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.
Congrats to the OP on the new opportunity in NYC. You sound like you may be in investment banking, which a good childhood friend of mine is in. He spent three years in NY and then got married and moved to Charlotte, NC to work with Wells Fargo.
Last time we spoke (Christmas time) he was loving life living like a king on a NY salary in North Carolina. He did say if he had not married, he would have never left in NY for the same reasons you are moving there for.
I don't know about you, but when people reference NYC they mean Manhattan, IME. If I'm going to NYC it means I'm going to NYC. If I'm going to Brooklyn like I did last weekend, I say I'm going to Brooklyn. That's how I was raised and seems to be common parlance. Heck, even in places like Yonkers, the people that live there say we're going into "the city", meaning, NYC, meaning Manhattan. No one says when they're moving to the Bronx that they're moving to NYC.
When I moved to Chicago, or visited Chicago, we just said Chicago.
If you're outside the city limits of NYC, going to the City means any of the boroughs minus Staten Island. Especially when discussing something with someone who doesn't know NYC well, people refer to any of the 4 relevant boroughs as "the City." If it's a group of people from the Tri-State who know NYC well, you'll specify the borough, rather than referring to a location as in the City. If you're in NYC and something is in an outer borough, you use the borough name. If you're in NYC and you are referencing something in Manhattan, then it's in the City.
A few examples.
If a Queens resident is visiting the West Coast and someone asks where they're from, they'll say NYC. However, if the West Coast resident is from the Tri-State or very familiar with NYC, the Queens resident would say they live in Queens.
If a Manhattan resident is visiting the West Coast and someone asks where they're from, they'll say NYC. However, if the West Coast resident is from the Tri-State or very familiar with NYC, the Manhattan resident will say they live in Manhattan.
If either of the two individuals above are visiting LI or NJ, they'd both say they live in the City.
I live in Jersey City. When I talk to friends in JC about plans, if it's anywhere in NYC, I say it's in the City. If I'm discussing plans to go out in Manhattan with a friend from Brooklyn, we use the City. If I'm discussing plans to go out in Brooklyn with friends from anywhere within NYC, I'll say it's in Brooklyn. However, see above for referring to plans in Brooklyn with friends living outside NYC city limits.
So, it really depends on context how someone should refer to Manhattan/NYC.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,937 posts, read 36,943,649 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by jessemh431
If you're outside the city limits of NYC, going to the City means any of the boroughs minus Staten Island. Especially when discussing something with someone who doesn't know NYC well, people refer to any of the 4 relevant boroughs as "the City." If it's a group of people from the Tri-State who know NYC well, you'll specify the borough, rather than referring to a location as in the City. If you're in NYC and something is in an outer borough, you use the borough name. If you're in NYC and you are referencing something in Manhattan, then it's in the City.
A few examples.
If a Queens resident is visiting the West Coast and someone asks where they're from, they'll say NYC. However, if the West Coast resident is from the Tri-State or very familiar with NYC, the Queens resident would say they live in Queens.
If a Manhattan resident is visiting the West Coast and someone asks where they're from, they'll say NYC. However, if the West Coast resident is from the Tri-State or very familiar with NYC, the Manhattan resident will say they live in Manhattan.
If either of the two individuals above are visiting LI or NJ, they'd both say they live in the City.
I live in Jersey City. When I talk to friends in JC about plans, if it's anywhere in NYC, I say it's in the City. If I'm discussing plans to go out in Manhattan with a friend from Brooklyn, we use the City. If I'm discussing plans to go out in Brooklyn with friends from anywhere within NYC, I'll say it's in Brooklyn. However, see above for referring to plans in Brooklyn with friends living outside NYC city limits.
So, it really depends on context how someone should refer to Manhattan/NYC.
I've never lived in NYC or any part of the City of New York and never found this to be the case, but I've never lived as close as JC. When I lived in SF, or Madison, or Boston or Chicago and met people from Staten Island, or Yonkers, that's what they said (with pride). None ever said New York City that I can recall. And people that lived in Manhattan said they live in NYC and all knew what they meant; now, people that moved to Manhattan recently sometimes say Manhattan, but that's a newby thing I think.
I guess if someone was in a more rural/small town place, saying the Bronx or Yonkers wouldn't mean much to them, and a person might say New York in general.
Anyway, its not really fair to compare the two. Very different places, and Chicago is much much cheaper.
I've never lived in NYC or any part of the City of New York and never found this to be the case, but I've never lived as close as JC. When I lived in SF, or Madison, or Boston or Chicago and met people from Staten Island, or Yonkers, that's what they said (with pride). None ever said New York City that I can recall. And people that lived in Manhattan said they live in NYC and all knew what they meant; now, people that moved to Manhattan recently sometimes say Manhattan, but that's a newby thing I think.
I guess if someone was in a more rural/small town place, saying the Bronx or Yonkers wouldn't mean much to them, and a person might say New York in general.
Anyway, its not really fair to compare the two. Very different places, and Chicago is much much cheaper.
It is. But it's personal preference. The income that OP is getting will allow him to be very comfortable in NYC. He would have a higher standard of living in Chicago, but he will not be struggling in NYC at all. For many, the more expensive COL is worth it to call NYC home as long as your income can support your preferred lifestyle in NYC.
Congrats to the OP on the new opportunity in NYC. You sound like you may be in investment banking, which a good childhood friend of mine is in. He spent three years in NY and then got married and moved to Charlotte, NC to work with Wells Fargo.
