After living in NYC, I have learned that people either love it or hate it here. There is rarely ever a neutral take from native New Yorkers or transplants from other states or countries. There are always plenty of jobs, tons of walking for exercise, and you can travel anywhere, anytime of day or night. The down side is New Yorkers are always working, which can lead to loneliness at times, the food is tempting and cancels out the walking, and rent is very high.
Pro: Jobs Are Abundant
Jobs are abundant in NYC! You can do jobs that you never knew existed. You can work at the Waldorf, Disney Store, Yankee Stadium, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Javits Center, Lincoln Center, Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden, Apollo Theatre, Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The list never ends! You want a job or career, you can find it within a matter of weeks, just use Indeed.com. Whatever your career or job of choice, you can and will find it here.
Best Job Search Website: https://www.indeed.com/
https://www.bydominiqueduarte.com/the-best-ways-to-find-a-job/
Con: New Yorkers are Workaholics/ Loneliness
Since there are some many jobs and the cost of living is high, most people are working mulitple jobs or working overtime at their full-time jobs to sustain a living. Socializing and making friends can be challenging. People are always busy and coordinating schedules is difficult.
Even if you have several friends, you will rarely see them. In order to spend time with friends, you have to be very intentional about making plans with people. You can try joining an organization that interests you to socialize more. You can go out with friends from work, or use meetup.com to find your tribe.
Pro: Built in Excercise Routine: Walking
You will walk all day everyday, run after busses and trains, go up and down several subway steps daily. Even if you have a car, you will be parking extremely far from your home or job. You will need to have comfortable shoes. You will wear down every pair that you own within a matter of weeks.
Walking is my form of daily exercise and if you live here, it becomes a part of you daily routine as well. NYC has nice scenery and can be quiet in most neighborhoods, if you are not in Times Square or certain parts of Manahttan. The sirens can be loud sometimes, but you will hear live music often while walking down the street, which is pretty cool.
Con: FOOD, FOOD, FOOD
This is a bit of a pro/con. There is food on every corner in food trucks, bodegas (local grocery shops), grocery stores, ice cream shops, restaurants with food from all around the world. This a what makes NYC unique, the variety of food choices.
However, overeating and overspending is super easy with so many food choices. The abundance of food may interfere with the built in exercise routine of walking everywhere. Cooking at home will save you money and help your waistline too. So plan your meals accordingly and pack a lunchbox!
Pro: You Don’t Need a Car
NYC is one of the only cities that you can get around 24/7 without having a car. I sold my car almost 7 years ago and I have not driven since. You can get a monthly subway/bus pass for $127 a month and get wherever, whenever you want. You will need to give yourself plenty of travel time to get to your destination because the trains and busses are not very timely. But, you save so much money by not having a car. There will be no more car insurance, car payments, and you will not have to worry about high gas prices anymore.
Con: Affordable Housing is ‘No Bueno’
Get ready to throw the money you saved on not having car to your new NYC apartment. Wooohoo! You have more money to pay the rent now so it all evens out. Manhattan is way more expensive than Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, so I never looked for housing in Manhattan. I found affordable housing through Facebook markeptlace and Roomster.com.
You can search for rooms and go visit the apartments to see if you like the room. Bring a friend to be safe if you want. Discuss the deposit, broker’s fee, 1st month’s rent with the landlord, give them the money and move in as soon as possible. Be ready to put quite a bit of money down on an apartment. It is usually around $1500-3000 down, but this is about how much money you would put down on a new car anyway. You win some, you lose some.
Conclusion
High Rent and workaholism scares many people from NYC. However, NYC has so much to offer as well. You win some, you lose some! If you want to buy a home and have a family, this would not be the ideal place to live. However, if you are single or a couple with no children who doesn’t mind a minimialist lifestyle, this is the place for you.
You will not have the luxuries of elevators, washers and dryers in your apartment and large closets or even central heating and air, but you learn how to live with less, which can be a blessing in its’ own way.
Rent is high, but the jobs pay well and the opportunties for jobs are out of this world. You will find foods from around the world and you can walk around your neighborhood or a park and see gorgeous scenery. You can find friends here. Native New Yorkers are the most genuine people that I have ever met. Lastly, NYC is not for everyone and for some it is only good for a season in their life, but NYC is my home and currently I love it here, the pros and cons!
Hope this helps!
Dominique Duarte
What do you Love or Hate about NYC? Comment below!