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Hi all, I am a student at Parsons in Manhattan and am doing a project on why people are interested in moving to NYC, specifically people not from the area. Besides moving here for work, how/why does city life attract newcomers? Did media (i.e. Sex in the City, Gossip Girl, movies) play a role in your choice or on your expectations of city life?
If you are a newcomer...how did you adapt once you got here? How were your expectations different from reality? What resources did you use before moving here?
I'm targeting first-time NYC students, but would love feedback from anyone interested in moving to NYC or has moved to the city and found reality to be different then their expectations.
the thing for me is that NYC has that pie that everyone in this world wants to eat but no movies and t.v. shows didnt play apart in me wanting to move down there. The first time i went down i was about 6 years and loved it ever since then went back in the summer when i was 12 then at 17. I remeber everything from me walkin' down the street seein' baby mamas pushin strollers at 1am from a fat dude getting rob and peekin out the window seein that, i was 6 at the time so it stuck with me. When i was 12 i remeber relaxin' with my cousin on the back pourch in his appartment listening to hot97 n feeling like the city was live and it feeling like it was rush hour in the night time. If you from where im from you'd understand, my city is wack. we dont get that type of **** that whole NYC vibe. People try 2 copy NYC but aint the same. But that aint the pie im talking about, the pie im talking about is making it big in the city. Because if you can make in NYC you can make it anywhere. But it can also make you or break you
Listen 2 Doin It - LL Cool J
City Is Mine - Jay-Z
just listening 2 the beats gives me that NYC vibe all over again
Lived in Queens, NY til I was 15, then lived in Manhattan til 6 months ago; now in Bronx. My mom used to take me to Radio City Music Hall; my dad worked in the Empire State bldg and I'd visit his office in the clouds.
I loved it, and when I saw Wash Sq park as a teen I was enchanted. Stayed with my aunt and uncle on Lower East Side for 3 years til I finished high school and went to college in Long Island.
After I graduated college, I moved to Upper East Side. Was early 80s, and though much of Manhattan was hazardous, I loved it. Worked in NYU area. After 12 years, moved back to aunt's hood on LES. Had gentrified considerably.
Sold the coop, bought one in the Bronx, cash (100K with low maintenance).
Each of these areas waS ideal for me at that particular stage of my life.
Born in Brooklyn NYC, raised in east flatbush and spent some time in Park Slope. Moved to Long Island then moved down south.
Been living down south (South Florida) for some time and just miss/love NYC. For me its my home town and I have tons of cousins there my age and want my kid to grow up with his family.
I am moving in three months to Manhattan and I will tell you that New York made an unforgetable impression on me and I have wanted to live there since. In midtown, I was overwhelmed by the energy and grandeur of the city first, and then charmed by the other neighborhoods of Manhattan and Brooklyn. I think visiting and staying with people who live there had a lot to do with my wanting to relocate. Movies and TV shows about NYC get me excited about the move now, but I realize that is television and in no way represents real life in new york and didn't really convince me into going. I think the possibilities are endless, but the difficulty of "making it" in NY balances that out.
I am moving in three months to Manhattan and I will tell you that New York made an unforgetable impression on me and I have wanted to live there since. In midtown, I was overwhelmed by the energy and grandeur of the city first, and then charmed by the other neighborhoods of Manhattan and Brooklyn. I think visiting and staying with people who live there had a lot to do with my wanting to relocate. Movies and TV shows about NYC get me excited about the move now, but I realize that is television and in no way represents real life in new york and didn't really convince me into going. I think the possibilities are endless, but the difficulty of "making it" in NY balances that out.
Actually, many movies and TV shows shot on location here (and they are legion) do represent the real NYC, though the real NYC is different for every NY'er and visitor to discover for themselves. Good luck and enjoy.
Just moved to NYC wonderful city..I have visited this city for over 20 years and decided it is time to make my home NYC in park slope and love it..I have been here permanently for about 2 1/2 months..It's a tough city but tons of opportunities. My job search was difficult but lots of prospects now...I'm looking forward to settling in & having my son here with me....NY can make u or break you but if you can Make it in NYC u can make it anywhere...Worth a try........It will challenge you but when u come out on top it feels wonderful.............
I have been living in NYC for almost 3 years and have found the experiences uncomparable to any other city. I am a fashion student and have gained so much knowledge in my short time here... it definitely is a city with opportunities!
With that said, there have been down sides that I did not even think about when I came here. Small things, but still make life more difficult then if I were to live in suburbs or somewhere else with a car. For example, grocery shopping is difficult for me because I can only buy as much as I can carry, and often I barely have time to go. I think the produce here is terrible, unless I go to the farmers market, and the crowdedness of stores makes me want to rush and get out of there fast (i.e Trader Joes and Whole Foods in Union Square)!
Another thing, it does get lonely here despite how many people are here. I am from the midwest and am used to the politeness of strangers and a stronger community environment. I haven't found that in NYC yet because of the large amount of people and diversity of the population. I have definitely made friends from all over the world, but trying to find someone who has more of a similar background and values as me has been hard.
Anyone else have similar feelings? I would love to know some of the not-so-glamorous or positive sides of life in NYC because my project focuses on resources that could be made available for newcomers!
My wife and I moved here for job opportunities. I had a specific opportunity that was exactly what I was looking for. My wife found her new job only a few days after moving here.
We're from Buffalo, and in the summer of 06, simultaneously found ourselves unemployed at mid-career. Buffalo has great quality of life, and is very affordable, but is very limited in economic and career opportunities - educated professionals are leaving the area by the thousands.
We decided that we had to leave too, and targeted large East-Coast cities (Boston, NYC, DC) as areas that would provide the best environment for growth and opportunity, plus provide a richer cultural experience. We were both very familiar with NYC, having visited here several times for business and pleasure.
When the right opportunity came up, we packed up and moved here.
To answer your specific questions:
Did fictional portrayals like "SATC" make a difference? No. In fact, I never liked that show because Carrie Bradshaw and her pals seemed like the kind of people I'd intensely dislike in real life.
How did we adapt? The day-to-day, mundane differences in lifestyle come down to more of a city-vs-suburbs phenomenon. We basically came from the suburbs, so this means adapting to a denser, grittier, less car-centric environment, probably not much different than living in most other Northeastern urban environments.
That is not meant to imply that that NYC life does not offer wholly unique experiences - quite the contrary, which is what makes life so interesting here!
After living here for 16 months, what I appreciate most about the city, aside from the obvious culture and cosmopolitanism, are the local traditions and history that add so much to the fabric of life, from the quintessential and nationally-known icons like the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, to the 75-year old Italian "Pork Store" on Avenue N where we get our favorite rice balls.
Expectations vs. Reality: I tend to be a realist - and I had some familiarity with the city, so I certainly didn't get caught up in some fantasy about the NYC lifestyle. If anything, life has been probably more "normal" than I expected. A big contributing factor is that we moved into a middle-class, non-hip "normal" neighborhood in Brooklyn.
We also appreciate the people we have met and made friends with. Unlike the suburbs, you can't be isolated here. Living in such close physical proximity to others forces you to interact and be at least polite, if not social.
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