Teach in Manhattan/Rent there/Single. Eagerly planning to leave Hawaii. (New York: crime, hotels)

[nanette3]

Those who would like to correspond about Hawaii, I'd love to correspond with you! I am eager to give any help I can give, and information about actual conditions here.

Have been in Hawaii 16 + years. Was born in Manhattan. Haven't been back East since I left for Hawaii.

Where could I look for information on safety of neighborhoods for me as living places? Specifically, at the moment, upper west side. The schools with openings in my field that I am thinking are in a "doable" area for me, are the ones that mention Columbia, Museum of Natural History, etc. as being in the neighborhood.

Please comment on: living roughly in the area of for example, 134 West 122nd street, or 234 West 109th street. And getting into and out of these areas would be useful.

Please also comment on farther north - on getting into and out of Harlem, for example, were I to find a position there.

Please also comment on boroughs close to above areas of Manhattan, single female, safe via subway. Although living in Manhattan is preferred.

My impression is that neighborhoods vary, and that, in general, things have improved in terms of safety for a single white female. Just don't know much at this point. Do know I am a big walker. An ok option for me: living a fairly long, but daylight safe, walking distance from work.

Lived in New York in the '80's and was on the East Side. Not aiming for it, now. Interest is not in safe comfort, more in branching out into diversity and a moderate degree of challenge. Hawaii = one state to which "laid back" applies. That is on the surface; there is a heavy military presence here, and we are gearing up to monitor for depleted uranium not too far from Hilo,where I live (!)

Thank you. Thank you!

NANETTE3

[mead]

Don't know if I have any helpful answers to your question, but its an interesting post nevertheless.

Why are you leaving Hawaii? Most people on the east coast think of Hawaii as being some type of dream land.

The city is completely different from 16 years ago. It will basically be like night and day for you. You left when everything was at its worst and now, at least crime wise and safety, everything is pretty good.

[nanette3]

Originally Posted by mead

Don't know if I have any helpful answers to your question, but its an interesting post nevertheless.

Why are you leaving Hawaii? Most people on the east coast think of Hawaii as being some type of dream land.

The city is completely different from 16 years ago. It will basically be like night and day for you. You left when everything was at its worst and now, at least crime wise and safety, everything is pretty good.

Thanks for writing. What you said is exactly what I was thinking would be the case. It's interesting how the reputation of a place spreads.

- i will write more about hawaii. If you have any comments at all do write. I won't be insulted if there is some anomaly that I am unaware of in q's i asked. People read, but didn't reply. ne

[mead]

What about the whole Howlee thing? Is it really bad, or do you just deal with it?

[holden125]

There is a lot there to respond to. Pretty much the whole UWS is daylight safe for walking. I know the 234 West 109th location well, it's PS 165. Generally speaking the Upper West Side from 60th up to past 86th is safe but expensive and prosperous/yuppie. North of 86th the same is true for west of Broadway going really all the way past the Columbia campus.

East of Broadway between 96th and 106th, there are some large public housing projects and a large Latin population. The area from 106th to 110th, where the school is located, is also heavily Latin but has a lot of walkup tenement type buildings. That very block as a lot of tenement buildings and has flags of PR, DR, Mexico and some other Latin countries strung across the street. It's urban and gritty and diverse and not particularly laid back. You might also be interested the area between 120th and 125th, Morningside Dr. to Riverside Dr.

At 110th and Amsterdam you have St. John the Divine Cathedral and Amsterdam Ave. almost immediately becomes more white, upscale, and expensive, with a heavy Columbia and hospital influence. I used to work at St. John the Divine and get a sandwich at the bodega on 109/Amsterdam for half the price they got between 110/111. Mostly gone are the days when the Columbia area was considered dangerous and the fancy restaurants are creeping below 110th as well.

For getting there, the 1 train (still the 1/9 to me!) stops at 110th and Broadway, the B/C trains stop down the hill at 110/CPW. Bus across 110th and bus lines up the avenues. Broadway, Amsterdam/Columbus.

The other location is between 6th and 7th (Lenox, A.C. Powell) and I don't know as much about it but it's central Harlem and has a much larger African-American population. People say the area is much safer than 16 years ago. the 2/3 trains go to 125th and Lenox/6th, the A/B/C/D near 125th and 8th (Frederick Douglass) or St. Nicholas. Harlem generally is served by subway lines that go up Lexington (4/5/6), Lenox (2/3), St. Nick (A/B/C/D) and Broadway (1). All stop at or near 125, 135, 145, 155. Buses on these cross streets and up several avenues as well.

The Bronx is the closest other boro to the UWS, Queens and Brooklyn are doable if you're willing to spend at least 45 minutes on the train and/or walk a lot.

[nanette3]

Thank you both. This will help, a lot, Holden. As soon as I consider leaving here, I of course become aware of all the beautiful aspects of it - beautiful flowers, fruit on trees in Honolulu (and of course here - such as avocados, lemons, tangerines, bananas, grapefruits, noni (sniff sniff) persimmons, lychees, pumpkin pie fruit, (harder to find) and others - and others you have not heard of - I think some of the above you have not heard of. Details available upon request. One fruit from the "heavenly planets" is the DURIAN. Look that up on the internet. We don't have so much of it here, but because we are definitely white minority and large Asian - people know about the DURIAN. It is against the law to eat it in public in Malaysia. Again, do your research and find out why. Come to Honolulu, and buy it at the outdoor market. Maybe you can get it in nyc.

