Park Slope: NOT on Shit List for Once

photo by Pondblue via Effed in Park Slope's Flickr Stream

CNN/Money magazine -- or just Money if you're nasty -- put a list together of the "Best-Big-City Neighborhoods" across the country. Using science (list positioning seems arbitrary), Park Slope was the first on the list and the only neighborhood from New York. Wooo-hooo, right? 

This is what they had to say about us:

Our Stats:

• Median household income: $101,000
• Median home value: $854,300
• Typical 2-bedroom rental: $3,000

Our Pros: "Historic brownstones and proximity to 585-acre Prospect Park make this area a favorite of New Yorkers looking to escape Manhattan shoeboxes. The new Barclays Center arena is a close walk but still removed from the heart of the neighborhood. Crime rates are akin to those in the suburbs, and transport options include a 40-minute subway ride to Midtown Manhattan. Locals love the award-winning restaurants, food co-op, farmers' markets, and homegrown bakeries and shops."

I'm going to add beautiful architecture, having Culture to stuff my face with amazing fro yo and schools.

Our Cons: "Newbies may struggle to adjust to the lack of big-box retail or supermarkets. And the real estate market is brutal (this is New York City): Homes are the priciest on our list, though still lower than in many areas in Manhattan."

I'm going to add that there's no where to park your damn car and to flip my pro coin: the gauntlet-like school zoning craziness. I mean, I'm pretty sure people in Houston Heights aren't selling their address to get their kids into a public school. 

Here's the entire list in case you just HATE scrolling through those slides one at a time: 

1. Us! 
2. Silver Lake, LA (the Williamsburg of the West)
3. Lakeview, Chicago
4. Houston Heights, Houston
5. Mount Airy (not the lodge), Philadelphia
6. Windsor Square, Phoenix
7. Alamo Heights, San Antonio
8. Pacific Beach, San Diego
9. Lakewood, Dallas (ok that's three in Texas)
10. Willow Glen, San Jose

We are, by far, the most expensive neighborhood in which to rent a two-bedroom apartment, with an $800 monthly differential. The cheapest hood to rent in is Mount Airy, Philly. As for median home value, we were tops again with Willow Glen coming in a very close second.  BUT for median family income, we were only 4th highest on the list which means we are all living beyond our means here (shocker). The highest was Alamo Heights.  

So FIPS'ters have any pros or cons of your own? I know you do. Sound off.