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I'm a 28-year-old public school math teacher, born and bred in Southeast Queens, NY. I've never been away from NY for more than two weeks. I just wanted to list my personal pros and cons about living in NYC:
PROS
1) Food (so many people, and so many restaurateurs, you're bound to find something you want to eat)
2) Ethnic diversity: my folks emigrated from Nigeria in the late 70s, so that's relevant to me
3) Convenience and availability of stuff (trains, buses, 24 hour everything, etc.)
4) The number of merchants in any particular industry (also a con--see below)
Aesthetics (not architecture; people, cars, etc)
5) My swagger (being raised in NY in the 80s and 90s would give anyone that)
6) Relative safety (for such a major city, crime is pretty stable)
7) Moderate weather year-round (no tornadoes, doesnt snow so much, temperatures hardly go over 100 degrees, etc)
CONS
1) The absurd cost of living:
Southeast Queens is now probably the cheapest part of New York city besides East NY (who wants to live there???) and you will still pay $450 - $500K for a 3/4 bedroom house. On a teacher's salary, even with two master's degrees, the mortgage would be equal to my net income!!!
Not to mention downtown Bklyn, Harlem, Western Queens, etc. where people are happy to pay $1500 for a 1 bedroom apartment. Products/food are cheap, but housing and services (obviously) are not. I cannot subscribe to the "fortune to live in a box" standard. Ridiculous.
*Also, the lack of an affordable suburb is a problem. Most cities have a nearby suburb which is more affordable, allowing middle-class residents to remain in the area (within 20-30 miles). New York does not. Manhattan is for the rich and suicidal, and the suburbs are for 10 or 12 family members to cram into one house.
2) Lack of sufficient pay for public service employees:
I check other cities' salaries for teachers, and the pay is no more than 10% lower than it is for teachers in NY (ex - a teacher starts at about $43K in NY, and about $38 - 39K almost everywhere else--even in Atlanta, which is much, much cheaper than NY). How does that add up???
3) Public school system:
Huge bureaucracy, wasted money on silly projects, not enough given to teachers, aides and resources. I wouldn't put my kid in these schools. Just take my word for it. It sucks.
4) Tickets and other fees:
My brother got his car towed in Manhattan last night (at 2 in the morning!!!), and he paid $185 in towing fees, and $150 for the ticket. Why would you tow away a vehicle at 2am which does not have any other tickets? There's no street cleaning going on at that time! Tickets all cost over $100 except feeding the meter, and sometimes you park your car never being quite sure of if you're violating some parking regulation or not.
5) Congestion: New York is just too damn crowded. Period.
6) Roads: I drive almost everywhere, and a car that can run for 200K miles anywhere else in the U.S. would last like 120K miles here. The roads literally take 40 - 50% off the life of your car. They're that bad.
7) Rudeness of the residents (or pick any word you want to describe us -- we're nasty and uptight; and I'm no exception, but you almost cant help it. It's the rat race).
8) The NYPD (My personal pet peeve - I almost always seem to fit 'the description'...it would take too long to get into detail about my encounters with the 'BEAST', so I'll leave it at that)
9) Lack of viable entrepreneurial opportunities
Sure, you can start a business. But at what cost? Also, how many other people are doing the same business you just started? One thousand? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? How much can you possibly make to cover the ridiculous bills? A guy who owns a deli across the street from the school where I teach pays $6000 per month (+ utilities) for a store which is about the size of a two-bedroom apartment. How much profit can you make? You can check www.forbes.com and check 'Best Cities to Start a Business'.
As you can see, the primary gripes I have tie into one single factor: $$$. If NY were more affordable, then why not stick it out here? I was born here and its all I know. But I have always been of the view that I cant live where I cant afford to own, so that basically forces me OUT!
Last edited by teacherman79; 12-22-2007 at 09:36 PM..
NYC is a great place to live of you have alot of money. If you make under 100g a year move somewhere else. It's like anywhere, it's only great if you have money. You will pay alot more for alot less but that is the price you pay to live in NY. I personally live on LI right now but am moving to Texas in 2 weeks. I just bought a 3/2/2 House outside of Houston for a little over 100g where here on LI it would cost me $600,000. Like I said, It's nice if you have the money and if you don't mind paying alot more for alot less then NY is the way to go. Good luck.
Hi,
Thank you for all of your input. It has been really interesting to read, now that I have lived here for four months. Maybe I'm just in the honeymoon phase right now, but I am in love with New York City. I really don't have a lot of money, I get $40 a week to spend hah, and I find that totally doable for entertainment. However, I usually only leave my dorm (I am consumed by homework!) on the weekends and venture out into the City that Never Sleeps, and have been able to do all that my heart desires for that $40, such as going to dinner in Chinatown for $5 on Friday, then seeing a movie in Times Square for $12 (transportation would be $4 for the subway, since Chinatown is walking distance for me) then enjoying a day of walking down Museum Mile and visiting the MET, giving a donation of $5, and then Sunday going jogging in Central Park, then getting a slice of pizza for $2.50, then taking a walk on the brooklyn bridge and exploring. I find myself very well entertained. Maybe it's because I go to school here, or because I don't have bills to worry about, or taxes, or any of the other frequent stressors of people living in this wonderful city, but I can't really find any cons right now. I even find standing on a crowded subway entertaining, but I'm sure I'll get over it soon enough.
