclave in the midst of the city. The houses are drop dead gorgeous. Most anyway, some of the streets have some significantly newer homes that just do not fit in. Plus the appeal of a larger yard is always a huge draw for me because I love gardening. In fact yesterday my husband and I drove around that area just looking — he was tired of hearing me talk about it and wanted to see the place.
I do wonder what it is like actually living there. Having lived in the suburbs of western Massachusetts for many, many years, moving to Brooklyn—albeit from Manhattan—has been an interesting experience. People walk here. They walk past your house, sometimes everyday, and get on the subway or bus to work. They walk to stores. They walk to the park. And most of them say hello at least, and sometimes they stop to chat for a few minutes. After a while you learn their names and the names of their kids. There is a sense of connectivity. The houses here are significantly closer to the sidewalk than those in Victorian Flatbush and ultimately—like it or not—you get to know your neighbors.
In all honesty I know more people on my street now than I knew on the street where I lived for 10 plus years in Massachusetts. And that goes for Manhattan too, though I did know a group of alternate side parking regulars who were a friendly, entertaining group.
Some closer levels of community and neighborhood are not for everyone and I get that, but I have never felt the level of familiarity here something that was suffocating in any way. Still I cannot help but wonder what it is like to live in Victorian Flatbush in terms of community and the day-to-day familiarity. I could be wrong, but it just seems the physical layout of the place might not be conducive to interacting with neighbors in the same way people do here. Despite the fact so many homes have the Great American Front Porch. Of course if you it could be perfect for you, but as someone who has mostly lived in suburbia it isn’t something I am ready for again. Not yet. Though I won’t lie to you — there are occasions where I would have happily traded neighborhoods for even the suggestion of quiet.
At any rate, I would love to hear what it is actually like living there, not in the houses, but the community.
Explore posts in the same categories: Brooklyn, Daily Walk
October 23rd, 2006 at 5:51 pm
I lived on Buckingham Road for most of my life and I have to say that there is a sense of community there - there always has been - but it’s been a lot more prevalent recently than it was when I was growing up. There were definitely children’s activities when I was small, especially during the Flatbush Frolic and other neighborhood events but I notice it more these days because I *think* more families have moved in. You just have to be a little more proactive in searching for people with children, or young couples, or whatever type of friends you’re trying to seek.
November 1st, 2006 at 8:55 pm
I have lived on Marlborough Road for over 12 years. The neighborhood sounds pretty much like what you describe your neighborhood to be. In addition “Victorian Flatbush” is extremely diverse ethnically, culturally and socially. It is home to mosques, buddhist temples, churches and synogues. If you walked through Marlborough Road on 10/31, you would have thought that you were transported to “Halloween Town.” Starting with the parade along Albemarle Road and then the hoardes of trick or treaters, a good time was had by all. I had friends bring their children to my home to enjoy the evening.
The porches are a great way to meet your neighbors and also passers by. When I don’t feel like being socialable but I want to sit outside, I just go sit in my back yard instead. My husband and I purchased this house at a time when his mom was ill. We originally wanted to move our children who were then in elementary school out of the city to Rockland or Orange counties. My mother in law did not want to leave Brooklyn so we had to stay local to help care for her until her passing. We looked at three homes in Victorain Flatbush and chose the second. When I visit friends and family upstate, I thank my mother in law for her stubborness in not wanting to leave Brooklyn and I rejoice in our decision to stay.