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So this is something I've been wondering about for like the past two days, but it's an observation I am inquiring more input about that's basically a compilation from my experience travelling to New York City and talking to many people who were born and raised there on and off for several years, from pretty much every borough except Staten Island as far as I'm aware.
In all of them I've noticed, no matter how nice they are, they seem to get a sense of pride from being born and/or raised there, or in other words a local rather than a transplant. This isn't unique and you can see this in many other parts of the US and the world, but it seems to be exaggerate to a degree where it almost feels like with many of the locals, it seems like they think it's a personality characteristic, and furthermore a superior one. They also almost seem terrified to live anywhere outside of the city let alone the region, as if life doesn't exist outside of it nor is it nice.
But the real thing I noticed with them, as well as just content from people who reside there in general, is often how the "hustle" is advertised in order to "make it there" and is readily promoted as a good thing. "Making it" often seems to be associated with a tough, street smart, and resilient character to make it in the "best city in the world" (it's not but that's besides the point). Considering the expensive cost of living, I don't question that it takes someone resilient to live there generally if they're hard working for the money they make to afford their life there. However it is a struggle and a losing war for almost all of the population to afford the dystopian cost of living and the premise of participating in this "hustle" or grind culture that resides there seems to be to put yourself through the unnecessary torture of living way above your means due to how unrealistic the cost of living is in order to get brownie points for participating in the "grind" culture to stay there. It almost seems like it's a desperate attempt to try and justify living there as if you look at it from other perspectives, there are many incentives to not. Also sometimes comes across as cultish
I don't really get the mindset looking at it from an outsider. It's not to say the city isn't worth living in at all; live where you want, people have different reasons. But the whole grind/hustle culture thing comes across as cultish and almost seems to brainwash people into putting themselves through an unnecessary hell in order get brownie points for being a local who stays there and puts up with the bull****e cost of living. This whole culture seems to be founded on validating any hard work you do only if it's done within the city, and/or you reside there (and the effort it takes to live there). It gives the implication that leaving for whatever reason makes you weaker to whatever degree or you "copped out". The whole grind culture advertised to locals and transplants just seems to glamourise the horrible (and unnecessary) struggle and poverty that so many of the residents put themselves through in order to live there.
There are more expensive places, like Hong Kong for example. The locals there are just as, if not more hard working due to how much smaller it is and how it's also more expensive. And yet I don't really see anything similar there that tries to glamourise the struggle and the contagious poverty of the locals who just try to make ends meet there. In NYC, the reality of the locals who realistically are subjecting themselves to a cost of living that's both way over their heads and budget is romanticised as some sort of virtue, and I don't get it. Under this culture, you're seen as resilient for staying there even though you really can barely afford it, if you even can. In many, if not most parts of the world, living somewhere that's way outside of your means just makes you look dumb. But for some reason, this unrealistic pursuit of wealth or a reasonable cost of living in NYC gets people to stay and gives the illusion that the struggle and poverty that so many people face in order to attempt (and ultimately fail) to feel validated in this grind culture and kind of ignore (or not notice as much) the very glaring issues that are obviously unrealistic to even try and fight for almost all of the population
P.S. Yes I'm aware not everyone acts like this. But this phenomena seems to be readily observable so I'm not going to pretend I don't see it as it's at the very least a very, very loud minority.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk, leave any thoughts below.
Loved the story on Humans of NY yesterday about this guy who grew up poor in Washington Heights and turns out he's extremely gifted with music. His mom used to clean houses after her regular job but only clean for classical musicians who would accept a trade for lessons for her kid. He became very well known in the NYC choral world
I think everyone loves stories like that, maybe that's why the struggle is glamorized
I'm a native NY'er and have zero hustle mentality. I think you're equating hustling with the instinct to survive. I believe that's true no matter where you come from. People from the rural parts of the Appalachian mountains have just as much of a survival instinct as people from Brooklyn. You do what you have to do to survive in your surroundings, even if it's sometimes not pretty. I don't know how to farm worth a damn so I'd be lost there. They don't know how to traverse people living on top of each other so they'd be lost here.
But we all know what it's like to budget or have to work more than one job or live without in order to make ends meet.
The hustle/grind mentality is something different, in my mind. It's almost a grift these days. If you can get over on some poor sucker to improve your lot in life people take it as a sign of a hustle. They also glorify working until you're bone tired or struggling as some conviction that you're morally superior. There's nothing inherently morally superior about working like a dog or taking pride in being poor and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
I don't know why we trying to make it an admirable thing to suffer.
The hustle/grind mentality is something different, in my mind. It's almost a grift these days. If you can get over on some poor sucker to improve your lot in life people take it as a sign of a hustle. They also glorify working until you're bone tired or struggling as some conviction that you're morally superior. There's nothing inherently morally superior about working like a dog or taking pride in being poor and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.
I don't know why we trying to make it an admirable thing to suffer.
There is a whole generation of youngsters who think hustle is the way to live and who can blame them. Who wants to work their ass of for 35K a year or even 50k a year. Crappy 1 bedroom rental with a crappy car living month to month.
Not everyone is born to run a hedge fund and thats a hustle of its own kind.
Addressing the "sense of pride" aspect, while certain details may be specific to here I've definitely seen the same attitude from Texans, Alaskans, New Orleanians... and as far as the cost of living here, unique things cost more than commonplace or nondescript things, it's the market decides that. Plus most jobs in NYC pay considerably more than similar jobs elsewhere once you get beyond entry-level.
Also after being here a few years most adoptees become true NYers if they stay, despite not being "born & bred" here. Your descriptives are pretty simple-minded & leading: cultish, unnecessary hell, unrealistic pursuit, ultimately fail, grind culture.... etc, etc... There is no one forcing anyone to pursue & "grind" here, plenty stay back in Dayton or Emporia or Knoxville, or wherever & live that life. But if one is looking for something different than that NYC is probably where one would go.
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