Too many "dreamers" in this forum (New York, Amsterdam: buy, theater)

[Dr.MariaVentouras]

You said it from your point of view as a police officer, straight foward. I posted a forum that I would like you to take a look at and see what you think about what I wrote. My posting is under New York City. Thank you. Dr. Maria Ventouras

[Elvira Black]

Hustla has a lot of inside info, but on the internet you can't assume anyone is who they say they are. Not trying to diss Hustla, just saying.

And where's your post?

[Guywithacause]

Dr. Maria...I say it also from my point of view of a lifelong resident of Mott Haven, straight forward as well. Why do you choose Hustla over me, for example?

[Dr.MariaVentouras]

I am reponding to the people who responded to my comments to the Police Officer, Hustler.

I responded to the police officer because I wanted his thoughts on what I wrote, as a psychologist who lives in New York. I work in the criminal field as well. In addition, he is a Police Officer who sees events with his own eyes, which would educate me on various issues.

I want everyone to know that I do not have time to read all forums. To the girl that asked why did I not respond to her, sweetie, I am so sorry, I do not read all the forums, I have my own practice and am very, very busy. However, if anyone would like to email me personally please feel free to do so, if you don't hear from me for a day or two I will definately respond back to you.

In addition, to the girl that wrote, you do not know if he is really a police officer or not, I agree with you sweetie, and I also applaud you for your discriminatory nature using this forum and the internet. You are concerned with safety and that is something nice to see when you hear all the crimes that happen due to the internet. You as well sweetie, if you would like please email me and feel free to do so.

In addition, I have not had time to read if the Police Officer Emailed me yet. As a psychologist, I am curious, I want to know very much, because in my field the more you know, for example, about New York and when I have sessions with my clients the more you are educated. You can never stop being educated no matter how many degrees you have or how old you are. Your mind has to be open to everything. There are people who see in "black and white", what I mean by that is they do not open their minds to other people's thoughts and ideas. Therefore, they stay in a world where they are in a state of confusion. Psychotherapy was and still is in some towns, for only crazy people, now doesn't that sound funny to you. Psychotherapy is an outlet to express your feelings to a person who is under oath to keep your confidentiality or they will loose their license or be sued, like any other doctor. Therefore, you do not have to have any skeletons in your closet. You do not have to keep repressed issues that come out in your personality in other forms.

Thank you for your responses girls, and maybe you can tell me if the Police Officer wrote back to me because I have not had time to check. Here is my private email address Dr.MariaVentouras1@yahoo.com. Hang in there girls, I am here for everyone, Please always remember that. Dr. Maria Ventouras

[Dr.MariaVentouras]

Here is something to think about (In the conscience of the mind, one that believes something to be true, is true, but only in the conscience of the mind.) Let me know what you think? Dr. Maria Ventouras

[Dr.MariaVentouras]

Sorry, to Guy With A Cause, I wrote you back as if you were a girl. See, I am busy read quickly etc. However, what I wrote about writing to the police officer instead of to you, was for you. I did not read what you wrote, however, I would like to. Dr. Maria Ventouras

[Elvira Black]

Nice sentiments--I agree. Thanks for the kind words.

[roseba]

Originally Posted by mead

Roseba,

I don't understand what your hangup is with outer borough neighborhoods. In my neighborhood 1brs are going for $900-$1200 and 3br are around $1,500. You can purchase a 1br co-op for around $150k. Within a 5 minute walking distance from where I live there are 2 pizza places, 1 chinese place, fish & chips/hamburger shop, 8 Irish bars/pubs (2 with real restaurants serving Irish & American food), a C-town grocery store, a real butcher that also sells hot food, a Deli, 3 convenience stores, a bakery, a barber and a couple of hair salons and nail places, a pharmacy, and a bunch of other stuff.

I never use my car if I need to get something in the neighborhood, walking just makes more sense.

Yeah its not Manhattan, but its a decent enough place to live. I'd much rather live here than out in the suburbs. Where's the fun in that. You'll have a yard with some trees out back but you won't have anything that you can walk to. You could live out in the suburbs for a decade and not even really know any of your neighbors. Whats the point in living in some phony suburb without any sense of community?

If you want to live the Manhattan lifestyle and all that entails then you're going to have to shell out the cash for that. Thats why the rents are $2,000 & up.

There are plenty of other nice neighborhoods that are completley liveable in the outer boroughs. If you don't like your current neighborhood why not just move to somewhere that fits you better?

You don't understand my hangup?

I'm trying to make a point.


Living in the outer boroughs, especially some areas has the expense of living in a world class city, without any of the benefits.

I really don't understand what is so hard to understand about such a concept.

Who wants to pay for caviar if they are only getting tuna fish?

