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I've travelled all over the U.S.. 47 states, every major city, and every strech of interstate from begining to end! Most states, half a dozen times. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh. Lived in Chicago off an on since 99'. Lived in Philly for awhile too. NYC is OVER RATED! I'm been here quite a few times since my early 20's. I was way more impressed with it back then, compared to now that I'm my mid 30's. Spent 4 months here last yr. And 2 months so far this yr. Now, that being said, if you got some BIG job here, I can see your point of view. But most working stiffs can't afford, or could less about broadway, and all the other culture stuff. Maybe all of you people are at broadway plays, the opera, musuems, etc. night and day. There again, if you do, I can see your point of view. But what percentage of the average nyc working stiff does any of that ,on any kind regular basis? Not only because of the cost, just because they don't have any interest in it! I'm a blue collar guy. I work construction ( union BOILERMAKER ). Now believe me, I do ok for a blue collar worker. And my scale is higher in nyc than elsewhere. But look what is cost to rent a crappy apt. And forget about buying one here! The average ny'er would love Chicago over NYC if they seen the neighborhoods and the rent prices! $800 a month for a nice 1 bedroom, walk to the lake and beaches. I also make pretty good buc working in Chicago too. And the dollar goes way further! If you were born here that's different. Or the job thing. I thought the Pittsburgh'ers were sensitive! Get a grip !The quality of daily life in Chicago is way better! There's no contest. 100 grand a yr in nyc, is like 40 anywhere else. What gets me is how many people here are impressed with 50 or 60 grand a yr jobs (outer boroughs of course). They're bragging to me about it, then they walk into their beat up apts, who they share with mommy and daddy. And there 30! I don't get ALL the HYPE! Neither should you!
welder, the hype simply boils down to this:
In this city with 8 million+ people, you can experience virtually every culture on this planet without having a passport. We are the city that never sleeps. I really don't think that there has ever been something that I could not find in NYC. Sure, my money may go longer in other places, but its the sheer lack of boredom in those places that makes people come on this forum and ask repeatedly, "Can I make it in NYC?"
I was offered a job for $65K in Myrtle Beach, SC while visiting Atlanta last year and I turned it down. I would rather struggle in NYC than be stuck down south. My cousin lives in Chicago now and he likes it; all he complains about is the winters. But in his mind, nothing beats NYC. And I would rather struggle here than live like a king somewhere else. I was born in Brooklyn, and I'm going to drop dead in Queens. Simple as that.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Page3000, I wanted to add this too. Last week at was bs'ing to a bartender here in a bar in Flushing. White guy, who was born an raised here in Flushing. I only bring his race up cause most people here are asian. Anyway, he just started bar tending a few weeks ago. He's 42 and has a decent union job at the hospital. Makes 50 a yr there. He told me he took the bar tending gig to help make ends meet. He has no kids by the way. He told me that he stays in NYC, "Cause this is where the $ at". Mabye so, but not for him it aint. 42 aint over the hill by any means, but at what point or how old are u going to be when your SHIP COMES IN? At some point, u have to accept, this is my life, and it probably aint going to change all that dramatic. Meaning, more than likely, he'll never own a penthouse over looking Cental Park. Could happen, not likely though. I always said, that by the time u hit your 30 birthday, unless u are constantly moving up in your career, your life wont ever change all that much. There are exceptions. But, for most people, the first 25 yrs alive, will pretty much dictate how u will live for the last 50 yrs of your life. Study hard and sacrafice= better more affluent life. Dont go to school and hang out on street corners drinking and drugging= tough life and struggle to make ends meet. And i'm not saying that anybody who aint highly educated or making big $, somehow wasted their youth. I'm just generalizing. But if u aint a MOVER and Shaker by 30, chances are, you'll never be.
A sad prognosis, if accurate, but an excellent, thought provoking post!
NYC is the place to be for your exceptions to apply - what with two-job opportunities, part-time academic pursuit options, roommate, outer area commuting options while working for that goal.
Also, ships around here are thankfully, not always on time. And they come in all sizes. My friend might be waiting for the Queen Mary while I might be as happy as a lark with a water taxi that brings me around the island.
Page3000, you're still very young and don't have to rush out of NYC. If he gets a good job after college, and u guys are able to live here with a half decent quality of life, maybe you'll decide to stay. If not, maybe when he see's other parts of the country, and how u could live there, maybe he'll change his mind. But San Diego, would almost be like hopping out of the frying pan here, and into the fire there. The rents or owning anything there, aint much different than here. Plus a 9.3 state income tax! SoCal, or California in general, is a very hard place to make it too. To register your vehicle there now, I believe they bumped it from 2%, to 6% of your vehicles worth. And you have to pay that each and every yr. Although your vehicle would be worth less each yr. So naturally u'd pay less each yr. Unless of course u decided to run out and buy a new one. If I decided to leave NYC for better quality of life, California would be off the list. That's one of the reasons Vegas took off the way it did. Californians running there to escape the high cost of Cali. Plus alot of them were cash rich from all the equity from their homes they sold during the housing BOOM. And if u go inland in San Diego, out into the desert, forget the great mild temps that San Diego gets. That desert get hot during the summer. I personally see no point in living in either Cali or Florida if u aint close to the beaches. Even if u dont think the drive is that far, as time goes on u'll do it less and less. Traffic, the price of gas (god only knows how high it might get) parking when u get there, etc. I lived in a bunch of different neighborhoods in Chicago. Even a few miles from the beach, and my visits would drop way off. And the parking is free and easy at the far northern beaches. It's like someone who moves to Flushing Queens and works here. When they first get here, ya there in Mannhattan every weekend and even some week nights. But as time goes on, they go there less and less often. It's just human nature. Maybe it suppose to rain later that day, its too cold, their tired, whatever the reason. I'm sure you'll investigate though before u jump the gun and leave NYC.
