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IT IS HAPPENING ALL OVER THE US. And it is so out of control in many cities, that the locals are enacting their own laws to get rid of them. LOTS OF PEOPLE TRAVEL, BUT THEY ONLY COME ACROSS OTHER VISITORS' IN THE SAME AREA. TO LEARN, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ANY PARTICULAR CITY/TOWN, ETC., ONE HAS TO BE ABLE TO TALK AT LARGE WITH THE PEOPLE THAT LIIIIIIIIIVE THERE, and stay for a period of time, researching, reading the daily local papers, and checking the older local news. Most of the cities in California, Florida, and Las Vegas, have a very transient population, along with lots of problems. And lots of cities/town do not emphazise their problems due to being afraid of scaring tourists away, like the State of New Jersey, the newspapers there barely mention crime. Except, that I worked for over 25 years in Emergency Medicine in many towns, and I know that is loaded with drugs, alcohol, and the homeless, but because it is spread out, it is hidden. The Media in NY reports everything. NEW YORKERS NEED TO VIEW other cities' forums, like Orlando, Bradenton, Miami, Sarasota, in Florida, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Chicago, LAS VEGAS, and San Bernardino County, Long Beach, Compton, Van Nuys, Oakland, in California, to see that our problem is NOT ONLY A NEW YORK PROBLEM. One of our biggest problems besides terrorrism is the amount of gangs that are emanating from our country's jail system , who are controlling the drug industry. HELLO, PEOPLE WAKE UP!!!!!!: WHITE GANGS, BLACK GANGS, LATINO/SPANISH/HISPANIC GANGS, and who are taking over these ghettoes. Please, read Glen Beck's new book, and see his program. Is detailed all in there. WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE FOREST and SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE the TREES!!!!!!
I agree with You wholeheartedly! I reside in Southeastern Bergen County, NJ and the property taxes here and in the rest of this state is INSANE!!! Gov. Corzine (to me aka: Terpentine) is trying to indirectly find to create other "taxes" as if NJ-ians don't pay enough for COL. This state is in huge debt in the 30's billions as well as underfunded pensions and I only see the COL in NJ will only get worse. This illegal immigration is pretty close to my "back door" as the town of Fairview (thank goodness I don't live there) has become illegal immigrants heaven - as a result crime has skyrocketed in all facets, gangs of them hanging out on sidestreets and the main avenue Anderson Avenue. One would be justified of being afraid to walk alone there once nightfall takes place as I would think they can jump someone for a few $$$ from their wallet/purse. The politicians will do nothing to alleviate this problem as some in office are of the same nationality. Don't get me wrong - I HATE NOBODY, but I DO DESPISE someone here illegally and using the services MINE and the rest of the US citizens taxpayers pay for and to top it off if I were to need some of these services - because my last name isn't of the what the illegals are - I would get denied, me a born, bred US CITIZEN!
I spoke to a lady living paycheck to paycheck and she had to go to the hospital for an accident, however because she had NO insurance because she couldn't afford it she got very minimal assistance/care. She was told by one of the hospital staff to change her last name to the type the illegals have and then she would get 100% help if she were to need care there in the future.
The entire mess stinks here in the NYC metro area as well as most of the US of A.
Hi everyone,I`m quite new here and I`m a long time New yorker;Staten Islander to be exact.
I do love it here. It has it`s pros and cons. It may not be perfect, but it`s where my family is at, its`s the life I have known for some years, and it`s hard to change that.
There`s lots of culture, history and excitement here and there are times where I may grouse about the cons, but I wouldn`t exchange this place for any other.....
You live on Staten Island,? so do I, and I also love it. I live in the South Shore, what area do you live in? I am getting overwhelmed by all these people complaining, so I need to remain away from these forums for a while. Happy Holidays!
here's the deal, if NY was in a tropical setting/weather, it would be PERFECT.
in NYC, you have access to the best, most reliable public transportation. Whine if you will about the increased subway rate, 2 bucks gets you ANYWHERE. stop whining, and fougetaboutit. haw haw.
LOTS of cultural and entertainment opportunities, great nightlife. cultural diversity is impressive! CBGB'S was one birthplace to a genre I hold near and dear. NYC streets have such a storied history.....despite the noise, NYC is a living, breathing creature that demands attention Coney Island in Brooklyn is a must, each bourough has its own identity.
ANYTHING you need to buy etc. NYC has. trust me.
I miss it everyday
DO NOT believe the hype about crime. I felt less safe in Buffalo, NY.
