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Yes I do like Urban living, but here in Brooklyn I'm not bumping into people on the sidewalk and there aren't horns 24/7 only the sound of people mingling from time to time. I don't live in Manhattan and have no desire to.I will never pay 200,000k for a walk in closet. There are problems parking but, I don't need to take my car everywhere I'm going. In fact, I got rid of my car last year. When I did have it, I would drive to a station in a not-so dense area where I can park and get on the train, saves alot of gas (not to mention I have road rage, so I agree that driving here is hell).
And what is normal? Most developed countries (Western Europe, Japan) don't live like most Americans but live more like we do here in NY. If I pay taxes and return get public transportation, an abundance of parks in my area and very other things for my recreation, I'm ok with that as long as I see the results. I hate the rents though, I will also agree on that.
If you reread my post, yes I am ambitious but I am not "money hungry". The reason why I like NY is because it is multi-dimensional and caters to a large array of my interests. Like I said in my post, alot of people don't need all of that, you obviously just want peace and quiet and a little bit of solitude. I tip my hat to you, because I lived that life and it wasn't for me.
Those foreign nations have no choice. They don't have enough land mass so they have to have dense urban areas.
The transportation thing touched on something I hate about NY. Everything's a tax. City and state income tax. Property tax. MTA tax. High sales tax. High car tax ( reg fee now ~$150), high insurance rates. High rent rates.
It's ridiculous.
I understand there's a premium for living in a large city but why am I paying so much if I can't enjoy all it has to offer?
What am I exactly paying for? The thousands of cops who are nothing but expensive paper pushers? The hundreds of schools which my non existent kids attend? The tens of thousands of government employees who retire at 50 and produce useless work? The tens of thousands who scam state welfare/ disability programs? The high taxes embedded in elec/phone/electric bills?
Most days, yes. Other days, no. I do plan to leave in the next few years because I eventually want to buy a house and it won't be possible here. So far I've researched Denver, Raleigh-Durham, and Rochester.
But if I had a choice (and a buttload of money) I would buy a house in Bayside, Queens - my dream neighborhood.
And if they "fix-up" Coney Island (most importantly the schools) I am headed there. That's my daughter's dream neighborhood. She begs me to move there every day.
That's so funny, because we own a 4 bedroom house in Bayside, Queens and have for a long time.
I am in the minority in that although Bayside is one of the better "suburban type" neighborhoods in all of NYC, and is very accessible to many areas (the Throgg's Neck and the Whitestone Bridges are only a couple of miles from us, the Grand Central and LIEE are nearby, as is the Cross Island so you can get to Nassau, Suffolk or Brooklyn quickly, and the LIRR is only a few blocks from us, 25 minutes to Penn Station), I am not in love with any of NYC so it's hard for me to identify with those who dream of living in Bayside.
I am a born and bred Long Islander- near the Queens border, and I would not like to live on Long Isand - I am not in love with metro NY, period - and I have 2 siblings who live in Manhattan in desirable areas, one owns a large condo, raised a kid in Manhattan who went to a top high school, etc, but I DO NOT envy them at all! Whenever we go to Manhattan I keep saying to myself: "Wait, there must be a reason why I am supposed to love NY" but I find that the city is unattractive (I could care less about skyscrapers), the restaurants over priced and silly-trendy, there are homeless everywhere, on church steps on Fifth Ave, doesn't matter, the fumes of the buses and cars are horrible, I find the area around NYU to be extremely off-putting, with the weird people all around, prostitutes in Washington Square Park, etc. the crowds are horrible, the stores near Penn Station and on Fifth are mostly found anywhere in the cities of the U.S - so why love NY? I cannnot for the life of me figure it out and never will. We were subscribers to the Metropolitan Opera (orchestra seats, now we have no time and they are way too costly for us now anyway), I have been a frequent visitor to the Whitney and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, have a sibling who went to Columbia U. etc. and I cannot say that any of these things make it worth it for me to live in NY. I cannot stand the hype of NY, am an older person, prefer low key, don't hate NY, but I can't fall in love with it, either. I know that people come here from all over the world just thrilled to live here and I am sorry, I just don't get it why. I never cared for skyscrapers except to see them as a tourist. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a cattle call nowadays, absolutely jam packed and I hate being in crowds. We are kind of staying here due to practical considerations but I would rather be elsewhere, far away from the entire metro NY area. But this is just me: I have lived in Boston for years and far prefer it there. It's more my kind of place - a lot more oriented towards academia, perhaps less money-driven and less towards Wall St, fancy restaurants, status based on money and the industries of fashion or advertising which I find very light-weight. But we are all different and I don't mean to put down those who love NY. I look at places like Astoria or Long Island City or even (dare I say it?) Park Slope and think: This is great?
