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Why would a resident of Uptown Chicago be familiar with the Loop but an Astoria resident not be familiar with Downtown Manhattan (or Uptown Manhattan for that matter)? That makes no sense, especially considering there is probably like 10x more action in Downtown Manhattan than there is in the Loop.
Besides, "familiar with" is kind of a different metric. I would say that if the hypothetical "hang-out area" for an Uptown Chicago resident is everything between the Loop and Evanston, then for an Astoria resident it would be 1/2 of Queens, everything in Manhattan from Uptown down, as well as some areas in Brooklyn like Greenpoint, Williamsburgh, Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights.
Because you don’t have to travel far to do things so you don’t. There is no good reason to go to Washington Heights because you can get mofongo in Queens. There is no reason to go all the way Downtown when you can just get off in Midtown. It’s not that Chinatown or Harlam are boring there is just enough inbetween Astoria and those places there isn’t a justification for going all that way.
Every place is like that. Even down to like Philadelphia sized cities. People just don’t go all the way across town. Cause you don’t really have to for anything
Familiar is not “aware of its existence”. Familiar is “knows multiple places to go in said neighborhood”
Because you don’t have to travel far to do things so you don’t. There is no good reason to go to Washington Heights because you can get mofongo in Queens. There is no reason to go all the way Downtown when you can just get off in Midtown. It’s not that Chinatown or Harlam are boring there is just enough inbetween Astoria and those places there isn’t a justification for going all that way.
Every place is like that. Even down to like Philadelphia sized cities. People just don’t go all the way across town. Cause you don’t really have to for anything
Familiar is not “aware of its existence”. Familiar is “knows multiple places to go in said neighborhood”
Which harps on my point. There's not really a solid great reason other than the known ones such as corporate job ceiling to justify the huge markup to live in NYC.
I also think it's rediculous that we're even using cost factor to justify Chicago. Chicago is a great global city, even if you're a billionaire.
Because you don’t have to travel far to do things so you don’t. There is no good reason to go to Washington Heights because you can get mofongo in Queens. There is no reason to go all the way Downtown when you can just get off in Midtown. It’s not that Chinatown or Harlam are boring there is just enough inbetween Astoria and those places there isn’t a justification for going all that way.
Every place is like that. Even down to like Philadelphia sized cities. People just don’t go all the way across town. Cause you don’t really have to for anything
Familiar is not “aware of its existence”. Familiar is “knows multiple places to go in said neighborhood”
If you think that Downtown and Midtown are completely interchangeable in terms of their character and the range of attractions they offer then you obviously know very little about NYC, so there is no point in continuing this debate.
If you think that Downtown and Midtown are completely interchangeable in terms of their character and the range of attractions they offer then you obviously know very little about NYC, so there is no point in continuing this debate.
You obviously know very little how people operate.
People will to go clearly inferior places cause it’s marginally closer. Like Gas stations next to the highway are like $0.40 more expensive cause it takes a whole 3 minutes to drive into town.
There are a ton of businesses whose entire model is based on being at marginally more convenient locations.
If you can do something “close enough” in Long Island City or the UES , you’re just not going to go to Tribeca.
So with the average cost of rent in NYC approaching $3500, and a comparable place in Chicago costing less than $2000, I, being a prospective NYC renter, wanted to know what things about NYC make it worth living there?
1) What is something you encounter on a daily basis that makes you glad you're paying a premium to live in NYC?
2) What is something you can experience in NYC that you can't get in Chicago?
I'm not counting proximity to nearby places as an experience, because one could easily travel from Chicago to those same places at a lower cost (as compared to living in NYC just to be closer).
I have lived in NYC (Manhattan) and I have spent time all over the immediate Tri-state. I have also lived in Chicago (near North side) and I have spent time all over the metro area.
It’s simply personal preference and feel. I would spend time in both places. If you only know one of them, take a trip to the other.
Both are great places. (don’t listen to parochial/provincial types from either place)
If you have more specific questions feel free to reach out.
I have lived in NYC (Manhattan) and I have spent time all over the immediate Tri-state. I have also lived in Chicago (near North side) and I have spent time all over the metro area.
It’s simply personal preference and feel. I would spend time in both places. If you only know one of them, take a trip to the other.
Both are great places. (don’t listen to parochial/provincial types from either place)
If you have more specific questions feel free to reach out.
You obviously know very little how people operate.
People will to go clearly inferior places cause it’s marginally closer. Like Gas stations next to the highway are like $0.40 more expensive cause it takes a whole 3 minutes to drive into town.
There are a ton of businesses whose entire model is based on being at marginally more convenient locations.
If you can do something “close enough” in Long Island City or the UES , you’re just not going to go to Tribeca.
So just to confirm -- you are saying there are no unique offerings or attractions anywhere in Downtown Manhattan, that are distinct from Midtown or the UES or LIC, that would attract someone from Astoria? As opposed to the amazingly vibrant and unique Chicago Loop that is more likely to attract someone from Uptown Chicago. Did I get that right?
Thanks. An additional piece of general advice I would give is to not be afraid to move or to try something new. The world doesn’t end if it doesn’t work out. You can always move back or to an additional new place. Or you may like it a lot.
For all the talk about the magnitude of city attractions in New York, barriers to travel is a factor. The simple fact is you can get to most of Chicago's easier. It's just much easier to get around -- shorter distances, far fewer geographical barriers, more comprehensive street grid, less traffic density, car ownership is far easier (though still an absolute PITA in some lakeshore neighborhoods), etc. The less you have to fight to get to these attractions, the more likely you are to avail yourself of them.
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