If I'm gonna get tuna fish, I want to pay $0.99 cents a can, not prices for 3 rate caviar.

And I'm perfectly content to live in tunafish-ville if I wasn't paying for caviar. Because even 3rd rate caviar sucks up all your income.

What's so hard to understand about this concept?

What is so hard to understand that speaking about it, and being clear about the reality that "modest middle income" people face, is part of the solution.

All these people with the attitude "It is, what it is" does not help the situation. Helping the situation is EDUCATING people about the reality, and then taking action by writing to your senators, educating your colleagues, strangers and friends.

I spoke personally about this kind of stuff to Charlie Rangel when I was at an event with him.

And my next goal is to leave, where I can get more value for my dollar and still have my cake and eat it too.

[roseba]

Originally Posted by scatman

Roseba,

I'm sure you know about the City of New York around the early 90's. You know that there was a recession back then, and prices for homes and apartments dropped! If there was a time to get into homes or apartments, in great locations, it was then, After that, the gates started to lock!

I didn't even graduate from school until 1992. So I was certainly in no position to get things when they were cheap.

Originally Posted by scatman

But too many people, myself included, didn't want to pull the trigger at that time because the situation wasn't perfect enough.

Well I'm a bit younger than you. I didn't start making over $35K until at least 1998. That window of opportunity never was there for GenXers unless you started out making good money right out of school. I was only making $20K out of school

And now, much of the New York market is locked up, with prices unreachable.

That's precisely my point.

Now that you get the point, do you think it is good for this city to lock out young working professionals from home ownership but all in the most obscure neighborhood. $250K for a small two bedroom is more than most people starting a family can afford.

Just remember, you can't go wrong with real estate in this city. I know you want the spacious home, but you know what? Use the smaller property as a stepping stone to achieve that! That's my plan.

You can go wrong. You may not go wrong financially, but there is something called "Quality of Life". Wouldn't it be nice to have a little more cash at hand at the end of the day to actually DO SOMETHING with your money.

Assuming your household makes less than $100K a year, a $250K mortgage doesn't really leave you anything left. So are you supposed to get up, go to work, pay your bills, and sleep, and then what?

This city needs to either really lobby for higher salaries (because the median household income in NYC vs. the rest of America is not that spectacular compared with the CoL index.... read the data.) or, it needs to work on actual affordable places to live. And the saw called new developments in war-torn neighborhoods have surprisingly high rents that are out of step with the surrounding housing within the same neighborhoods.

[roseba]

Originally Posted by Elvira Black

If I had to start over, no, I could not afford to buy the LES apt I just sold. But that is the case in NYC now, and elsewhere. Hence the mortgage/credit crisis. People buy more home than they can afford in order to realize their dreams to "have it all"--at any cost.

Let me restate this:

I'm not talking about the LES.

If you were starting all over, could you afford a $220K mortgage? I have seen few two bedroom apartments for less than $200 in ANY neighborhood. ****TY neighborhoods included.

So again, do you care about the generation that precedes you or not? Do you want a young population to have a decent life or do you want them to move out? Because if you just chalk it up as "them is the breaks" then they will leave, and you will not have a city with youngish people. (that is people who have families and raise their children here in ALL DEMOGRAPHICS, not just the uber wealthy.)

Edited to add
And frankly, their is only so long a couple can live a pseudo college dorm-ish exisitance. Eventually, you want to live like a grown up, with a decent sized kitchen, decent amount of storage space, a bathroom that you can't touch two walls by just extending them. (I can only sit in my tub, I can't lay down because it is only half the size of a normal tub.) If you are living in a dorm, at least everything should be within walking distance. If you still have to take a motorized vehicle of some sort to enjoy that, then you are truly being hosed. After all, there is supposed to be some kind of benefit by living further out? If it isn't cheap housing, then where is the benefit?

As far as your neighborhood, at the time of our last move, we found the cheapest neighborhood in Queens that was along a subway line. The only neighborhoods I've seen that are cheaper, but by no means cheap, are Bushwick and E. NY.

So the question goes full circle.

Is the trade off worth it? Not really in my opinion. I can make as much as I am making now, +/- $5K a year in another vibrant city, with orchestras, opera, health food stores, museums, and still live in a better apt. than I'm living now for about $800 a month. On top of that my commute will be less than 20 minutes if I chose to live in the suburbs, rather than 45 minutes in the "inner city burbs".

Maybe your trade offs back in the day were worth it, but your trade offs were also LESSER trade-offs compared to what unestablished folks are facing today. It's not comparable. You didn't have to sacrifice nearly as much to stay here.

So you folk really shouldn't be so smug about the "I got mine" mentality. It's what I hate the MOST about boomers. They try to put their context as the current reality, when it clearly is not.