Most people would jump at the prospect of living in New York, one of the world’s most famous cities. The desire is understandable. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of living in New York City before you start packing your bags.
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12 Pros and Cons of Living in New York City
Who wouldn’t want to reside in a location with multiple attraction sites such as the iconic Statue of Liberty? Who can say no to the countless job opportunities available in the city? There are also many ways to get entertained, since the city has many restaurants, parks, museums, stadiums, etc.
That said, life isn’t easy in New York, despite being romanticized by popular TV shows like Friends.
In winter, the conditions are bleak and sometimes unbearable. New Yorkers are unfriendly, and they won’t hesitate to show it. Most people are busy, and it can be challenging to form committed relationships.
It’s nice to have realistic expectations when moving to the city. In most cases, your chosen ways of life define your experiences.
Pros of Living in New York City
Here are the benefits of living in New York City.
Reliable Transport
The ‘Big Apple’ has one of the most reliable transport systems. If you own a MetroCard, you can use the city’s bus and subway system. About $127 is sufficient to make you travel through the city for a month. However, you might need more if you have a car.
New York has several airports. You can travel anywhere from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) or LaGuardia Airport (LGA), or locally using the other airfields.
Job Opportunities
If you want to get a job, look no further than the land of opportunities, which is New York. You do not need to have a degree to get a lucrative career in this city. The town currently has millions of businesses, some of which are Fortune 500 Companies.
Most of these companies have job opportunities if you have the right qualifications. With formal education, it’s easy to find a job.
Thanks to its burgeoning population, you can also find a blue-collar job in New York. There are abundant jobs for construction workers, drivers, plumbers, electricians, etc.
Great Food
If you’re a foodie, New York is the place for you. The city has thousands of food spots, ranging from small to full-scale restaurants.
Even better, you don’t have to travel to restaurants to get a meal. The eatery could be close to your home, or you can get takeout delivered to your residence.
Besides quantity, New York guarantees quality food. The city has almost a hundred restaurants with a star rating from Michelin.
Another great aspect of food in NYC is diversity. Foods from other cultures such as Chinese, African, Thai, Japanese, and so on are easily accessible at the city’s eateries. You can never get bored of the available cuisines.
Diversity
Due to its vibrancy and worldwide fame, NYC attracts people from different cultures. You’ll find people from every part of the world in New York.
It’s easy to find someone who enjoys the same things you do or an individual with similar cultural persuasions. The biggest advantage of diversity is that you don’t feel lonely and isolated.
Celebrity Hotspot
If you enjoy seeing famous people, you might want to visit New York. Celebrities like Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift live in the city, and if you’re lucky, you can spot them.
You can even get an autograph or capture a selfie if they’re friendly enough. Or go on a TV & Movie Tour, which will lead you to New York City’s best filming locations. It is a fun guided sightseeing bus tour that takes you to over 60 NYC locations featured in your favorite TV shows and movies. You can visit locations from Friends including their apartment building, NYC sites from The Office, Modern Family and the famous Soup featured on Seinfeld. Not just in November, fun to do any time of the year!
Social Lifestyle
NY is the city that never sleeps. The city has hundreds of clubs to enjoy drinks and loud music. With COVID-19 restrictions easing, the city is returning to normalcy, where you couldn’t move a block without coming across parties.
Additionally, the city’s social nature makes it ideal for networking. It’s home to Wall Street, the world’s most famous financial hub.
Here, you can meet other entrepreneurs and discuss growing your business and exploiting new opportunities if that’s your forte.
Fashion Scene
New Yorkers dress better than most people living in other American cities. Living in the city constantly exposes you to the latest fashion trends, pushing you to upgrade your closet.
Whether you fancy unbranded outfits or designer clothes like Jimmy Choo, Emporio Armani, and Valentino, you’ll never run out of choices in New York City.
That said, nobody pressures you to adhere to a particular fashion code – your dress is your choice 🙂
What is there to do in New York City? Plenty!
New York City is often described as a concrete jungle, but there are plenty of things to do, museums to visit and green spaces to enjoy. The city is dedicated to maintaining and improving access to green space across New York City’s 5 boroughs — Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. There are more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds and recreational facilities to enjoy whether you are living in New York City.