Last edited by Martha Anne; 06-15-2011 at 07:05 PM..
Reason: to clarify
Outside of New York, I would like to live in London then just fly to different cities around Europe on the weekends since it's cheap. I also love London as a city. But when it comes down to it, New York is the most fun place to live in my opinion. It's easy to take it for granted if you're from here or have lived here for many years, but when I'm outside of the city for over a couple of weeks, no matter where in the world I happen to be, I always miss New York.
So funny, if I left NY (live in Bayside, Queens) I would never want to come back! I have lived in a far less congested area (just outside of Boston) and the quality of life is SO much better and you have everything you get in NY, but cheaper, easier to access and usually less crowded.
I'll never leave. Maybe just take lots of vacations. There are plenty of areas in the NY metropolitan area that are just as boring, isolating, and car-oriented as some of the sterile places some of you dream of moving to. Anyway, the NY region is so diverse and has all types of communities/housing stock that could suit almost anyone. NY is not just Manhattan.
Only good reason for me to move is a change in scenery, weather, and maybe if I fell on hard times. Maybe if more of you guys actually moved, rather stayed and become miserable complainers, my rent wouldn't be so high.
Those foreign nations have no choice. They don't have enough land mass so they have to have dense urban areas.
The transportation thing touched on something I hate about NY. Everything's a tax. City and state income tax. Property tax. MTA tax. High sales tax. High car tax ( reg fee now ~$150), high insurance rates. High rent rates.
It's ridiculous.
I understand there's a premium for living in a large city but why am I paying so much if I can't enjoy all it has to offer?
What am I exactly paying for? The thousands of cops who are nothing but expensive paper pushers? The hundreds of schools which my non existent kids attend? The tens of thousands of government employees who retire at 50 and produce useless work? The tens of thousands who scam state welfare/ disability programs? The high taxes embedded in elec/phone/electric bills?
I read that study, and I ask least free for who? Just look at the indicators they use for what "freedom" is. Yes those countries don't have as much land mass. But in Canada, which has more land mass than us. They don't have as much sprawl as we do and have comprehensive zoning codes to stem the sprawl that exists in most of our cities. With everything so spread out in some of these cities, it costs to keep up with infrastructure and its harder to get around. When these cities start to age as NY has, wait and see how they deal with their cheap infrastructure....taxes, taxes, taxes... I have alot of gripes with some things here too, don't get me wrong I have a laundry list. But compared to what I've put up with, I say I lucked out moving back up here.
Do you ever dream about leaving NYC? If you could (like with a good job and the opportunity to buy a house) would you leave? Where would you go?
I'm curious because I hear people from NY in my area complain about how bad it was there, and how much better it is here (GA). Who else feels like leaving?
After almost 50 years here, I dream of leaving every minute of every day...
I initially relocated from NYC to GA for school. I vowed to return to NYC after graduation. However, after living on my own at an early age (which is something I could not do in NYC in my early 20s) and seeing how much easier it was to afford things like rent, I decided to continue to live outside of NYC.
I now live in Charlotte and I like that my commute is nothing like NYC and people aren't blasting their horns like crazy. The things I miss about NYC I simply make up for on my next visit to NYC. I could have purchased a house in NYC, but I wanted to be able to afford a newer house in a nice area on a single income.
To relocate out of NYC is definitely a personal decision. Be sure to make a list of your likes and dislikes, and look for those areas that will provide you the highest quality of life that will make you happy. Don't simply go by a "Best Places to Live" list. So many people are now upset with their relocation decision because they did not realize the little things that made them happy while living in NYC.
I read that study, and I ask least free for who? Just look at the indicators they use for what "freedom" is. Yes those countries don't have as much land mass. But in Canada, which has more land mass than us. They don't have as much sprawl as we do and have comprehensive zoning codes to stem the sprawl that exists in most of our cities. With everything so spread out in some of these cities, it costs to keep up with infrastructure and its harder to get around. When these cities start to age as NY has, wait and see how they deal with their cheap infrastructure....taxes, taxes, taxes... I have alot of gripes with some things here too, don't get me wrong I have a laundry list. But compared to what I've put up with, I say I lucked out moving back up here.
For anybody who wants a less intrusive government, less taxes, and the ability to live like MOST of America lives. I don't want to live like people in London or Paris. Give me a house, a backyard, nice weather and I'll be fine.
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