Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
After much research and initially being very "gung-ho" about the idea I've decided NYC isn't for me. I live close enough by(Boston) to have been to the City a lot and more or less know what is about. so for all you Mid-Westerns wanting to come to NYC don't! Here's why:
1. Unless you are rich and I mean like lawyer/doctor/stock brocker or better you aren't going to have the quality of life you could expect in nearly any other major US city, including my hometown.
2. NYC is a city for the super rich and for new immigrates who want to live around similar. If you are a working or middle-class third,fourth, whatever generation American you don't really have a place you could fit in besides fringe areas of Brooklyn and Queens.
3. What is the draw of living in NYC that you can't get elsewhere? for most kids it seems it more about being able to show off there address be it: the Village, Park Slope, UES, Williamsburg, where-ever back home. Sure there is great entertainment and museums but do most normal people really go to the museum so much that living close by the best is a necessity? You can get a very similar urban lifestyle with a much better overall quality of life in other cities, notably SF and Boston.
4. There are few upper-middle class jobs in NYC outside of the few core industries like finance and creative professions. Besides that most jobs seem to be low-pay service sector positions to feed the rich's greedy desires for quirky shops and boutiques.
5.Outside of Manhattan and Brownstone Brooklyn NYC, especially the vast sprawl of Queen and Southern Brooklyn, have some of the ugliest architecture I've ever seen.
6. NYC is pretty dirty compared to Boston. Not sure how it compares to other major cities in that regard.
This stuff is basically a distillation of my person experience along with what I've learned from researching it. I tried to find a neighborhood where I thought I could fit in the city but it doesn't seem to exist. Normal people don't belong in NYC anymore its all about the rich and there throngs of servants. Even a city that is claimed to just as if not more expensive as NYC as SF still has room for normal people. It really seems like this is a dark time for your City but in a much different way than in the 70s and 80s.
I think I'll be more than happy to visit the Urban Disneyland a few times a year and stay up here in a city, while not perfect, still has room for middle class people.
It's a shame because there are few other true urban cities left in this country and those of us who like the idea of walking lots of places and not having to own a car are nearly running out of luck. So much for being green when you can't even live in the country without having to own an expensive and wasteful car.
Why did you feel the need to come here and say that? What a waste of your time and effort.
There seems to be quite a few people who dislike NYC, yet they find the time (and the desire, energy) to post on this board.
For whatever reason I don't know. I've lived in Miami and I hate that city so much, but I would never waste my time posting on the Miami forum. Even when I lived there, I have never even clicked on and saw the Miami sub-forum on City-Data. Hating a city and spending so much time sharing it with us seems strange and counter-productive and a waste of time.
Maybe he wants validation by some other haters that NYC is uncool? So he won't seem alone? LOL.
I don't think NYC is just for the super rich. I'm an average IT contractor type guy and a search for contracts in NYC on any website results in hundreds of positions that pay between $8,000 and $10,000 per month.
That would easily get a me a decent 1 bedroom apartment in a nice area of Manhattan plus the opportunity to socialise most nights.
The only issue is getting to work in the USA in the first place...
After much research and initially being very "gung-ho" about the idea I've decided NYC isn't for me.
So you gave up on the idea of moving to New York as a result of "research." I'll tell you a little secret: all the research in the world isn't going to give you the experience of living here.
And just because people like to say that the city has become a playground for the rich, doesn't make it the overriding fact of life here. Yeah, I'm sure they'd like it that way. But New York still has a solid middle class. How else do you think a city with just over 8 million residents survives?
You should've stopped doing so much research, and experienced a little more real life.
I love NY, it just doesn't make sense for some people to live there. I just got in because everyone's jumping on the other guy -- maybe because of some of the things he said -- but his basic point, that NYC is an expensive and stressful area for middle class people, has validity.
I have to agree ... NYC isn't for everyone. I love NYC but I love Greater Boston too, and I feel I'm able to make a fair comparison between the two since I:
grew up in NYC and currently live here
attended college in Wellesley (Boston suburb)
have a sibling who is an engineer, who went to school in Cambridge and lived in Somerville, who couldn't live in NYC due to limited job opportunities;
also lived in Providence, RI, which has become somewhat of a Boston bedroom community; and
am solidly middle class and can't afford a neighborhood with the combination of safety and amenities that i desire without living in one of the boros.
If you're smart, ambitious and intellectually inclined, but maybe more introverted, you might be happier in Boston. If you're ballsy, aggressive, extroverted, "edgy," and want to be "in the mix" 75% of your time, then you might not find Boston stimulating enough.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I like living in Queens, which gives me a laid back environment, affordability and proximity to the 24/7 activity when I want it. If I were to work in Greater Boston again, places like Medford, Somerville, Dorchester, or even Providence, RI would be on my list of places to consider. Of course, I couldn't afford to buy a house there, but I can't here either, which is why I have a co-op.
Last edited by queensgrl; 08-21-2010 at 11:48 AM..
08-21-2010, 11:43 AM
grant516
n/a posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulSWFC
I don't think NYC is just for the super rich. I'm an average IT contractor type guy and a search for contracts in NYC on any website results in hundreds of positions that pay between $8,000 and $10,000 per month.
That would easily get a me a decent 1 bedroom apartment in a nice area of Manhattan plus the opportunity to socialise most nights.
The only issue is getting to work in the USA in the first place...
Certainly isn't -super rich- but if you're making 100K to 120K as a single person in the USA, you're in the top bracket of income earners. That certainly doesn't put you as average, or middle income.
New York has a lot of opportunities to offer to people but let's be real here, NYC is so diverse, has an electric vibe, energy, it's beat is unmatched (in my view) that's what attracts me to NYC, I will move there in a few years once I am done with California. Besides an opportunity, I think it's everything the City has to offer that draws people into wanting to move there (my point of view again).
i somewhat agree with the OP, but i dont know why he keeps comparing everything to boston. what i dont understand is why everyone wants to move there, when it is so expensive. you can move to anywhere else in the US and pay $130 for groceries instead of $300. you can pay $2.25 for gas instead of $3.50. you can pay $500 in utilities instead of $750. it just doesnt make sense, because most of the time they are making the same salary in new york they would in say...Georgia.
and everyone living in new york who doesnt really get out much, i have news for ya. new york is the only city in the country that is surrounded by huge buildings, extensive subways, tens of thousands of taxis, terrible drivers, tons of people crossing the streets without looking and whenever they want....everyone thinks it's the "American dream", when in reality, it is the only city that "acts" like this. it is not a very accurate representation of the US at all. sure every state has its big cities with skyscrapers, but even Los Angeles, the 2nd biggest in the coutnry, is nothing like new york. thats not necessarily a good thing, either, that nowhere in the country is like new york. it's ridiculously expensive, and i dont see why people WANT to move here. forced is more like it...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