Stats show NYC is below fed. average in crime. NYC, overall, is NOT dirty; it is much cleaner and safer than it was in the 80's. you most likely will NOT get mugged and or raped on the subways. too many people aboard as witnesses just use your head and know where you're going....and when in doubt, ASK people WILL stop to help.
LOTS OF advocacy groups to assist with housing, discrimination, civil liberties.
etc. You will have someone to watch your back when push comes to shove.
cons: no joke, NYC is expensive. Housing will cost a pretty penny. There have been a number of affordable housing units going up, as well quite a lot of attention being paid to homeless/poverty situation.
NYC has less of a homeless population than it used to, but it certainly exists.
Powers that be continue to address this issue. Schools have increased in performance, though overcrowding is an issue.
If you can handle the $, and the go go mentality(we move fast, people!) then by all means, come to NYC!
PERFECT place for me if it had permanent CA weather.
"You best believe I'm from New York City!!!!" Johnny Thunders
Not having grown up here, and moving here after I was done with school, I've also found New Yorkers to be very unfriendly. I've lived here 13 years now and I have exactly zero friends here. Of course, some of that is my fault in that I haven't tried hard enough to make friends, but since I was raised in a relatively rural part of South Florida in the late 60s through early 80s, I was used to a culture where you didn't have to pursue making friends like you might have to purse landing a job. On a more negative side, even some people who I considered friends elsewhere who also moved here have not bothered being friendly at all with me in NYC. My perception is that people you do not already know tend to either ignore you, seem afraid of you, or only be interested in using you (and when they find out that you can't progress their careers or social standing, they put you on ignore). It might be different if I were female, too. But I'm not. ;-)
HOWEVER, since you're moving here for school, I suppose that might be a better environment in which to easily make friends. And even without that, New York City IS a very exciting place to live. There is so much cultural stuff to do here, there is so much always going on, there is a tangible "energy" to the city that's infectious. You'll surely love living here at least for awhile (and as long as you don't have to worry about finding a job to pay for a $3500/month apartment).
On the other hand, there's a good chance that some things about New York City will start to get on your nerves after awhile. The crowds, how difficult and time-consuming it can be to travel just a few miles, the ridiculous expense of some things (like driving & parking, Broadway shows, etc.), the soot, the noise, etc. Some people probably never let that stuff get to them. Most newbies probably love it instead--I know I did. But after a few years, it might start to grow old. The best idea is probably to figure that you might want to only live in New York 5-10 years, say, so you'll be prepared (financially, for example) to leave if you want to. You might decide to stay longer, but when those things start to stress you, AND you can't easily get the money or a job elsewhere to enable you to leave, it can be very difficult . . . that's the situation I'm in now, because I made the mistake of assuming I'd never want to live elsewhere once I got here.
I personally love NYC. Probably being I live in south-eastern Queens. It's true life can be hard in the big city, but there are ways to avoid it. First of all, dont join the crowd, its usually better to be a little more isolated. Watch out for the bad neighborhoods. Get a good job and don't rent an apartment. It's much better to find a house. If you don't like it, I recommend moving to the eastern edge of Queens where you get the benefits of the city and you get open space.
There are things I love about New York: the diversity; the availablity all sorts of cultural venues, from world class arts to local ethnic programs; the neighborhoods, which are like small towns; the ocean; the ability, as a previous poster said, to find anything I would want to buy; the tangible energy, so well described by a previous poster; the iconic New York foods, such as bagels and pizza, that never taste right anywhere else; the abilityto explore the city for a lifetime and never run out of things to discover; the sheer fact that NYC is a world city.
There are things I hate about New York: the congestion, the anger; the disparity between rich and poor; the air and water pollution; the rampant dishonesty; the traffic; the time-consuming travel; the sense of menace and danger, even though the city is much safer than it was; the noise (not so much of a problem in Brooklyn, where I live); the astronomical cost of living, which drives so many people out; the sea of concrete; the disconnection from nature; the sheer ugliness and dreariness of so much of the city.
And then there is this: the simple fact that New York is home, with all that that entails. The familiar accents, the familiar smells, the familiar sights, some iconic, some not, the desire to leave, the desire to never leave, the good memories, the bad memories, the ambivalence, the fear that no new place will feel like home (probably not true - home is the familiar place and building where you live.)
It is very likely that in the near future, I will be a Vermonter, but I still love New York. I take comfort from knowing that I will be close enough to drive to New York in a morning or afternoon. And I will probably always have that sense of connection and intimacy with my city. But it will be very difficult to know that I can no longer go home to my old house in Brooklyn.
