Moving back to NY after a decade on the West Coast. How has the city changed? (New York: apartments, renting)
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This isn't a post requesting info on where to live, commute, work etc. I'm coming back to go to school and improve my career after living away from the cit for a little over 10 years. After that I will decide whether to stay or live elsewhere again. I really just want to know how the city has changed since I've been gone. I visit yearly but let's be real, that doesn't count towards understanding some of the less obvious developments. So if you've been a life-long native or you've been in NY for a very long time I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what has become of NYC this past decade plus.
One obvious thing you'll notice, at least in Manhattan, is the tremendous upgrade in security since 9/11. The days of wandering through the lobby of an office buildings in search of, say, a newsstand or a cup of coffee, are long gone. Building guards at some offices also routinely ask for ID before letting you on the elevator. Armed guards are much more prevalent. So are blocked off streets and those heavy cement things that keep cars and trucks off of sidewalks. The 'new normal' as they say.
Smoking is banned almost everywhere now, bars, ofiices, apartment lobbies, movie theaters, even in parks and beaches, so you see zillions of people smoking on sidewalks and you have to fight your way through their toxic fumes when you walk down the street.
Of course no more subway tokens. We only got the Metrocard in 2003, though now it seems like its been with us forever. Makes life a bit easier in my opinion, and cheaper too with the unlimited fare plans. It must be true as the trains seem much more crowded than a decade ago.
No cars in Times Sq. They've turned it into one big plaza, diverting traffic and setting up tables in it for the hordes of tourists who come. But its still crowded beyond belief. And tackier than ever.
And maybe the biggest change is that many marginal or working-class neighborhoods have become much more acceptable places to live. And I'm not talking about being 'gentrified" though that's true sometimes too. But ten years ago most newcomers would not ask about living in Inwood or Long Island City or Greenpoint, to take a few examples. And places like Astoria and Williamsburg were total afterthoughts. But rents go up, downtown Manhattan becomes unaffordable for most, and it makes for neighborhood upgrades elsewhere. Sometimes making them unaffordable too.
Some things that haven't changed much: Residentially we are still heavily segregated by ethnicity, our public school system is still mostly dysfunctional and makes almost no one happy, youngsters still flock here to make a life in the city's cultural world--actors, writers, dancers, musicians, photographers and the like--and everything keeps getting more expensive. And of course people keep obsessing about crime, even though there is a lot less of it now than there was 10 years ago.
This isn't a post requesting info on where to live, commute, work etc. I'm coming back to go to school and improve my career after living away from the cit for a little over 10 years. After that I will decide whether to stay or live elsewhere again. I really just want to know how the city has changed since I've been gone. I visit yearly but let's be real, that doesn't count towards understanding some of the less obvious developments. So if you've been a life-long native or you've been in NY for a very long time I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what has become of NYC this past decade plus.
This isn't a post requesting info on where to live, commute, work etc. I'm coming back to go to school and improve my career after living away from the cit for a little over 10 years. After that I will decide whether to stay or live elsewhere again. I really just want to know how the city has changed since I've been gone. I visit yearly but let's be real, that doesn't count towards understanding some of the less obvious developments. So if you've been a life-long native or you've been in NY for a very long time I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what has become of NYC this past decade plus.
Rent has increased.
Crime has went down.
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Thanks for the responses guys. Interesting stuff, I got a good laugh out of some of them. I have heard about things like how Williamburg is now a hipster mecca and the Upper West is getting expensive due to gentrification. I knew that crime was much lower than when I was a kid, that's good to know. But as someone mentioned the cops are everywhere now so that might explain some of it.
I'm looking forward to moving back, at least for a few years. The plan is to spend a year back at school then take a year to decide my next move. Maybe I'll stick around this time, who knows. Thanks for the insights though.
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