What is it like living in New York City?

Question

I plan on moving there next year and would like to know what it's like. How are the people and the environment? Is it really fast paced?

Answer 1

It depends on where you live. That depends on where you work or go to school, where you play, and the money you have to spend. If you live in a residential area that is not near fine restaurants, nightclubs, parks, attractions, and scenery you could just as well be living in any other city (at a fraction of the NYC cost). If you want those amenities and are willing to pay outrageous rents to be near them you would be living a unique and exciting life (as your money runs away at incredible speed).

If you live in a well-chosen neighborhood (like near people with the same careers or age or ethnicity, depending on what you care about) you can be among friendly and compatible friends. If you just drop down in an area that you haven't looked at carefully you will be living among strangers who will barely nod to you when you come out the front door at the same time.

Answer 2

The following is reprinted from my answer to an earlier similar inquiry:

Definitely try it or you'll always regret not doing it. . . . Some people hate it & some people won't live anywhere else. My son went to school there 15 years ago & is still living on the Lower East Side (in the same neighborhood where my grandparents first lived when they came over from Russia a hundred years ago). The best thing about NYC, believe it or not, is the people. You can stand in one spot -- like Union Square, or Houston & Broadway -- & within minutes see every conceiveable shade of human skin color; all living & working in the same city & all getting along & respecting each other's space & occupation. It has been said that "You don't live in New York City; you live in your neighborhood." That is true. Virtually every block is its own mini-neighborhood, with its own Korean Grocery, Pizza Place, Laundromat, etc. You get to know your neighbors, their dogs, their favorite food delivery guy, etc. They'll all be happy to give you advice on where to buy clothing, get your shoes repaired, which movies have discount tickets, etc. Living in NYC is a truly a great experience. Everyone should try it -- when they're still young enough to enjoy it

Answer 3

Depends on where you are and what you want out of life. If being on the cutting edge and living in a fast paced evironment is your calling then NYC is great. There are various drawbacks which included overpopulated, expensive and again expensive, extremely high taxes and a very greed based system of real estate management (try finding a descent apartment in NYC without a broker). NYC is designed to take just about every penny you earn. I lived in NYC for over twenty seven years. I love the city with all my heart but even as a fairly high wage earner it is impossible to own property. I now call Houston home.

Answer 4

ok I'll be bluntly honest. This is coming from a born and raised New yorker. you're really going to love nyc or hate it like hell lol

1 everything is very expensive
2 People are always ..... always rushing, even if they are early. (because of traffic)
3 You'll most likely have to get friendly with the city's transportation (trains,buses) because going to work in a car, is impossible
4 I will admit, the city is not friendly like the suburbs .. i have no explanation for that but its true. Some of us are just plain rude, but we have our nice people too
5 WATCH you're purse
6 everything is fast here, the word quiet does not exist unless you live in a certain part of queens or Staten island.
7 Trust no one easily. its dangerous.
8 be prepared to witness nonsense style
9 most people are blunt. they will tell you what they mean
10 its a fun city despite all of the con's. if you have money you'll have fun.
11 many great job opportunities in big name companies
12 everything is at reach ( goal wise )
13 were extremely diverse you can literally meet people from all over the world.
14 there's a grocery store in almost every block lol
15 there is always a new place you havent been yet
16 shopping ... is amazing, you have all the options
17 you can't be bored
18 not everyone is sociable, i have neighbors who have only said hi and given me a fake smile in all 6 years ive been in my apt. dont walk down the street saying hi to people. lol you can do that down south .. not here.
19 its too easy to get broke
20 extremly poluted ... breath " fresh air " while you can.
21 subway stations ( under ground ones ) are double hot in the summer. its a sauna
22 were all passionate yankee's fan. so dont mention Boston's Red Sox

thats all for now lol

Answer 5

It's wonderful, it's fulfilling, stimulating, always educational and believe it or not, it can be spiritual, too; there are thousands of churches/temples/sanctuaries representing every religion in the world. Don't think that New York is only full of mindless bar-hopping 20-somethings, nor mindless mega-millionaires. New York is mostly full of regular people, and the difference that I see from non-NYkers is that they have been exposed to a bigger variety of people, food, sights, thoughts and ways of living and thus are more aware and accepting of difference. Different is not wrong in NY; just different. That's why polls always show that NYkers are the nicest people.

