Anyone lives in NYC?
toutbrun
Washington, USAPosts: 1,501MI6 Agent
This is hypothetical.
I was just wondering.. if you live in NYC and have a good job (150 000-200 000$), you would probably want to live on the Upper West Side or something like that.
My question : do you need a car? If not, are you willing to take the metro? Isn't too crowded? Is it dangerous?
Cycling seems very dangerous in NYC except in Central Park. That's not an option, right?
Do you try to live nearer your place of work?
Are cabs on a daily basis an option?
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I was just wondering.. if you live in NYC and have a good job (150 000-200 000$), you would probably want to live on the Upper West Side or something like that.
My question : do you need a car? If not, are you willing to take the metro? Isn't too crowded? Is it dangerous?
Cycling seems very dangerous in NYC except in Central Park. That's not an option, right?
Do you try to live nearer your place of work?
Are cabs on a daily basis an option?
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If you can't trust a Swiss banker, what's the world come to?
Comments
http://apbateman.com
Haha.
You wouldn't live in New York? I feel like it's the best city in the world (with London and Paris)! They have the best restaurants, the best music, operas, ballets, museums, jobs, a HUGE park, the best real estate (though expensive)... What's not to like?
Have you heard of this city? If you think New York is crowded.... Check out Kowloon Walled city (which was destroyed)
http://sometimesinteresting.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/kowloon-1.jpg
http://apbateman.com
You don't need a car. Everything's in walking distance and public trans (while its by no means cheap, is cheaper than a car). Cars are for wealthy people who can afford it, but it's not a necessity.
Yes, everything is crowded and people are in a push and shove mood. But NYC is safe, so long as you stay away from Harlem and aren't out alone really late at night. NYC was a crime epicenter of the U.S. in the 90's, but despite the many cases of tragedies you see on the news, crime has fell dramatically. Yeah, there's a lot of crimes but that's out of 5 million+ people. Your chances of running into danger is extremely low.
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Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
AC is right on all counts. Having a car in Manhattan can be very expensive, a pain in the neck (parking on alternate sides of the street) and largely unnecessary unless you are commuting daily to somewhere without rail service. When I worked in Manhattan, I commuted on a train, like hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people do every day. Within Manhattan, taxis and Uber cars abound, the subway is generally good value (albeit hot this time of year) and there are many biking options, including Citi Bike, a bike-sharing rental service. Of course, so much of Manhattan is walkable that your own two feet are your best option.
I've been here since 1990, and like AC says, the city has become much more "user-friendly" over that time. Less crime, more walking areas, better lighting, muuuuuch less garbage, etc. The downside to this is that Manhattan has gotten quite a bit more expensive, pricing out many longtime residents. This hurts Manhattan's overall character a little, but it is still an amazing place.
She is from a small city in NJ - only about ten miles from midtown. She and her family and school friends would go into the city on a regular basis to visit museums, films at
Radio City and Broadway shows. We've been visiting there since we've been married (two decades plus) at least semi-annually (October/April great months).
Though we have traveled in Europe and seen the great cities when we were young and single, we both love NYC. We both enjoy eating the cuisines of other nations, viewing art and architecture and Broadways shows are just iconic experiences.
We have visited so much (including driving many times around Manhatten) that we feel as though it were a second home. One of the great things about the city is it's layout. No matter where you are, as long as you can see a street/ave sign you know your location.
PROS: Food. Some our favorite restaurants are there - Oyster Bar, Sardis, 21 Club, any Asian noodle house, Patsys's (Sinatra's favorite Italian restaurant), Russian Tea Room, any of the old steakhouses, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle, etc. Best hot dog in the city so far for us is at Papaya King on the upper east side.
Broadway. If you have never seen a Broadway show, you're missing out on one of the best entertainment experiences in the world. Last one we attended was Helen Mirren in "The Audience". Just brilliant.
Architecture. We love the classical architecture of the time when the city was becoming the landmark it is today. Empire State, Chrysler building, Grand Central Station, Frick Museum, and on. Just cannot beat it. We just visited the new Tower One at the site of the Twin Towers memorial. Another new iconic experience that one should not miss.
Art/History/Music. The Met. American Museum of Natural History. The Frick. Carnegie Hall. Lincoln Center - and those are some of the jewels in a huge crown.
