Anyone else thinking of leaving NYC? (New York, York: to rent, appliances, lenders)

[INeedAChange]

I've been here for 8 years and thinking of departing within the next year or so, for multiple reasons (expense, lack of quality of life in many areas--I know this doesn't apply to nice areas in Manhattan). Anyone else?

[Hustla718]

I am.

The only thing that has kept me in NYC is my job and family.

[INeedAChange]

I know what you mean---I will miss the friends I've made here, but I'm not from here originally so no family--that makes it easier

Originally Posted by Hustla718

I am.

The only thing that has kept me in NYC is my job and family.

[arel]

I'm trying to get it together to move to Vermont. I've been thinking about this for a over a year, doing research (a lot of it on this website), visiting, learning before I leap.

But I also feel an internal resistance to leaving. I am a native, dyed in the wool New Yorker. Born and raised in Brooklyn. There is an attachment to NYC for me, in spite of my clearly articulated reasons for leaving. It is home.

I am held back, also, by fear. Apart from fearing the emotional stress of moving, I fear not fitting into the culture of my new location. I fear a sense of dislocation. I fear that I'll want to come back to NYC but won't be able to.

But you know what? Some of the threads on this NYC forum get pretty nasty and off-putting. Check out the Vermont forum and see how friendly and courteous the posts mostly are. There is very little of the hostility and/or vulgarity I find on several NYC threads.

That helps me stay on track. One of the many reasons I want to leave is to get away from the anger and hostility so prevalent in NYC.

[INeedAChange]

arel,

Just make sure to rent for a year or two, then you won't be locked in if you want to leave. If it turns out to be the right place for you eventually it will become home to you--though this takes more than a couple of years for most people.

Originally Posted by arel

I'm trying to get it together to move to Vermont. I've been thinking about this for a over a year, doing research (a lot of it on this website), visiting, learning before I leap.

But I also feel an internal resistance to leaving. I am a native, dyed in the wool New Yorker. Born and raised in Brooklyn. There is an attachment to NYC for me, in spite of my clearly articulated reasons for leaving. It is home.

I am held back, also, by fear. Apart from fearing the emotional stress of moving, I fear not fitting into the culture of my new location. I fear a sense of dislocation. I fear that I'll want to come back to NYC but won't be able to.

But you know what? Some of the threads on this NYC forum get pretty nasty and off-putting. Check out the Vermont forum and see how friendly and courteous the posts mostly are. There is very little of the hostility and/or vulgarity I find on several NYC threads.

That helps me stay on track. One of the many reasons I want to leave is to get away from the anger and hostility so prevalent in NYC.

[INeedAChange]

I think the main reason for your concern is that you've never lived anywhere else than New York (correct me if I'm wrong). I've lived in several diffent places over my life--the west coast for a year, in Asia for 2 years, and now here in NY/NJ for 8 years. The first move is the hardest--after that you become a more adaptive person. Even if you get sick of Vermont after a few years, the experience of moving there will give you the confidence to move to a brand new place if you choose not to come back to NYC. Mainly I would just be sure that you can find employment in VT, although it sounds like you've done the necessary research.

Originally Posted by arel

I'm trying to get it together to move to Vermont. I've been thinking about this for a over a year, doing research (a lot of it on this website), visiting, learning before I leap.

But I also feel an internal resistance to leaving. I am a native, dyed in the wool New Yorker. Born and raised in Brooklyn. There is an attachment to NYC for me, in spite of my clearly articulated reasons for leaving. It is home.

I am held back, also, by fear. Apart from fearing the emotional stress of moving, I fear not fitting into the culture of my new location. I fear a sense of dislocation. I fear that I'll want to come back to NYC but won't be able to.

But you know what? Some of the threads on this NYC forum get pretty nasty and off-putting. Check out the Vermont forum and see how friendly and courteous the posts mostly are. There is very little of the hostility and/or vulgarity I find on several NYC threads.

That helps me stay on track. One of the many reasons I want to leave is to get away from the anger and hostility so prevalent in NYC.

[arel]

You are not the first to recommend renting before buying.

I think it is a good idea. I have read a bitter post by someone who moved to Vermont and hated it. But he was stuck because he had bought a house and was having trouble selling it.

Vermont's economy is problematic. High cost of living, low salaries, very few good jobs. It would be crazy to go there without an idea of how you will support yourself and your family.

Actually, I have lived in places other than New York City: Pennsylvania, Westchester, Rhode Island, Vermont. But home base has always been New York.

I really appreciate your comment about the first move being the hardest, after which moving becomes easier.

Thanks for the kind and encouraging posts.

(Actually, you posted the second message while I was typing my response to your first one.)

[INeedAChange]

thanks--good luck with your potential move. It sounds like you've done your homework--its the people who aren't worried at all who usually end up making a bad move.

Originally Posted by arel

You are not the first to recommend renting before buying.

I think it is a good idea. I have read a bitter post by someone who moved to Vermont and hated it. But he was stuck because he had bought a house and was having trouble selling it.

Vermont's economy is problematic. High cost of living, low salaries, very few good jobs. It would be crazy to go there without an idea of how you will support yourself and your family.

Actually, I have lived in places other than New York City: Pennsylvania, Westchester, Rhode Island, Vermont. But home base has always been New York.

I really appreciate your comment about the first move being the hardest, after which moving becomes easier.

Thanks for the kind and encouraging posts.

(Actually, you posted the second message while I was typing my response to your first one.)

[samyn on the green]

I have left 3 times, while NY can be tough it is the still my 1st choice for American living. After going out and living in many places from coast to coast and traveling to 40 states I have come to the conclusion that the rest of the US is a big bore. I can not live in nowheresville USA it is not for me.

If I leave NY it will have to be somewhere overseas with culture, somewhere in the old world.

If you want to see what I am talking about go to the other forums on this website. For example on the food section there is a three page thread about blenders. You might be toiling to make it in the big city, but this city will keep you occupied. Life in the other states is so boring that the unfortunate residents fixate on kitchen appliances.

[wanderlost]

Samyn...you hit the nail on the head. I left the NYC area two years ago to work as a travel nurse, thinking I wanted a slower, easier life. Spent one year in Kansas (where I was born, lot of relatives, etc.), that was a fate worse than death. Then I came to Virginia where I've been for the past year, my sister convinced me it was wonderful. I can't take it. I can't wait to get back to NY. You want to talk about Nowheresville...come to Richmond. Maybe if you'd never lived in a big cultural city like NY you wouldn't know any better.....but if you have then living in a place like this is extremely depressing. Would you believe I met people who had never left the state of Kansas in their whole lives!

Don't get me wrong though, Vermont is beautiful, been there many times. I find the people to be a little cold, but maybe because they move there to get away from it all and want to be left alone.

I do think that once you get the urge to move in your blood you can't really fight it...you see that place with rose-colored glasses. Just don't burn your bridges. If you're needing a slower pace and natural beauty, you can't beat Vermont. When I left I was feeling kind of sick of NY, but now I've gotten a whole new appreciation for it.