Upper West Side, Meet Your Brooklyn Doppelgänger, Prospect Heights

On Saturday, The New York Times made an interesting suggestion for those priced out of their dream neighborhood. Instead of moving a few subway stops away to a neighborhood that might not be anywhere as nice, how about moving across the city to a neighborhood that has the housing stock and amenities you were looking for?

Example A was the Upper West Side and it's (more) affordable doppelgänger Prospect Heights.

Instead of Central Park you get Prospect. Instead of Lincoln Center and the American Museum of Natural History you get the , the and the .

The tree-lined streets and stately brownstones are the same in both spots, as are the stroller pushing parents and the child-friendly activities to serve them. (While this is true for Park Slope as well, Prospect Heights won out due to its lower prices). 

According to the Times, the median price per square foot in 2011 for the Upper West Side was $896, while in Prospect Heights it's $446.

The article also cites and as examples of the burgeoning food scene. (They didn't, however, mention the eagerly anticipated and , of Al Di La and City Bakery roots, respectively, which both opened this week.)

Also paired in the article were Carroll Gardens with "North Crown Heights" (is that moniker ), saying that both neighborhoods offer a "congenial mix of the traditional and the retro-modern that has drawn well-heeled newcomers, many with families."

Both neighborhoods have brownstones, but while one in Carroll Garndens can easily exceed $2 million (median price was $602 per square foot), they go for $700,000 to $900,000 in the Dean Street/Nostrand area (with the median price at $384 per square foot), according to the Times.  

Other pairings were Lower East Side/Greenpoint, Hells Kitchen/Long Island City, and Soho/Ladies' Mile in the Broadway/W. 20th area.