But who knows? I might discover that I can't wait to get back home to Vermont!
As to why I want to move to Vermont, of all places, that is for other posts. I've posted a lot about that in the past year, on both the Vermont and the NYC forums.
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Sienna Miller called it right
30 posts, read 95,041 times
Reputation: 20
i know I'm not a New Yorker and this may be me pulling a curtain over my eyes but one persons life is not another. The man from the rich areas will not see the New York a poor guy does. Each place no matter what has it's problems and some people take pride in a crime filled NYC because that was the stereotypical New York they were used to. I had an ex from Brooklyn, constantly talking about how dangerous it was and etc... Well, he came here and almost got is butt handed to him in WAL-MART in Pittsburgh, PA. Anywhere can be dangerous, you can hate it anywhere. Why care if someone doesn't love New York? With any hope they'll move away and leave more renting room for people to come in. I'm glad of the way New York is now. I dont want to be hood and I don't care to live in a city of a million plus that thinks mugging is the "truth" whatever. New Yorkers are people just like you and I. Like all people you always have that bunch that is always complaining and wanting/needing something bad to happen. Right now ( and this is shocking) New York is the best it's ever been. Period.
Anyone who really wants problems come to Pittsburgh, Pa and you can see how backwards , old, racist society still managaes to flourish!
"Now, I've been to New York City (generally just Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens) about10times in the past two years, and came in contact with generally friendly people. I was able to strike up conversations with random people at the Port Authority as well as the subway station. This is really why I fell in love with New York, because everyone seemed so accepting. However, now after reading this forum, I feel as though my perceptions of New York have been shattered, and no one is as accepting and friendly as my naive heart wants me to believe.
Please just give me some opinions, and just tell me why you love NYC"
I wish you would rethink your statement above.
Don’t kid yourself and believe that the few people that post here have the authority to speak for all us fellow New Yorkers? I think NOT. I am born and raised here Lived in Queens until I got married in 1986 and moved to the suburbs and commute to the city. I have seen the city go through the 70's, 80's, 90's and now at 2007 I think it's better than ever (a hell of a lot more people walk the streets too). Anyone remember what Union Square used to look like in the 80’s???? It was a toilet.... full of empty buildings and drug dealers in the park (hey all the parks in Manhattan were drug infested), look at it now that whole area is amazing! 42nd Street was filled with porno and prostitutes now look at it. These are just two examples of MANY improvements made to the city over the years – so I guess this is part of what we are paying high prices for. I love New York for its history, its place in the world for being the best city on the planet. Just walk around and look at the old architecture and how beautiful it is. Go to Central Park and look at the beauty there. The museums, Broadway plays, restaurants, stores. New York is so much more than people gripping about how expensive it is to live here - it's the other things that make me love the city. After 9/11 I felt it got damaged in some strange way and it made me love it all that much more. I remember the way the people of its city stuck together and the outpouring of help and love still brings tears to my eyes today. Sure it's expensive, and I guess this is the cost for living in the greatest city on earth I love New York for all it's good and bad and I'm proud to be a native New Yorker!
Last edited by Frangi914; 12-18-2007 at 03:16 AM..
I've been here more than half my life; 20 years out of 33. I'm pretty much done with NYC. I'm tired of being here, which is why i'm making arrangements to get out of dodge. People were friendly with you most likely because of fascination, and in shock that someone actually came and spoke to them they knew you weren't from NYC because 99% don't walk up to strangers to speak. If you can afford it, NY is a great place to live, and it's a wonderful place to visit.
I've been here more than half my life; 20 years out of 33. I'm pretty much done with NYC. I'm tired of being here, which is why i'm making arrangements to get out of dodge. People were friendly with you most likely because of fascination, and in shock that someone actually came and spoke to them they knew you weren't from NYC because 99% don't walk up to strangers to speak. If you can afford it, NY is a great place to live, and it's a wonderful place to visit.
what place have you lived where strangers walk up and start convos with you? I have lived in Texas and Florida also visited every state on the eastern sea board and been to every state along the gulf coast. In my travels in America I have never had someone come up and speak to me out of the blue. Most places in America are like that with the exception of maybe some really small town in Georgia.
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Coney Island in Brooklyn is a must, each bourough has its own identity.
I wish you would rethink your statement above.
I love New York for all it's good and bad and I'm proud to be a native New Yorker! 