I digress. Hawaii is becoming a country club. Most comfortable here are the people coming here who are completely financially set, and those who are "locals" - who are descendants of sugar plantation workers, who have lived here for generations. There are two limitededly intersecting worlds, more and more (but that is true not only in Hawaii). My reason for leaving includes that I am .... hate to say this, but in a lot of ways, bored. This is surprising - not my usual complaint. Last year, I was in prayer mode (yes) - and used all the surroundings as a kind of prayer walking place. This year, my mood is very different. My only entertainment is Border's, browsing the magazines. TV is big here, and internet, of course. But I don't watch tv, and try to keep my internet stuff within some kind of limits. I have friends, good ones, who I will always be thankful for having known. It's been a great experience, fantastic, in fact. This really is a special place....but...........not heaven on earth. No place is. And it depends what you are looking for and what really warms your heart. Beautiful scenery has its limitations.

Since this is the real world, there is an underlying current of military here, and since I became clued better in on the truths surrounding 9/11 (I once worked in the WTC) and the general history (go to www.youtube.com and search "federal reserve" - then watch the history lesson: Zeitgeist videos parts 1-5, especially parts 1-4). Anyway.... Hawaii has large Stryker vehicles that are in the news fairly often, and the military holds live fire trainings of various sorts, and the soil has depleted uranium in parts of the island. I don't worry much about that, because it doesn't affect me personally.... but I am a person attuned to Undercurrents in situations, especially situations as supposedly idyllic as this one. Bottom line: the educational system, which became my job home here in Hawaii, is not rigorous, no matter what is done to try to make it so. It seems cynical, but it seems to prepare workers for the tourist industry. The Big Island has its hotels, where people from the east side of the island work. The best job here, is a state job.

For someone originally from the east coast - here is a big adjustment - just take the quality of the newspapers. A major shock. Of course, now that I more clearly understand that all our mainstream press is heavily controlled - I just take all newspapers with a grain of salt. Still... The New York Times, ah, what a pleasure to read.

This is a mystical place, a beautiful place, but not a perfect place, and not a place with diversity, really. There is no one dominant population, except perhaps the Japanese. There is a reason in history for everything, here, of course. As for haole references, I have not had a problem with it. I have been lucky, here, actually - and fortunate to have been able to stay as long as I have.

I have much more to say, so, may write again. Waikiki is a magical place, even though it is city. I recommend visiting Honolulu. Oahu, the isle it's on, is a truly beautiful place. But - even that island, the most sophisticated, is isolated from the mainland and its diversity and issues. That may be desirable for people who want to move here.

[MissA55]

Sistah Nanette, I hear you. I grew up in Manhattan and moved to Hawaii after college. I stayed there 9 years, which was about 8 years too long. There were days I was so bored out of my mind I wanted to jump off Diamond Head. And this was before the internet was invented so I didn't even have that as an option. I was constantly broke, searching for a better career, better home, better car...I just found it impossible to get ahead. I think there were times I had 3 different part time jobs at the same time and still could barely pull in 20 grand a year. In the end, I sold everything (which wasn't much) and moved to San Diego where I now enjoy a wonderful career as a teacher. I own a home and a car built in the 21st century that I can drive for more than an hour and not be at the end of the road. Hawaii will never change - time seems to stand still there, no progress and yes, a country club of sorts for those who have an endless supply of money to play. Get out while you can, sistah. Even if it's not back to NYC, trust me, you'll be happier anywhere on the mainland. You can always go back and visit...it's way more fun being a tourist than a kamaaina.

[nanette3]

Originally Posted by MissA55

Sistah Nanette, I hear you. I grew up in Manhattan and moved to Hawaii after college. I stayed there 9 years, which was about 8 years too long. There were days I was so bored out of my mind I wanted to jump off Diamond Head. And this was before the internet was invented so I didn't even have that as an option. I was constantly broke, searching for a better career, better home, better car...I just found it impossible to get ahead. I think there were times I had 3 different part time jobs at the same time and still could barely pull in 20 grand a year. In the end, I sold everything (which wasn't much) and moved to San Diego where I now enjoy a wonderful career as a teacher. I own a home and a car built in the 21st century that I can drive for more than an hour and not be at the end of the road. Hawaii will never change - time seems to stand still there, no progress and yes, a country club of sorts for those who have an endless supply of money to play. Get out while you can, sistah. Even if it's not back to NYC, trust me, you'll be happier anywhere on the mainland. You can always go back and visit...it's way more fun being a tourist than a kamaaina.

Thank you for a most welcome post, which I can reread anytime.

Yes, "get out while you can, sistah" is accurate. Many people born here cannot even leave - even for Kona and Honolulu. The mainland is in another galaxy. That is ok. My point is: people not born here have to eventually make a decision. Underneathe the surface, things are set, here. Those not born here either have to accept being on the outside, or move. Even living in a gated community doesn't change that - with a golf course, and no contact with the people born here, or little contact. The public schools teach the kids who would find it difficult in general, to adjust to or even want to consider, a move to the mainland. The private schools, teach everyone who can afford to go to them. Anyway.....because of the safety nets (various types) people establish here, it is quite difficult, impossible? after a point, for people coming here to leave. Most work beneathe their abilities to stay. There are no glamourous settings. Period. imho