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I've relocated to NYC area for work, from a different country. One can get depressed about jobs not being where they are, or go to where the opportunity is bett

I've relocated to NYC area for work, from a different country. One can get depressed about jobs not being where they are, or go to where the opportunity is better. People have freedom of movement and there is incredible infrastructure supporting that. Why not take advantage instead of complaining?

emddudley 8y ago
To me the idea of living in NYC is depressing. I think overall the US would have a better quality of life if industry was not so concentrated in major cities. Fewer people would need to make trade-offs between their jobs and lifestyle.
- throwawaymath 8y ago
  I live in NYC and I’m not going to try to change your mind, but out of curiosity what don’t you like about it? Winter? The smell? Too many people?
  - dionidium 8y ago
    I live in Manhattan and work in Midtown. I love it here, but I'll give you my complaints (for whatever they're worth): 1. The traffic and noise in Midtown is downright oppressive. People just laying on their horns for basically no reason, giant trucks speeding by the mass of pedestrians. 2. Yes, too many people. This is also Midtown specific. I don't mind crowds and I like a busy streetscape, but Midtown reaches a level that's dystopian. I dread walking on the avenues during rush hour. People spill out into the street, because there's not enough sidewalk to contain them all and it's basically impossible not to bump into people the entire way. I'm a fast walker. I hate walking slow. Midtown is very frustrating in a very minute-to-minute kind of way. (See #1 for some ideas about how we could give people more space. Hint: less space for cars.) 3. I would like to own my own home. I don't see how that's going to be practical here. 4. I like building stuff. In my hometown I had lots of tools and the space to work on projects. I don't have the space for any of that here. 5. I'm a cyclist. I prefer to own a couple bikes. I can't do that here. I barely have room for one bike in my 350 sq/ft apartment. It's kind of a pain even having that one bike. Any one of these could be reason enough to prefer a less crowded and expensive city.
    - throwawaymath 8y ago
      All of that sounds familiar, yeah. I’m in the same situation as you. I’m cautiously optimistic about buying an apartment in Manhattan, however (though Amazon moving half of HQ2 here won’t do me any favors on real estate prices). With regard to #1: I’m somewhat hopeful that the new state senate shakeup will get Cuomo’s congestion pricing ideas implemented. Not sure if that will ultimately be good or bad, but it might alleviate traffic.
  - MikeKusold 8y ago
    I currently live in Denver and spend almost every weekend in the mountains. To me, the depressing part of NYC is the complete lack of fresh air, outdoor activities, and solitude. Different strokes for different people.
    - throwawaymath 8y ago
      I’ve never been to Denver, but I’ve been to Oregon and your comment reminds me of the beautiful hiking and scenery available there. I can definitely sympathize with that. My partner and I typically flee to a nice area upstate for a weekend every so often so we can enjoy nature more.
    - wholien 8y ago
      there are a lot of outdoors stuff 1-3 hours outside of NYC. NYC itself does have a lot of parks too, of which Central Park is the largest example.
      - lotsofpulp 8y ago
        If you have experienced west coast/Rocky mountain outdoors, the east coast likely won't satisfy you anymore.
      - hessproject 8y ago
        > of which Central Park is the largest example The most well known maybe, but not the largest. Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx is more than 3x the size of Central Park
      - sinker 8y ago
        Central Park is more like a big outdoor garden not in anyway comparable to a large trail system or public lands area. There are trails a little north and in nearby Jersey 1-2 hours by car on the way to (if you head out in the early morning). But on the way back... God have mercy. Expect at least two hours and closer to three and a half in crawling traffic as soon as you get somewhere close to the city. You can see quite a bit more like the Adirondacks you're willing to drive 5-6 hours, but a drive like that isn't suitable for a day hike. You can also find some smaller trails and untended areas on the outskirts of the city (eg, Marine Park in southeast Brooklyn). But these tend to be.. well small. Anyway my point is, like most big cities, it's difficult to really get "outdoors" with any measure of convenience.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    As someone who has lived there and likes visiting, there's a lot to hate about NYC. It's expensive. The fact that it's sometimes held out as being reasonable compared to the Bay Area says more about the Bay Area than NYC. You can't conveniently/inexpensively own a car. Which is an advantage for some. Not so much for others who like hopping in the car to run a quick errand. The crush of people all the time. It's "gritty." Not 1980s gritty any longer but still. (Smell, noise, homelessness (not SF levels but that's an awfully low bar). Basically, it's an urban landscape on steroids even compared to, say, London. That's not necessarily bad but a few days of it is about my limit.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

emddudley 8y ago

To me the idea of living in NYC is depressing. I think overall the US would have a better quality of life if industry was not so concentrated in major cities. Fewer people would need to make trade-offs between their jobs and lifestyle.

