5 ms·

Already here. New York. If you like urban life, as long as you can pay your bills it's the best and most interesting city in the world. It also helps with a g

Already here. New York. If you like urban life, as long as you can pay your bills it's the best and most interesting city in the world. It also helps with a good view :) http://000fff.org/uploads/PH6.jpg http://000fff.org/uploads/PH6.jpg

huangc10 10y ago
This makes me want to pack my bags and head east...Good for you man!
Xcelerate 10y ago
Okay, I'm jealous of that view... that's literally my ideal apartment. And you've provided a great counterargument for everyone who says you can't have children in a city. As someone who just finished grad school, there's no way I could afford that though haha
- ThomPete 10y ago
  It's not cheap thats for sure and my wife isn't working. But New York although expensive is surprisingly child friendly and have experienced a surge in the number of people with kids (think like 30% in the last 5 years.) Once they hit Kindergarten there is plenty of good schools for free. I am hoping to be able to stay here for many years and have my boys be real New Yorkers.
  - Xcelerate 10y ago
    > But New York although expensive is surprisingly child friendly That's great to hear! I'm really hoping the trend back toward the cities (and away from the suburbs) continues in America. I think walkable cities are much better than driving everywhere.
    - ThomPete 10y ago
      Yeah and you walk A LOT in New York which I really like.
  - mahyarm 10y ago
    How is it child friendly? I've heard the stereotype is quite the opposite. Do you rent or did you buy that place? Also I work at the same building as square HQ in SF, haha.
    - ThomPete 10y ago
      Well because of the increase of kids it's changed quite a bit. Williamsburg for instance have a lot of parents. So basically a lot more places are fine with kids. I have never had my kids out anywhere and had a problem with them and I go out to eat a lot. But of course there are places I wouldn't take them. So you at Uber? :)
zump 10y ago
Okay what's your rent.
tempw 10y ago
Okay what you do? I am kind of considering a career change for exactly whatever it is. jokes apart which borough, Brooklyn?
- ThomPete 10y ago
  Williamsburg. Down on the water. I am a design lead at Square, plus I sell a fairly successful app on the side.
  - tempw 10y ago
    That's fantastic, congrats on the sweet spot and hustle
andreygrehov 10y ago
Great view. I dreamed about New York since I was a kid. I moved here 4 years ago (from Ukraine) and just recently started to realize how problematic this city is. There are millions of issues: - Real estate. Of course, this is the root of all evil. - Driving is a bitch. My wife once asked me to go walk in a Central Park with a kid. I was looking for a parking space for one and a half hours. Literally. I drove back home. Because of the real estate, parking garage prices are ridiculous. - Restaurants. Overpacked with tables. Because of the real estate, owners pack their restaurants with as much tables as possible, so they could fit more people and be able to pay out rent/etc. Anniversary dinner? You'll have it with your wife, a gay couple and several business partners. - Subway. Don't get me started here. People pee in the subway. Trains are delayed all the time. - Medicine. I have a top-notch insurance. Every single doctor is scared of everything he/she is saying. It seems like all of them think that my next appointment is with a lawyer. Doctors are very "limited" in what they do. In my case, I compare with doctors from from my native country. They are more like engineers there, – never prescribe you anything, until the actual defect is determined. - Emergency Rooms are terrible. Best hospitals of NY. My kid was at 104F+. We came in at 12:30AM. Doctor saw us at 4AM. Same thing was with my pregnant wife. We ended up leaving the ER at 5AM because their system was offline and they couldn't get us anything. These are just a very few things. There are much more. I'm still looking for a place to raise my kids. P.S. New York is amazing for doing business. edit: formatting
- cylinder 10y ago
  Yep, been here four years too and leaving (I never dreamed of it though - my partner did). Especially good point about the healthcare issues here (independent of the broader US healthcare issues), it's really difficult to deal with. Fun for singles in their 20s but would not recommend the hard slog of raising a family here unless you're from the region or a highly paid banker. The housing situation is really dire once you demand a certain level of quality or want to buy (btw, didn't have mice for three years, now two in one day making four this year. There's always some issue popping up stressing me out and I live in a decent building with a good landlord and excellent area!) The subway will ruin you if you rely on it to commute daily at peak times. Even if on it just for two stops. It's absolutely a mess. Nose in strangers armpit after waiting for three trains to pass you because they're at capacity is a very real thing - now just imagine the train is held even ten minutes in a delay ... a panic attack in that situation is highly possible. The restaurants and food scene is incredibly overhyped, overpriced, and I routinely get sick after eating at good restaurants. Yeah maybe there's some three Michelin star places but I never go, and cannot afford or get a reservation anyhow. The people are great though and I'll miss them. Random locals I chat with when walking the dog, or the merchants and shopkeepers in my neighborhood. Good, interesting people. But they're usually the ones who've been here decades, not the transplants I don't think it's great for doing business. The pace can feel good at times, but drain you all the others. And the city is not what I'd categorize as a "small business city," it's very corporate in opportunities and mentality. We are going to Melbourne Australia to raise our kids. It is so much better for kids and yet still offers what NYC has but on a smaller more reasonable scale. It is not perfect, truthfully every major city around the world right now is facing issues, but better suited to manage them than NYC. It's far, but you should consider it. I am friends with a Bulgarian couple with a small child who love it and the kid is very happy too. If you are in tech you may be able to do independent skilled migration where you are given permanent residency even without a job sponsorship. Happy to help if you're interested, we can exchange contact info.
pauldix 10y ago
Agree, NYC. There's no better place to be. Unfortunately, SF/SV keep pulling me back in so I spend almost half my time there. I'm in Williamsburg on the waterfront too :) https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6fyj1iklxtg852/view.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6fyj1iklxtg852/view.jpg
- ThomPete 10y ago
  Oh you are in the Edge?
  - pauldix 10y ago
    1 N 4th. The one that got built in front of the Edge. Moved in right after they opened up. Was in 184 Kent before that.
    - ThomPete 10y ago
      Ahh right. Cool. Lets hook up at one point. My email is in my details.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