Central Park is often referred to as “New York City’s backyard,” but the relatively new High Line, an urban revitalization project in the Lower East Side is fast becoming a favorite among residents and visitors.
The Statue of Liberty is one of New York City’s most recognizable symbols, here other a few others to check out if you are visiting or living in New York City.
Postcard-perfect Brooklyn Bridge, with its gothic archways and steel cables, is a popular spot for photos but it is also one of the city’s magnificent feats of engineering. Upon its completion in 1883 it became the first roadway to connect Manhattan and Brooklyn, which were then separate cities (Brooklyn became part of New York City in 1898). Back then, with a central span of 1,595 feet, the Brooklyn Bridge was also the world’s longest suspension bridge.
The Oculus, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava resembles a dove leaving a child’s hands. You can see it in the tall, crossed steel columns that make up the exterior. Together, this series of columns form a pair of 350-foot wings. The name comes from the strip of windows, or skylights, along the spine of the roof. Oculus is the Latin word for “eye,” which refers to a round or eye-like opening with a view of the sky. If you take a look up through the windows, you’ll see Freedom Tower.
See: How to see New York City in One Day
Another extraordinary building is the Vessel in Hudson Yards, It is its spiral staircase, an artwork that was imagined by Thomas Heatherwick and Heatherwick Studio as a focal point where people can enjoy new perspectives of New York City from different heights, angles and vantage points. Comprised of 154 intricately interconnecting flights of stairs, almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings, the Vessel offers remarkable views of the city, the river and beyond.
See: Fodors list of 30+ things to do in New York City
Cons of living in New York City
Despite its many pros, living in New York has its disadvantages. The following are the downsides of living here.
Expensive Accommodation
New York is one of the costliest cities to live in worldwide. This is a major reason most people don’t like living in this city.
Unless you earn a high salary, you might be forced to live in a shared apartment or one of the city’s suburbs. You’ll have to incur transport costs daily if you work in the central business district with the latter.
If you want to live comfortably, your monthly earnings should be around $4,000. Anything lower means you’ll have to live with a roommate. If you have a family, your partner should also have a job or higher salary.
Weather can be crazy
Wonder what’s the weather like in New York City, NY? The city has four distinct seasons. Every spring you’ll see flowers growing in area parks, and come summer people living in New York City enjoy the sun. Summers can also get hot and humid. Autumn brings with it cooler temperatures and the theater season.
But like an adolescent, New York’s weather is inconsistent and unpredictable. It takes a few hours to turn from calm and clear to frigid and windy!
Winters can mean several inches of snow when the occasional Nor’easter passes through and dumping snow and bringing the region to a standstill. If you plan to make a Christmas trip to NYC, it’s vital to be prepared and pack heavy winter clothing.
Noisiness and Traffic Congestion
There’s always noisy traffic in New York. You can get stuck in a traffic snarl-up for hours when driving your car. If you choose to cycle, you risk being hit by unruly drivers.
The subway sounds like a great alternative, but it gets crowded at times. Even worse, the trains can delay or re-route to allow railway maintenance.
It isn’t easy to get a sound sleep if you live close to the lower levels of Broadway. The nose can be unbearable when sirens pass or garbage trucks come to collect waste.
Unfriendly People
Nobody cares about you in New York, except for your family and friends. Due to its diversity, this is understandable. New York is the least friendly state in the entire country, according to an annual ranking from a global travel website released Monday
New York is the least friendly state in the entire country, according to an annual ranking by a global travel website. You can’t expect a person from the other side of the world to treat you nicely when all they are after is bettering themselves.
Dirt and Unpleasant Smell
New York’s streets have a lot of smelly garbage. In summer, the smell gets rancid because of the heat.
Moreover, the subway has thousands of rats that you can see running on the railway tracks. It’s wise to carry a hand sanitizer when you visit the city. You can clean your hand conveniently when a bathroom is inaccessible.
Wrapping Up
Whether you’re a visitor or a resident, New York is a great city. You can never lack something to do here.
On the downside, you need deep pockets to live comfortably in the city. The weather can also get unfriendly, especially in winter.
So there you have it! The pros and cons of living in New York City. Do your research properly if you intend to move to live in New York City.
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