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Number one Staten Island is not rural at all no matter what part your speaking about. I would say the south shore closer to Tottenville is more suburban like, a more suburban feel, but for north n mid shore thats when it gets really urban. Some areas more than others but as a whole its an urban feel.
Secondly I wouldn't say its cheap at all for living, not too far off from Brooklyn and Queens prices for rent or housing. Its not that safe of a place too live maybe more in the south shore you are better off but vast majority its not. Ive had a few bad experiences on the island. Anndd.. quiet? its definitly not quiet to live in? You always here some sirens throughout the day and night, car horns and movin traffic in the background. Compared to Manhatten its quietier but its not quiet compared too...?? Elswhere I guess. Unless once again you live in the south part of the island, thats much quieter downon that end. There is too many people living in Staten Island for it to be suburban. It has been becoming more like Brooklyn. A zoo. Theres too much traffic, its horrible. They should call Staten Island. Traffic island. 85% of the time you go on the SI expressway its packed, always traffic. Suburban areas you don't have it as bad as SI, Go to NJ its a much spaced out world much less hassles.Its more like the country when you leave these boroughs.
Well, it depends what you consider urban. Remember that NYC is the densest area in the country, so our "suburban" areas would be urban when compared to the rest of the country. If you're moving from an apartment building in Brooklyn, this might seem suburban, but if you're moving from an exurb in the Sunbelt, that might not be suburban.
I have a feeling your standards for "safe" are pretty high if you don't think most of SI is safe. You probably have crappy luck if you've had a lot of bad experiences (either that, or you've been spending most of your time in a few rougher areas).
As for car horns and things like that, well you might get some noise if you live on a main street, or right near the expressway or something, but if you live on a little side street, it's pretty quiet. As for traffic, suburban doesn't mean a lack of traffic. In fact, a lot of people associate "suburban sprawl" with traffic.
If I worked in downtown manhattan I would seriously consider moving to the area around St. George. Boat ride to work > packed smelly hot subway/bus.
For now with that outrageous $13 toll, I would never go into Staten Island unless I absolutely positively have to. Good thing there's nothing in Staten Island that I would need to go there for.
Forget the toll and just stick with the ferry. It's said that the ferry has a therapeutic effect on regular passengers. Something about the water and open air.
I lived in St. George for a few months on Daniel Low Terrace. Paul Newman once lived there back in the 50's. I've considered moving back there, if only because Staten Islanders are very ugly and present less of a threat to engendering lustful thoughts.
A few square miles of trees and critters is not comparable to the vast swaths of wilderness that are present in the south. There are National Forests in the south that are bigger than NYC and Long Island combined.
New York (Catskill, Adirondacks, Finger Lakes region etc.) and Pennsylvania (Allegheny, Poconos etc.) has it's fair share of vast wilderness full of deer, teddy bears, hunters, dairy farmers, pick ups, etc.. That alone would be bigger than NYC and Long Island combined. The northeast isn't immune from wilderness /rural cultural settings (without the Southern accent). Of course the South will have more because the region is geographically much larger in size than the Northeast just as the Rockies in the West will have more mountain ranges than the Appalachians. This coming from someone who constantly travels this vast great American landscape of ours on a daily basis. You should get out more.
wilderness wetland with Newark in the background
Staten Island is no Manhattan or New Orleans French Quarter not in a dense wall to wall urban development sense. It's more suburban like Paramus.
I hope everyone in Staten Island will get more help they need. I know what it was like during Andrew so I can relate. Hurricanes suck!!
New York (Catskill, Adirondacks, Finger Lakes region etc.) and Pennsylvania (Allegheny, Poconos etc.) has it's fair share of vast wilderness full of deer, teddy bears, hunters, dairy farmers, pick ups, etc.. That alone would be bigger than NYC and Long Island combined. The northeast isn't immune from wilderness /rural cultural settings (without the Southern accent). Of course the South will have more because the region is geographically much larger in size than the Northeast just as the Rockies in the West will have more mountain ranges than the Appalachians. This coming from someone who constantly travels this vast great American landscape of ours on a daily basis. You should get out more.
wilderness wetland with Newark in the background
Staten Island is no Manhattan or New Orleans French Quarter not in a dense wall to wall urban development sense. It's more suburban like Paramus.
I hope everyone in Staten Island will get more help they need. I know what it was like during Andrew so I can relate. Hurricanes suck!!
Its nothing like Paramus, NJ??In fact its the total opposite.There is just no comparison at all between the two. Its more in comparison with Brooklyn or Queens. Paramus is real woodsy suburbia, Staten Island is like the city compared to that area.. Way off by a long shot..
Well, it depends what you consider urban. Remember that NYC is the densest area in the country, so our "suburban" areas would be urban when compared to the rest of the country. If you're moving from an apartment building in Brooklyn, this might seem suburban, but if you're moving from an exurb in the Sunbelt, that might not be suburban.
