Brooklyn

Brooklyn was in fact its own city until the end of the 19th century, with its own widely circulated newspaper, the Brooklyn Eagle, its own expansive park, Prospect Park, and its own baseball team that would eventually be called the Brooklyn Dodgers. And in 1883, it got its own bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge, which drew the attention of the entire country, essentially became the final push that would rob the borough of its city status and fuel its merge with Manhattan. The marriage of the two cities took effect in 1898, much to the objection of Brooklynites, as it was widely dubbed, "the great mistake of 1898."

Today, for many who've chosen to leave the island of Manhattan behind for Brooklyn in search of more living space (although not necessarily lower rent) living here is about celebrating the borough's diverse neighborhoods that share a down-to-earth character. Neighborly chats take place on the stoops of brownstones, family-owned businesses preserve their heritages, and people are happy to eat and drink without the see-or-be-seen scene. That's not to say that restaurateurs and bar owners don't mind drawing the attention of those across the river. The dining scene here is huge—so much so that Manhattanites are more than willing to hop on the subway to come—with new eateries opening seemingly on a weekly basis.

Aside from Brooklyn's mellow family-friendly vibe in areas such as Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and Boerum Hill, added to the mix is a group described with an overly-used moniker for which there's no other appropriate word: hipster. Hipsters here are most strongly associated with Williamsburg, where the young artists flocked more than a decade ago, and soon after the area became known for its galleries, along with its pricy real estate to match. It's largely Brooklyn that has lent New York its streetwise and sincere personality, famously captured in films such as Do the Right Thing, Moonstruck, and Brighton Beach Memoirs. As it's continually been dubbed "the new Manhattan," this borough now attracts visitors not only from the city's other boroughs but tourists from far and wide as well.