Battle of the Boroughs!

I've been living in Brooklyn for about two months now, and I've really grown to love it. But do I love it more than my first NYC home, Manhattan? Well, let's count up the points and see.

• Monthly housing & food costs: Brooklyn (rent, utilities, and food): ~$850. Manhattan (housing, meal plan, and additional food): ~$2200. Obviously, Brooklyn takes this point.
• Transit time to class/work: Brooklyn:40 minutes each way, on the subway. Manhattan: 15 minute walk. Manhattan wins.
• Monthly transit cost: Brooklyn: $89 (unlimited MetroCard). Manhattan: ~$15 (pay-per-ride). This is a tricky one, because while it's obviously more expensive to buy a monthly unlimited card, it allows me to ride the subway and not have to pay more than I normally would. This point has to go to Manhattan, though.
• Living arrangements: Brooklyn: My own room, full kitchen, dining room, and living room. Manhattan: Sharing a room, kitchen, living room. Point to Brooklyn, hands down. I actually have a kitchen more than one person can be in at a time, I don't have to worry about keeping someone up late at night with me, and I have enough personal space that I don't feel like I'm going to strangle someone all the time.
• Security: Brooklyn: Two locked doors. Manhattan: Security guard downstairs, guests must be signed in. Point to Manhattan, because while it's a pain, I always felt safe (which is not to say that I don't feel safe in my apartment, but seriously, there isn't a guy downstairs making sure no randoms get in).
• Ease of getting people in: Brooklyn: Go open the door. Manhattan: If they're NYU and live in housing, go open the door. If not, though, it's a pain in the ass. Point to Brooklyn.
• Decorating possibilities: Brooklyn: Pretty much anything I want. My own furniture, paint, put holes in the walls, basically do anything I want as long as I can make it all okay by the time I move out. Manhattan: I could put things on the walls! Point to Brooklyn, obviously. I really hate white walls.
• Company: Brooklyn: Two super-chill, awesome roomies who agree with most of my philosophies (i.e., we all usually hate living with girls because of all the unnecessary drama, there's never a bad reason to have a party, certain people are just not worth all the stress they inflict on the people around them, margaritas go perfectly well with lasagna), but who I don't have to share a room with. Manhattan: Totally hit-or-miss. I've had really cool roommates, and then I've had roommates from hell. Another point to Brooklyn.

So, let's tally it up, shall we?

Manhattan: 3

Brooklyn: 5

I guess I made the right choice after all.