Seventhfloor, listen up. U WERE BORN AND RAISED HERE, I GET IT! Have u read any of my post? Lets start off with all the different CULTURES. Do u work at the UN? Most of the immigrants here speak in there native tongue, unless English is neccessary. The city that never SLEEPS? Parts of it. Many other PARTS are sound asleep like anywhere else in america. There is alot of neighborhoods in the outer boroughs that are completely dead at night! Id rather struggle in NYC than live in MYRTLE BEACH too. That place is a ghost town 8 months a yr. Plus what a pain in the butt it is getting off 95 and having that annoying drive into the MYRTLE BEACH area! Myrtle beach is a town, not a city, atleast in my eyes. If a city doesnt have pro sports teams, to me, its a town. Plus that humidity there in the summer is HORRIBLE! I spent last winter here in NYC, it was cold to me. The actual highs in NYC are warmer than Chicago, but I think there's way more humidity in the air here. I felt in Philly too. Lets face it, whether your in NYC or Chicago during the winter time, If your outside, your out there for a reason. Nobody sits outside in either city hanging on a park bench all day.
Seventhfloor, listen up. U WERE BORN AND RAISED HERE, I GET IT! Have u read any of my post? Lets start off with all the different CULTURES. Do u work at the UN? Most of the immigrants here speak in there native tongue, unless English is neccessary. The city that never SLEEPS? Parts of it. Many other PARTS are sound asleep like anywhere else in america. There is alot of neighborhoods in the outer boroughs that are completely dead at night! Id rather struggle in NYC than live in MYRTLE BEACH too. That place is a ghost town 8 months a yr. Plus what a pain in the butt it is getting off 95 and having that annoying drive into the MYRTLE BEACH area! Myrtle beach is a town, not a city, atleast in my eyes. If a city doesnt have pro sports teams, to me, its a town. Plus that humidity there in the summer is HORRIBLE! I spent last winter here in NYC, it was cold to me. The actual highs in NYC are warmer than Chicago, but I think there's way more humidity in the air here. I felt in Philly too. Lets face it, whether your in NYC or Chicago during the winter time, If your outside, your out there for a reason. Nobody sits outside in either city hanging on a park bench all day.
no, i don't work at the UN. but if i feel like experiencing a new culture, i'm sure i can find an outlet for it in this city. and i didnt expect you to take that term (the city that never sleeps) so literally. its a term that describes the entire city, but really refers to manhattan.
my thing is i dont understand why you started this post. NYC has 8+ million people living in it for a reason....maybe the hype is real?
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Hey Miles, I got myself a little depressed with that prognosis LOL. If everybody, only knew, how important the first 25 yrs were. Some do, we call them DOCTORS LOL.....
Seventhfloor, if u read through all my posts, u will understand better. Alot of people here have COMPLETE TUNNEL vision about NYC. And they start bum rapping other cities. And some act like america is a voidless, cultureless, boring wasteland west of the Hudson. Mannhattan is 24 sq miles big, that includes Harlem. Now NYC is what like 327 sq miles in all. So everybody needs to include the outer boroughs a lot more when commenting on NYC. Mannhattan really is just the downtown area of NYC. That's the simplest way to describe it.
Yep, SoCal is hard to make it in. People always harp about NYC and say if you can make it here you can make it anywhere...actually it's more like if you can make it in SoCal you can make it anywhere. In SoCal you have to have a car and the wages are lower and the jobs are more sparse. It's truly difficult. Once I am a nurse though I won't be too worried about any of that. There are several places I wouldn't mind living but I have decided SoCal or NYC will be the places b/c my bf and I have family in both and we should be near one or the other. Personally...I can't f****g wait to be back near the beaches and not have to worry about having seasonal wardrobes!
I like this.....
But I am sooooo looking forward to this again (it's home I suppose):
http://www.sogonow.com/archives/la-jolla-beach2.jpg (broken link)
There are a lot of people in NYC because it's the one of the oldest and most established cities and nothing will ever change that. Some people just don't seem to mind barely getting by to be able to say that they live here, in NYC. Regardless,even if they leave..people will keep on coming. I think most cities are full of hype anyway. It's all a matter of preference once you get there.
Seventhfloor, about the hype. Some of NYC lives up to the hype (AGAIN, mostly MANNHATTAN though). And the rest of it, well its just HYPE! What places or things in this world ever do live up to the hype? U know what I've learned about taking vacations or trips. Never set your expectations too high, and u wont get disappointed when u get there. I learned that the hard way.
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