huangc10 10y ago

This makes me want to pack my bags and head east...Good for you man!

Xcelerate 10y ago

Okay, I'm jealous of that view... that's literally my ideal apartment. And you've provided a great counterargument for everyone who says you can't have children in a city. As someone who just finished grad school, there's no way I could afford that though haha

ThomPete 10y ago
It's not cheap thats for sure and my wife isn't working. But New York although expensive is surprisingly child friendly and have experienced a surge in the number of people with kids (think like 30% in the last 5 years.) Once they hit Kindergarten there is plenty of good schools for free. I am hoping to be able to stay here for many years and have my boys be real New Yorkers.
- Xcelerate 10y ago
  > But New York although expensive is surprisingly child friendly That's great to hear! I'm really hoping the trend back toward the cities (and away from the suburbs) continues in America. I think walkable cities are much better than driving everywhere.
  - ThomPete 10y ago
    Yeah and you walk A LOT in New York which I really like.
- mahyarm 10y ago
  How is it child friendly? I've heard the stereotype is quite the opposite. Do you rent or did you buy that place? Also I work at the same building as square HQ in SF, haha.
  - ThomPete 10y ago
    Well because of the increase of kids it's changed quite a bit. Williamsburg for instance have a lot of parents. So basically a lot more places are fine with kids. I have never had my kids out anywhere and had a problem with them and I go out to eat a lot. But of course there are places I wouldn't take them. So you at Uber? :)

zump 10y ago

Okay what's your rent.

tempw 10y ago

Okay what you do? I am kind of considering a career change for exactly whatever it is. jokes apart which borough, Brooklyn?