Central Park. Just an amazing oasis, especially in the spring and autumn. I would never tire of this place. Dangerous? Never felt any danger there (though we only walk there during the day). There are lots of police about and since most criminals are either cowards or opportunists and they pretty much only prey at night where there are few people about.
Dichotomy. The south end of the city is about finance. It's all traffic and men in suits scurrying about. Head towards the east side and you enter the village areas where it turns more suburban and a bit quieter. Midtown is all tourists and Times Square and commerce at the most raw levels. Tourists looking up, taking pictures and selfies - attorneys (mostly attorneys) and other corporate workers walking quickly with their coffee cups, newpapers, briefcases and backpacks. Then head north to Central Park and the east and west sides become (relatively) quiet residential blocks combined with small shops and restaurants. The city is truly a wonderful mix of noisy commerce and subdued, classy, domestic living.
CONS: Noise. If you don't live there, it's just astonishing. Construction and renovation work EVERYWHERE, NON-STOP. With that and the traffic (horns, sirens, etc) it's just skull shattering at first. The average decibel level anywhere is between 60 and 70. That's going from the level of a busy restaurant conversation to a vacuum cleaner - ALL DAY LONG. After one is immersed for about an hour and focused on one's schedule (and distracted by all the visual information) it becomes tolerable - but it does wear on the soul and one will notice it as soon as one leaves it. You WILL be tired after spending a whole day emersed in it!
Crowds. Go anyplace (like midtown) where commerce is king, and you will be playing dodge with sidewalks FULL of humanity. IYes, there are other places much worse, but this is probably right up there in that list. Go out on a Friday/Saturday night and just multiply that. However, it's also great fun to see so many people from so many walks of life and different nations.
Traffic. Forget it. We've driven it it and thought it's manageable, it takes a really long time to get anywhere and you can get stuck anywhere for any reason. To fully enjoy being there, stay in the city and walk or use public transport. The subway is pretty safe overall and you can zip to your destination in a decent block of time. Buses are fine too. Takes longer but you get to marvel at the city as you go. Never had a problem with cabs. In a pinch, they're fast and comfortable (though I hate the intrusion of TV's in the backseats that are common now).
Cost. Everyone knows it's pricey. Well, it's New York. One has to get past that. You just have to budget for it. Even the cost of going up to the top of the new Tower One is $30.00 per person. However, there are lot's of decent places to eat for a good price and the public transport costs are reasonable. Of course it's one of the largest tourist spots on the planet, so just like any other major metropolis, it's not for the financially meek.
At it is one of the most expensive places to live, one just has to grit one's teeth and enjoy the experience.
Gentrification. Just like London and Paris, it's keeps getting more and more of an exclusive enclave for the wealthy and financially independent, and the real estate developers are destroying the old, classical soul of the city and replacing it with overpriced, ugly, post modern residential/commercial monstrosities that brings tears to my eyes.
Would I want to live there? Absolutely. Year round? Absolutely no. Ideally, I would live there except from about mid November through the end of March, avoiding the arctic winters and storms. I could see returning around the Christmas holidays briefly to experience the city's magic at that time, but that would be it. As far as where we would live? Upper East Side. We like the villages on the lower end and Gramercy Park and Murray Hill, but they're too far from mid-town and the Park for us and we just love the old architecture of the Upper East Side.
I think its one of the greatest cities on earth ,and there has been many a time watching a film ,and weve all shouted "ive stood there ,(sider man for instance) Ive only ever used the Barclay intercontinental hotel on 48th and the Hilton on 6th, so ive never slummed it .I don't think the subway is as good as ours ,bit confusing ,but hey ours is probably mind boggling too
there is something about them ,you have to watch the guys go by ,(its a 911 thing ) we don't watch our fire men go by 8-)
ive never had a problem with crime ,im sure you must have it
I went to the twin towers site ,a year or so after they came down ,and I must admit ,I had to go and hide in a corner and cry
the fence,around the site was covered in writing ,from people looking for their loved ones ,it was a gut wrenching moment
I will never forget my sadness at those writings.
my fave building TOTR
My wife and I also love TOTR. We had dinner at the small restaurant there on our tenth anniversary. It's been replaced by something else and one day we would like to dine and dance in the Rainbow Room. I also proposed to her in front of the statue of Prometheus on a bright, October day. It's a big fixture in our lives!