Last time we spoke (Christmas time) he was loving life living like a king on a NY salary in North Carolina. He did say if he had not married, he would have never left in NY for the same reasons you are moving there for.
Thank you I very much appreciate this. I’m very excited for the opportunity and a bit humbled by the offer I received. I actually work in mergers and acquisitions tax for a Big 4 firm.
Yeah it sounds like NYC has everything I’m looking for at this stage of my life.
I don't know about you, but when people reference NYC they mean Manhattan, IME. If I'm going to NYC it means I'm going to NYC. If I'm going to Brooklyn like I did last weekend, I say I'm going to Brooklyn. That's how I was raised and seems to be common parlance. Heck, even in places like Yonkers, the people that live there say we're going into "the city", meaning, NYC, meaning Manhattan. No one says when they're moving to the Bronx that they're moving to NYC.
This isn't true. When people say "The City" locally, they mean Manhattan, but "New York City" means anywhere in the Five Boroughs. Most people coming in from out of town will stay say "New York City" even if they are talking about Queens.
Talk about beating a dead horse, when referring to Manhattan it’s “the City”. When we were directing an out of town truck to deliver this week to a pier in the City we texted “285 South St Manh.”
This isn't true. When people say "The City" locally, they mean Manhattan, but "New York City" means anywhere in the Five Boroughs. Most people coming in from out of town will stay say "New York City" even if they are talking about Queens.
Yep. Anybody who has lived in NYC for long enough knows this. I remember asking people if they lived in the city when I first moved here, internally wondering if they lived anywhere in the 5 boroughs. And they'd be like "No, I live in Brooklyn" - took me a little bit to realize "The City" specifically means Manhattan. Also surprisingly, I've found that some transplants who haven't lived in NYC for more than a year and don't know a lot about NYC think that the outer boroughs aren't part of NYC.
Quote:
Originally Posted by timberline742
I would suggest Chicago on the OPs salary, I think its one of the best big cities for its money in the U.S.
But re the bolded, that's just hogwash. NYC is fantastic, but 150k doesn't go near as far in it as Chicago and I think the upper Midwest is just gorgeous (getting easily to Wisconsin accounts for a lot). NYC is MUCH more affluent.
OP already chose NYC so hopefully they end up liking it. It is a great place - though people these days over romanticize it. So much to do and see that it would keep anybody occupied over a lifetime. The same can be said about Chicago as well and other cities of course.
I have lived in both cities (NYC currently) and have made in the range of salary the OP is looking at (but a little more). I made $100K in Chicago and made a little more than $150K in NYC after moving here.
My living situations in both places:
* Chicago: 700 sq ft 1 bedroom in a high rise in Gold Coast (downtown, basically) for $1800/mo (currently I think it's $2000 or $2100 per month) - granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and wood floors. Doorman, gym, pool table, laundry machines that take credit/debit card directly, great view, etc etc. Grocery store across the street, multiple restaurants and bars out my front door - 3 minute walk to 24/7 train line. 6 or 7 minute walk to Michigan Avenue (tons of shopping).
* Manhattan (Upper West Side): 500 sq ft 1 bedroom near Central Park West in a vintage building for $2900/mo. Building's only amenities were an elevator and dingy basement laundry room that only took quarters. Half a**ed renovation of the kitchen done in the early 2000s with uneven cabinet handles, one of those half fridges that wouldn't shut all the way sometimes because they put it into a space that was a half inch too small, creaky and uneven floor boards. The heat and hot water would go out multiple times per winter. During summer months especially, the elevator went out of commission for a day or 2 at a time. At one point, the city issued a violation and it shut down for 2 weeks. The insulation was so bad that in the summer our place would heat up within 10 minutes if not running the A/C continuously. It was bad and made me more aggressive I felt. We also got a roach infestation and the building was constantly calling in exterminators for other units. Keep in mind again this was for $2900/mo.
This was a 2 or 3 minute walk from a train stop which was good and almost across from Central Park which was also good. Nothing out the front door though. The place had character, but most everything else about it sucked about it.
We live in Long Island City now. I was very very much against moving out of Manhattan but in hindsight really glad I did. I wanted to find something similar to what I had in Chicago, but nothing was under $4000/mo that was similar in Manhattan. I didn't want to go over that amount - kept an open mind and ended up liking LIC way more than I thought I would and we found an awesome place with a killer view of Manhattan. More money than the Manhattan place, but worth it. I also feel normal again and not aggressive. Of course, I'm a little older now and more jaded, so not looking to go out drinking every single weekend anymore but weirdly have more out the front door in terms of food than we did in our location in UWS.
Anyway, my living situation in Chicago on over $50,000/year less was much better than it was with my situation while living in Manhattan. Living in Chicago before Manhattan completely and utterly spoiled me. I'm enjoying things a bit more now in LIC weirdly enough, but there's no question in my mind that given the opportunity to make the same amount in Chicago as NYC (and I could - my company will xfer and not adjust salary) I would in a second choose to move back to Chicago - even though I do like NYC a bit. To be completely honest, I think it's hard for a lot of people to fathom what I'm saying until they've been in both situations current day.
Last edited by marothisu; 11-09-2019 at 06:30 AM..
Accepted an offer for $180k so that should make living in NYC a little easier than expected.
I’m planning to live in NoHo area as it’s close to Equinox, Whole Foods, subway and great nightlife. Just submitted a rental application. It’s going to be about $4k a month but it should be worth it.
I have a huge change ahead of me, my entire life is changing. Thanks everyone for providing input and being a part of my journey.
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.