ThomPete 10y ago
Williamsburg. Down on the water. I am a design lead at Square, plus I sell a fairly successful app on the side.
- tempw 10y ago
  That's fantastic, congrats on the sweet spot and hustle

andreygrehov 10y ago

Great view. I dreamed about New York since I was a kid. I moved here 4 years ago (from Ukraine) and just recently started to realize how problematic this city is. There are millions of issues: - Real estate. Of course, this is the root of all evil. - Driving is a bitch. My wife once asked me to go walk in a Central Park with a kid. I was looking for a parking space for one and a half hours. Literally. I drove back home. Because of the real estate, parking garage prices are ridiculous. - Restaurants. Overpacked with tables. Because of the real estate, owners pack their restaurants with as much tables as possible, so they could fit more people and be able to pay out rent/etc. Anniversary dinner? You'll have it with your wife, a gay couple and several business partners. - Subway. Don't get me started here. People pee in the subway. Trains are delayed all the time. - Medicine. I have a top-notch insurance. Every single doctor is scared of everything he/she is saying. It seems like all of them think that my next appointment is with a lawyer. Doctors are very "limited" in what they do. In my case, I compare with doctors from from my native country. They are more like engineers there, – never prescribe you anything, until the actual defect is determined. - Emergency Rooms are terrible. Best hospitals of NY. My kid was at 104F+. We came in at 12:30AM. Doctor saw us at 4AM. Same thing was with my pregnant wife. We ended up leaving the ER at 5AM because their system was offline and they couldn't get us anything. These are just a very few things. There are much more. I'm still looking for a place to raise my kids. P.S. New York is amazing for doing business. edit: formatting

cylinder 10y ago
Yep, been here four years too and leaving (I never dreamed of it though - my partner did). Especially good point about the healthcare issues here (independent of the broader US healthcare issues), it's really difficult to deal with. Fun for singles in their 20s but would not recommend the hard slog of raising a family here unless you're from the region or a highly paid banker. The housing situation is really dire once you demand a certain level of quality or want to buy (btw, didn't have mice for three years, now two in one day making four this year. There's always some issue popping up stressing me out and I live in a decent building with a good landlord and excellent area!) The subway will ruin you if you rely on it to commute daily at peak times. Even if on it just for two stops. It's absolutely a mess. Nose in strangers armpit after waiting for three trains to pass you because they're at capacity is a very real thing - now just imagine the train is held even ten minutes in a delay ... a panic attack in that situation is highly possible. The restaurants and food scene is incredibly overhyped, overpriced, and I routinely get sick after eating at good restaurants. Yeah maybe there's some three Michelin star places but I never go, and cannot afford or get a reservation anyhow. The people are great though and I'll miss them. Random locals I chat with when walking the dog, or the merchants and shopkeepers in my neighborhood. Good, interesting people. But they're usually the ones who've been here decades, not the transplants I don't think it's great for doing business. The pace can feel good at times, but drain you all the others. And the city is not what I'd categorize as a "small business city," it's very corporate in opportunities and mentality. We are going to Melbourne Australia to raise our kids. It is so much better for kids and yet still offers what NYC has but on a smaller more reasonable scale. It is not perfect, truthfully every major city around the world right now is facing issues, but better suited to manage them than NYC. It's far, but you should consider it. I am friends with a Bulgarian couple with a small child who love it and the kid is very happy too. If you are in tech you may be able to do independent skilled migration where you are given permanent residency even without a job sponsorship. Happy to help if you're interested, we can exchange contact info.

pauldix 10y ago

Agree, NYC. There's no better place to be. Unfortunately, SF/SV keep pulling me back in so I spend almost half my time there. I'm in Williamsburg on the waterfront too :) https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6fyj1iklxtg852/view.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/j6fyj1iklxtg852/view.jpg

ThomPete 10y ago
Oh you are in the Edge?
- pauldix 10y ago
  1 N 4th. The one that got built in front of the Edge. Moved in right after they opened up. Was in 184 Kent before that.
  - ThomPete 10y ago
    Ahh right. Cool. Lets hook up at one point. My email is in my details.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]