I have a feeling your standards for "safe" are pretty high if you don't think most of SI is safe. You probably have crappy luck if you've had a lot of bad experiences (either that, or you've been spending most of your time in a few rougher areas).
As for car horns and things like that, well you might get some noise if you live on a main street, or right near the expressway or something, but if you live on a little side street, it's pretty quiet. As for traffic, suburban doesn't mean a lack of traffic. In fact, a lot of people associate "suburban sprawl" with traffic.
I don't have higher standards for SI, It is what it is.. I would say its not far off from the other boroughs in safety wise. I used too live in NJ for a while and there you felt safe. For example you can leave your windows to your house or your car door open all night and wouldn't have a problem someone tryin to break in.. You can't do that here on SI.. Your house would get robbed in an instant, Well eighty percent chance someone would break in that night. You do hear a lot of things that go on for a small island, so I wouldn't feel comfortable if I was you. There are a lot of crooked people who live here on SI, don't let your guard down, always have too make sure everythin is locked, everything you own.
Also I wasn't saying suburbia lacks traffic, suburbia areas does has some traffic to a certain degree, nothing crazy but obviously this isn't considered suburban for most people who do live in real suburban towns and areas right outside NYC and furthermore around the country.Especially when you have drivin around Staten Island quite often,many bustling heavily traffic streets too drive through. .Due to SI having horrendous traffic issues just as bad as its other neighboring boroughs To me and most people I know its like a Brooklyn and Queens feel the only difference is some neighborhoods are more residential but very densed residential neighborhoods just like Brooklyn and Queens are. At least for the North shore its more of that feeling. Now if you live in a part for example like Todt Hill or areas in the south shore that can feel more like a suburban sprawl or whatever you want to call it but its all mixed in in a small area. One minute your in a neighborhood that has that suburban feel about it but then down the street or down the hill it can be a very urban, very densed area . But overall you don't get that suburban feel of what people look for in other places nearby like NJ , LI or even upstate.. If it was really suburban you wouldn't have some people moving from Brooklyn and or Manhatten over to SI because that would be too much of a change, its just a little more quitier some areas and more residential but not a cultural shocker like it would be if they moved to NJ or LI. Thats a much bigger contrast. No need for anyone to elaborate on that note..
I don't have higher standards for SI, It is what it is.. I would say its not far off from the other boroughs in safety wise. I used too live in NJ for a while and there you felt safe. For example you can leave your windows to your house or your car door open all night and wouldn't have a problem someone tryin to break in.. You can't do that here on SI.. Your house would get robbed in an instant, Well eighty percent chance someone would break in that night. You do hear a lot of things that go on for a small island, so I wouldn't feel comfortable if I was you. There are a lot of crooked people who live here on SI, don't let your guard down, always have too make sure everythin is locked, everything you own.
Also I wasn't saying suburbia lacks traffic, suburbia areas does has some traffic to a certain degree, nothing crazy but obviously this isn't considered suburban for most people who do live in real suburban towns and areas right outside NYC and furthermore around the country.Especially when you have drivin around Staten Island quite often,many bustling heavily traffic streets too drive through. .Due to SI having horrendous traffic issues just as bad as its other neighboring boroughs To me and most people I know its like a Brooklyn and Queens feel the only difference is some neighborhoods are more residential but very densed residential neighborhoods just like Brooklyn and Queens are. At least for the North shore its more of that feeling. Now if you live in a part for example like Todt Hill or areas in the south shore that can feel more like a suburban sprawl or whatever you want to call it but its all mixed in in a small area. One minute your in a neighborhood that has that suburban feel about it but then down the street or down the hill it can be a very urban, very densed area . But overall you don't get that suburban feel of what people look for in other places nearby like NJ , LI or even upstate.. If it was really suburban you wouldn't have some people moving from Brooklyn and or Manhatten over to SI because that would be too much of a change, its just a little more quitier some areas and more residential but not a cultural shocker like it would be if they moved to NJ or LI. Thats a much bigger contrast. No need for anyone to elaborate on that note..
Well, me personally, I don't care if I'm out in a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. I'm still locking my doors no matter what. When my family visited a friend out in suburban NJ, even though it was a perfectly safe area, we still felt uncomfortable leaving the car doors unlocked, just out of force of habit.
But realistically, if I were to leave the doors of my home/car unlocked, chances are nothing would happen. There aren't people wandering around looking to break into anything.
As for traffic, if you go out into Long Island or Westchester, you have areas with traffic jams (and I'm not necessarily talking about areas like White Plains. I've heard of traffic jams out in areas like Ronkonkoma)
As for suburban, while it's still more urban than many areas of the country, you can't sit there and say it's almost like Queens or Brooklyn. Very few neighborhoods have apartment buildings. While there are a lot of townhouses, they're mixed in with larger houses, so the area doesn't have that consistantly dense feel you find in many parts of Queens & Brooklyn.
You can't compare this to this. Notice how much closer the homes are built in the second link, and how much less greenery there is, and if I were to pick an area like Park Slope, there would be absolutely no comparison.
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