Interesting Article on relocating from NYC to upstate

[HomerBrink]

I enjoyed the article for entertainment value but think the author should've said "rural upstate" versus simply "upstate" because as SKBS pointed out, it's not all Green Acres up here.

[honeychrome]

This article was very much like another recent NYT article on the mass hipster-exodus from Williamsburg (the latest 'it' neighborhood of the NYC metro-area) to upstate NY to start organic farms, trading in their ironic trucker-caps and ratty vintage-'70s rock tour t-shirts for overalls and dirty fingernails. Blah, blah, blah. OK, I suppose as entertaining faux-news pointless puff pieces these articles have some slight chuckle-factor value, but in the end they aren't legitimate news and they offer none of the insights that good comedic or satirical writing should. They end up being empty wastes of time and print offering nothing in the end but a diversion, which sadly seems to be what the NYT has become, particularly the Sunday magazine section. 'Lifestyle' articles that in the end are about nothing, which is sad for what once was a venerated newspaper. Sort of like Edward R. Murrow saying 'here's the news' and cuing up a Seinfeld rerun... The gray lady has become little more than a looking glass and shopping catalogue for the NYC 'elite.'

[rug city]

Originally Posted by honeychrome

This article was very much like another recent NYT article on the mass hipster-exodus from Williamsburg (the latest 'it' neighborhood of the NYC metro-area) to upstate NY to start organic farms, trading in their ironic trucker-caps and ratty vintage-'70s rock tour t-shirts for overalls and dirty fingernails. Blah, blah, blah. OK, I suppose as entertaining faux-news pointless puff pieces these articles have some slight chuckle-factor value, but in the end they aren't legitimate news and they offer none of the insights that good comedic or satirical writing should. They end up being empty wastes of time and print offering nothing in the end but a diversion, which sadly seems to be what the NYT has become, particularly the Sunday magazine section. 'Lifestyle' articles that in the end are about nothing, which is sad for what once was a venerated newspaper. Sort of like Edward R. Murrow saying 'here's the news' and cuing up a Seinfeld rerun... The gray lady has become little more than a looking glass and shopping catalogue for the NYC 'elite.'

This is New York Magazine, not an article from the NYT. NY Magazine like any other magazine is meant to be a creative outlet like any other magazine. I thought it was a great article, meant to give us a glimpse into a city transplant's bumpy transition to suburban/rural upstate. She was giving an honest, almost stream-of-conscious account of her realization that Upstate was not simply a quieter, cheaper, more green version of the city, and worse, clashed much more with her values, routines, and expectations. A realization that countless citiots have discovered on their quest for a cheaper, less hectic version of their city lives. The author knocks herself as much as her new upstate surroundings, and now like a fish out of water, tries to figure out if she jumped too far or the water was too shallow. It turns out it was a little of both.

For Upstaters to sit & stew when reading this instead of trying to understand the true dynamics of urbanites floundering to fit into bucolia is not only denying the new realties of places like Columbia County, but borders on provincialism. I happen to think that those willing to take the leap to join our communities and bring a different perspective are worthy of our patience and understanding while they truly figure out what they've gotten themselves into. After a while we would both learn from each other, and perhaps see more modern, urbane touches added to our areas.

I get as ticked off as the next person when someone from the city condescendingly thinks an old-fashioned upstate town is in need of their worldly advice. But I didn't get that at all from this article. What exactly ticks you people off? That she confesses to feeling islolated during cold, upstate winters, that she finds it difficult assimilating and worries about her child’s educational experience? I’m from here, and have dealt with these issues as well- I can’t imagine the sense of vertigo coming from the city. To expect her to simply shut up and endure is unbecoming of us.

[Jansu]

Thank you, Rug City! I so agree! The author made herself vulnerable, exposed her own biases and misconceptions and tried to fit in. I don't get this bashing thing at all-- help her learn to manage the winter and she might turn you on to some new music. What's wrong with that? We all share the world. The only gripe I can imagine is that maybe the Columbia County natives are tired of seeing property values price their families out of homes and maybe they have been treated to a lot of rude urbanite behavior and are taking it out on the author of the article. But the tone of the article was less arrogant and more about trying something new, learning the hard way and making peace with the transition. No need to ridicule.

[Sean34597]

I loved the article. Not because it was good, but because it read like an Onion parody of what a hipster might write in NY Mag. You guys upstate should know that not all of us down here are this clueless. Some of us even know that you like to hunt Bambi and actually eat the venison. And some of us like to buy that venison off of you and eat it ourselves.

You should also know that the writer is probably not from NYC. Our city is full of idiot posers like her who move here from Iowa or Indiana or Cleveland and decide that they're "natives" because they went to CBGB or the Knitting Factory every weekend for 6 years. Sorry, that doesn't make you a native. It just makes you a jerk who paid $8 for a Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Eh, NY Mag. What can you expect?