throwawaymath 8y ago
I live in NYC and I’m not going to try to change your mind, but out of curiosity what don’t you like about it? Winter? The smell? Too many people?
- dionidium 8y ago
  I live in Manhattan and work in Midtown. I love it here, but I'll give you my complaints (for whatever they're worth): 1. The traffic and noise in Midtown is downright oppressive. People just laying on their horns for basically no reason, giant trucks speeding by the mass of pedestrians. 2. Yes, too many people. This is also Midtown specific. I don't mind crowds and I like a busy streetscape, but Midtown reaches a level that's dystopian. I dread walking on the avenues during rush hour. People spill out into the street, because there's not enough sidewalk to contain them all and it's basically impossible not to bump into people the entire way. I'm a fast walker. I hate walking slow. Midtown is very frustrating in a very minute-to-minute kind of way. (See #1 for some ideas about how we could give people more space. Hint: less space for cars.) 3. I would like to own my own home. I don't see how that's going to be practical here. 4. I like building stuff. In my hometown I had lots of tools and the space to work on projects. I don't have the space for any of that here. 5. I'm a cyclist. I prefer to own a couple bikes. I can't do that here. I barely have room for one bike in my 350 sq/ft apartment. It's kind of a pain even having that one bike. Any one of these could be reason enough to prefer a less crowded and expensive city.
  - throwawaymath 8y ago
    All of that sounds familiar, yeah. I’m in the same situation as you. I’m cautiously optimistic about buying an apartment in Manhattan, however (though Amazon moving half of HQ2 here won’t do me any favors on real estate prices). With regard to #1: I’m somewhat hopeful that the new state senate shakeup will get Cuomo’s congestion pricing ideas implemented. Not sure if that will ultimately be good or bad, but it might alleviate traffic.
- MikeKusold 8y ago
  I currently live in Denver and spend almost every weekend in the mountains. To me, the depressing part of NYC is the complete lack of fresh air, outdoor activities, and solitude. Different strokes for different people.
  - throwawaymath 8y ago
    I’ve never been to Denver, but I’ve been to Oregon and your comment reminds me of the beautiful hiking and scenery available there. I can definitely sympathize with that. My partner and I typically flee to a nice area upstate for a weekend every so often so we can enjoy nature more.
  - wholien 8y ago
    there are a lot of outdoors stuff 1-3 hours outside of NYC. NYC itself does have a lot of parks too, of which Central Park is the largest example.
    - lotsofpulp 8y ago
      If you have experienced west coast/Rocky mountain outdoors, the east coast likely won't satisfy you anymore.
    - hessproject 8y ago
      > of which Central Park is the largest example The most well known maybe, but not the largest. Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx is more than 3x the size of Central Park
    - sinker 8y ago
      Central Park is more like a big outdoor garden not in anyway comparable to a large trail system or public lands area. There are trails a little north and in nearby Jersey 1-2 hours by car on the way to (if you head out in the early morning). But on the way back... God have mercy. Expect at least two hours and closer to three and a half in crawling traffic as soon as you get somewhere close to the city. You can see quite a bit more like the Adirondacks you're willing to drive 5-6 hours, but a drive like that isn't suitable for a day hike. You can also find some smaller trails and untended areas on the outskirts of the city (eg, Marine Park in southeast Brooklyn). But these tend to be.. well small. Anyway my point is, like most big cities, it's difficult to really get "outdoors" with any measure of convenience.
- ghaff 8y ago
  As someone who has lived there and likes visiting, there's a lot to hate about NYC. It's expensive. The fact that it's sometimes held out as being reasonable compared to the Bay Area says more about the Bay Area than NYC. You can't conveniently/inexpensively own a car. Which is an advantage for some. Not so much for others who like hopping in the car to run a quick errand. The crush of people all the time. It's "gritty." Not 1980s gritty any longer but still. (Smell, noise, homelessness (not SF levels but that's an awfully low bar). Basically, it's an urban landscape on steroids even compared to, say, London. That's not necessarily bad but a few days of it is about my limit.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]