You'll never be bored and never at a loss of what to do, any time of day of the week! Go to citysearch.com, or timeout.com or any New York newspaper, magazine and find an exhibit, performance, dance, concert, show, festival, flea market, lecture, presentation, discount sale, meeting, class, demonstration, parade, protest march, convention, celebration, fireworks, athletic event every day. Or, you can just walk around, sit on a bench and people watch in a plaza, small park, Central Park, Prospect Park, outside on museum steps, in front of a store, sitting on your (own) car or bike, al fresco at a cafe or just off to the side on a street corner. Watching New York and the world visiting NY go by is a beautiful experience, equal parts funny, astonishing, disgusting, scary, intriguing, mysterious, weird, entertaining, awe-inspiring and spiritual.

Answer 6

I love NYC! Here are some ideas of what you can do while in NYC. First, get a good tour map. Then I recommend you take the BIG APPLE double decker tour bus for an overview of the city. There are several different neighborhoods so I'll highlight these and what to see:
Upper East Side: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim, Whitney Museum. Walk up and down Madison Avenue for awesome shops and boutiques 96th - 57th st. Walk Park Avenue for architecture all the way to Grand Central Terminal and see the treasures located within. Walk along 5th Avenue to see/go in and out of Central Park - go for a run, go to the Central Park Zoo, go to the Carousel, go for a gondola ride at the boat house.
UPPER WEST SIDE:
Museum of Natural History -a must! on Central Park West,
Walk along Columbus Avenue. Visit the West side of Central Park and pay respects to John Lennon's Strawberry Fields.
MIDTOWN:
Shopping - 57th St (Chanel and the gang), Fifth Avenue - must see Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and FAO Schwartz - many other fun stores.
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Museum of Modern Art
Sony Bldg
Rockefeller Center
Go west to awesome new Time Warner center and visit the new Mandarin Hotel bar/restaurant for awesome view and treats!
Oh, Bloomingdale's is on 59th St and Lexington.
Empire State Bldg.
The Intrepid Aircraft Museum is fascinating and on the West side...worth the visit even if you have no kids.

CHELSEA:
Walk around the blooming area sprouting awesome restaurants and shops. Chelsea Pier is fun.

WALL ST:
Pay respects to the 9/11 victims and heroes at the WTC site., Walk Wall St., visit the Chase Hdqtrs, Federal Reserve. Seaport area is great to see.

THE VILLAGE:
Funky shops in the West Village. Walk through the NYU Washington Square Park. The East Village has some shops from new artists and designers

SOHO:
Great galleries and shops on n off West Broadway. Walk thru to Little Italy for awesome meals and desserts...walk through Chinatown. CANAL STREET has stall after stall of Designer "copies"...bring cash and bargain and watch your purse!

These should put an awesome smile on your face. Bring your camera and takes lots of photos to remember your trip. You'll have a blast! OH...BUY this weekly magazine: TIMEOUT NEW YORK on any newstand to see what's going on each week/day. :)

Answer 7

its exciting! you will never be bored here! it is fast paced but you can find your way to escape it if thats what u want. new york city is so huge so there are many places u can go to unwind from the craziness of the city. like central park for instance.

Answer 8

best place in the world. i would never move. there is so much to see and do. it is definately fast paced. the ppl are polite we were rated #1 as the politest city in the world. u will have so much fun.

Answer 9

Its sorta fast paced, but it depends on where you are coming from. I've lived here all my life and its exciting and fun but still very challenging (financially).

Answer 10

My son just moved there and now lives in Brooklyn, the Williamsburg area. Try there. He loves it.