How’s this for a Craigslist ad?

18-room apartment in Brooklyn Heights with 11 bedrooms (and 11 fireplaces), four-car parking, Southern-style garden and porch. Perfect for lavish parties and deviant vocal patterns. Tennessee Williams need not apply.

We’re describing 70 Willow St., the former home of legendary author — and all-around lush — Truman Capote. Said legend rented the residence from 1955 to 1965, where he partied hard, conceived of Holly Golightly, and wrote In Cold Blood.

The asking price is $18 million, which would easily be Brooklyn’s priciest real estate buy. (The current record is $12 million.)

Of course, $18 mil. is small potatoes in Manhattan, NY Daily News points out, as Madonna just dropped $40 million for her uptown crib.

But small potatoes or not, we love Brooklyn, and so did Capote — even before it was fashionable. In fact, the real estate listing even includes a quote by the former tenant himself:

I live in Brooklyn. By choice. Those ignorant of its allures are entitled to wonder why.

Photo via maximilian.jendralski on Flickr.

New York Magazine recently published a ranked list of the 50 most liveable neighborhoods in the city, and Brooklyn fared very well — not that we’re surprised. Of the top five neighborhoods, three were in Brooklyn: Park Slope (first place!), Cobble Hill & Boerum Hill, and Greenpoint (#5).

What makes a city liveable? NYMag relied on a complicated formula involving everything from cost of housing to the quality of public schools. Fortunately, they also created a Livability Calculator, allowing you to find the perfect neighborhood based on your own specific priorities — as well as certain handy presets for empty-nesters, childless couples, etc.

Photo via ms.flux on Flickr.

Brownstones in Park Slope

When you’re looking for an apartment in New York, a lot of questions come to mind. Is it affordable? Is the neighborhood safe? Can I get along with my roommate? (Not to mention concerns about proximity to work, the Subway, and/or the laundromat.)

But here’s one question you probably don’t ask yourself: Am I breaking the law? According to a recent article in The New York Times, breaking the law in group-living situations is easier than you think. That’s because, technically, it is illegal for four or more unrelated roommates to occupy a house or apartment in New York.

Who knew, right? Apparently, a law like this is not all that uncommon, as similar legislature exists in New Orleans, Boston, and Amherst, Mass.

Fortunately, the roommate policy is hardly ever enforced; The Times reports only three citations since last July. If it is enforced, it’s almost always following a noise complaint from a neighbor, or an infraction noticed by a maintenance team.

Plus, if the city does find out that you’re living with more than three other roommates, your landlord will be at fault — not you.

Image via Dede Le on Flickr.

As with any other city or state, some neighborhoods in Brooklyn are safer than others. You have places like Park Slope, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn Heights, and Fort Greene, which are considered very secure. At the same time, certain areas like Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York, and Bushwick and known for being more dangerous.

Of course, not everyone can afford a $500,000 home in Park Slope or even a high-rent apartment. But crime isn’t just about location—it can happen anywhere.

I grew up in a wealthy area of Pittsburgh that was usually considered safe, but every so often we would hear about break-ins and other crimes. Thus, while it’s important to think about crime rate while looking for Brooklyn apartments, you also need to think about what you can do to protect yourself and your family.

Although there is some information online, I prefer to speak to actual people when researching a neighborhood. These include potential roommates and landlords, local businesspeople, and friends in the area. This way, I can learn everything about a given neighborhood: how late people are still on the street, which areas are the most and least safe, how many cops patrol the streets, etc. With this information, you should be able to find the perfect part of Brooklyn for you.