All I Can Say Is The Only Crime In Nyc That Happens Is Drugs And Robbery Not Weird Stuff Like What Happens In Other States Like Serial Killing And People Taking Babies Out Of People Stomachs. Killings In Nyc Are Usually Personally Problems In Which I Mean They Have Beef With Someone Or They Dont Just Like That Person , And Also Im Talking About The Boroughs Like Manhattan , Queens , Bronx , Staten Island , Brooklyn Not Upstate That Can Be Considered Another State. Not Like Other Places Where The Feel Depress They Kill There School Mates Or Shoppers. Am I Right Or Wrong? Someone Or People Send Feedback On My Comment.
You know what's funny when I tell people why would I move out of NYC, because there's sooooooooo much to do like clubs, museums, countless restaurants, and the various neighborhoods that most have their own distinct flavor, and other cities are not like that. Well i'm married with a child, and I don't go to night clubs anymore, museums on occassion ( I went to one in 2007), no restaurants really (IHOP 1x), and numerous trips to the various fast food restaurants near where I live (popeyes, mcdonalds, pizza, and of course chinese food). So what's in NYC for me?? With prices of rent going steadily up which I can barely afford, the cost of everything, the constant noise (I live on 2 bus lines, and half mile from 3 hospitals). New York has it's thrills, i've lived here since the age of 13 and now i'm 33. New York is a great city if you're looking for the hustle and bustle, and the ability to get something to eat at 2am for the truly hungry. But it is overcrowded. NYC is the most densely populated city in the world with an average of 165,000 people living per square mile. There are times when you will miss being anywhere when you leave especially if you've been there a long time because you have so many memories, and experienced much. I know there are a lot of things I will miss when I move, such as convenience. I live right across the the street from a supermarket, a chinese food restaurant, a barbershop/hair salon, 2 corner stores, a West Indian Restaurant, and Fried Chicken spot, a laundromat, and a dry cleaner. I live halfway between two train stations, and along 3 bus lines. I will also miss walks in Prospect Park to commune with the little bit of nature that is here. Then again I won't miss my noisy neighbors who every day make noise until the wee hours (3am), 2 bus lines rolling outside my window 24/7, people that yell in the street until the wee hours almost every day, cars rolling by with their systems blasting music half the night, and the sounds of ambulances, firetrucks, and police cars that play their siren even though it's not an emergency, and the car alarms going off in unison, almost like a choir. I will not miss the overcrowded train, of UHO people coming on the train asking for money and passing out sandwiches, the dirtiness, smells and stenches of the train, the bubble gum cakes on the bus seats, and the consistent rudeness of people and the lack of community here.
New or old, there is a heart beat in NY which can only be found in NY. New York folks are notoriously grumpy by Reputation, and notoriously kind in Fact. Yes, it takes money to keep body and soul together in the City, but you can do it.
Jen, your experience will be fantastic - spanning the full range of emotion, and always moving Forward. I am (I confess...) just a bit jealous, wanting to be in those shoes again. Grab your bootstraps and jump in...
Jen, great to hear you are enjoying yourself. My college years in this city were some of the greatest times of my life. Living on $40/week somehow seemed easy back in '98. Just being here and walking around was all the entertainment I needed. After college I moved out of NY for a couple years to get job experience in a less expensive town. I moved back about two years ago and still love it. It is a very different experience living here than going to school here, though. That $40 turned into $200, the packed rush hour subway rides are now a grind, and writing that rent check every month is no picnic. Still, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. NY is tough but what's the fun in drifting through life without a challenge?
Lived here practically my whole life but I love this city mainly b/c of the education I've gotten here. Believe me it is the best. I don't care what they tell you about Harvard or Stanford, Manhattan is the best place to go to school. Going to college here for the past 3 and a half yrs I'm not only prepared academically but socially b/c everyone...and I do mean everyone is here. My first year alone I met a Hispanic Muslim guy, a Black Hindu girl and everything in between. You learn a lot not just in the classroom but from the people around you and I really think that's the best part of living, working, or going to school in this city. Besides that I'm never bored, there's always something to do; whether it's going to Dave & Busters, Madame Tussaud, MoMA, anything. My METS are here of course, gotta love that. And no matter what anyone tells you, New York has the best drivers in the world (not that you need it b/c there's a train for anywhere you wanna go). It's expensive as all hell but I'd hate to repeat that old tired line but truly, if you can make it here, you can definitely make it anywhere. Be successful here and you can go anywhere you want.
Hey guys, I live in CT and have been an avid, but agreeable New York fan my entire life. A m*sshole has started spewing crap on one of our sports teams thread, regarding which teams you prefer between Boston and New York. Anyway, I could use some help to shut him up! This freak actually thinks Boston,as a city, is better than New York (maybe on crack?) and is bitchin out New York. Some of you should come to the defense of your city so some m*sshole doesn't try to sh*t all over it's good name.
Thanks, Mark in CT
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