Brooklyn continues to get more expensive and the Times, now and forever, is on it. Today, they bring us the tragic tale of a random white couple, the Hustons, that moved to the borough a few years ago, then moved out because it got too pricey. But where in Brooklyn did they move to? Was it Williamsburg? We bet it was Williamsburg.
To truly understand the plight of the Hustons, however, we must first understand that the Williamsburg they moved to was not the Williamsburg we know today. Sure, it was a "safe neighborhood already dotted with clothing boutiques and wine shops," but it was also "five years before the first episode of 'Girls' aired on HBO." Who even remembers that far back? The Hustons do, because they're Brooklyn's old guard, having settled there in 2007, or, as those in the know call it, 5 BG (Before "Girls"). "Even long-time Brooklynites are finding themselves priced out of the hippest neighborhoods," reads the caption below an image of the Hustons peering wistfully at the New York City skyline from the Jersey City condo they just bought. And no, your eyes did not deceive you just now: these long-time Brooklynites, quite possibly the truest Brooklynites this city has ever known, now live in New Jersey. "We weren't sure there was anyone like us in the neighborhood," said the male Huston. But then a coffee shop opened. "The line down the street was all people like us. We could have been in Williamsburg." There. Happy ending.
If you want to hear a bunch more white people complain about how expensive they made Williamsburg, you can read the rest of the article.
· Life After Brooklyn [NYT]
· Williamsburg Gentrification Watch [Curbed]
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