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@teddy
stick to the neighbourhoods close to manhattan, obviously. myself, i probably wouldn't go more than three or four subway stops into brooklyn. but then it gets cheaper the further out you go.
williamsburg is probably the most famous hipster neighbourhood in america. i think that statement alone lets you know what to expect from it. but it's still a great neighbourhood and alot of the hysteria around it has calmed down a bit.
carroll gardens, park slope and cobble hill are "nice" neighbourhoods; bit trendy, completely gentrified now (but still with really great old italian delis). i'd still live in either but if you're looking for a bit of edge, you might get annoyed by all the young professionals and prams.
red hook, gowanus and dumbo are former industrial neighbourhoods that are increasingly popular now. but gentrification happens really quickly; there's lots of cafes and cool bars and such now. if you want sex-in-the-city loft living with a bit of safe grit, this might be a good option. some friends live in an amazing loft in dumbo that i envy. they have to take the subway to get to a big grocery store though.
bushwick, greenpoint, fort green and bedford are a lot more, uhm, authentic. rents in new york push people around a lot so all of these neighbourhoods are full of hipsters and young professionals, but they're much less gentrified than the others. but then these neighbourhoods probably also have the biggest sense of a real community. a good friend of mine (a beautiful blonde girl) lived in fort green and never got hassled; another friend of mine (burly skater kid) got jacked in greenpoint. i like these neighbourhoods, but they wouldn't be the first on my list.