Julie Inzanti

This Fort Greene, Brooklyn loft has 1,800-square-feet to dance around in and a restaurant-style kitchen…but our favorite part is the interior balcony that overlooks the living room....perfect for some dinner-party theater, we think.

After some winter comfort food and strong drinks, pass around photocopies (from your old college copy of "Romeo and Juliet," of course) and persuade your friends to participate in a group reading.  

Any outer-borough resident can tell you (with an eyeroll) that Manhattan isn't everything. And while residents of the main island often groan when they have to travel to an outer borough, most have come to accept a quick trip to Brooklyn every now and then. But the mere mention of Queens elicits a deer-in-headlights look.

That's too bad. Because Queens has delightful neighborhoods with just as much if not more charm than any other borough.

Although Red Hook, Brooklyn, is still shaking off Sandy’s wrath, it has not lost its enchanting cobblestone streets and an unassuming small-town charm. Despite being (mostly) transportationally cut off from the rest of Brooklyn, this artsy 'hood has established itself as one of Brooklyn’s most coveted areas.

The hardwood floors, fireplace and rustic ceiling beams in this one-bedroom, one-bath $1.2M Greenwich Village co-op on Ninth Street help make it feel more like a charming Parisian apartment.  

But it's the row of stunning arched windows--with their romantic foreign film feel--that seals this apartment's dual citizenship status with a big old French kiss. 

We know paper seems so old fashioned, but put down your Kindle and let your eyes rest on the rows and rows of custom cabinetry in this $9,995 per month Carnegie Hill 3-bed, 2-bath co-op.