A big move!?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-07-2007
A big move!?
16
Tue, 08-07-2007 - 11:00am
I'm a small town Minnesota girl with HUGE dreams! I've been living here for too long now and have the urge to move. I've been in love with New York City for as long as I can remember. I'm 27 and ready for a huge change. I'm very much single and not looking to settle down anytime soon. So, I figure now is as good a time as any. A single, young professional in NYC? Sounds good to me. My only issue is, I've never been there. I may be in for a huge reality check. Anyone have any suggestions? Is it hard to find a good job? Is it dangerous? Any suggestions on neighborhoods to live in? This is once in lifetime for me and I feel like if I don't do it now, I won't and will regret it forever.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2004
In reply to: ndavis50
Tue, 08-07-2007 - 11:27am

What sort of jobs are you qualified for? How much rent can you afford? You can get a sense for how much living arrangements are going to cost by looking at newyork.craigslist.com It has listings for housing (and some job stuff, but I can't vouch for the usefulness of that.)


There are also several books on newcomer's guides to New York that you should check out (either at B&N or Amazon, etc.)


New York isn't inherently dangerous, but you need to be aware and smart about your decisions.


Best of luck!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2006
In reply to: ndavis50
Tue, 08-07-2007 - 11:36am

Well, I would say definitely go, but I think you should visit first. Most people love New York, but I'm not a huge fan. I'm a city girl at heart, but New York is too...I would say big, but I LOVE London, so it's not really that...too something. :) I don't feel like there's as much character in terms of the buildings, layout, all that. I love to look around Boston or London or wherever (take your pic of European cities) and see the different architecture, the old crazy buildings...but I also had the feeling I wouldn't like New York before I actually visited, so the fact that you love it might speak volumes.

Regardless, I say go for it if you love the city so much...now's the time for adventures. :)

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2003
In reply to: ndavis50
Tue, 08-07-2007 - 2:58pm

I'm in the same position as you, ready for a BIG change and I'm seriously considering moving to another city in one year.

BUT New York? I don't hear great things about living there. It's extrememly expensive, the job market is tight, housing, hard to come by and seeral other things that make it least desirable for me. I'd definitely do lots of research there. Most people I know there wish they could leave.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-16-2007
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 5:46am

I live in London UK, obviously a massive huge super hectic giant of a city, and went to New York with my bf about 2.5 years ago for a long weekend. I have to be honest and say that I didn't like it at all. I mean, London's bad enough lol but NYC is something else entirely. It's too.. everything. Too huge, too loud, too manic, buildings too tall, streets too tangled, too much noise, too much movement, too many cars, too many people, nowhere near enough history or character, too commercial.. the list could go on forever. I mean, digits for street names lol????? The only part of it that I really liked was Little Italy cause if I could just ignore the yellow cabs I could imagine that I was in Italy and not in New York!! (I love Italy). And remember I live in London - not a small town tucked away somewhere, and NYC was still too much for me. The property/rental costs are atrocious here in London and absolutely everything else is horribly expensive too and there are 100+ people for every job vacancy so I'd imagine this is the situation in NYC too. So think about it carefully before you make any decisions.
Avatar for floridagirl52
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-2006
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 6:52am

I too love New York, but have never lived there. In many ways, I wish I had moved there in my 20s. You're right, now is the time, whether it's New York or somewhere else.

Definitely go for a visit: that will be a good indication as to whether you should pursue it further.

Some of the other posters have brought up some good points about finances, but I say you can make it work if you really want it. You may have to share an apartment with 3 people at first, but so what? As to a job, that could be a bit problematic depending on what your credentials are. Do you belong to a professional organization? If so, you could contact New Yorkers in your field to get information.

I say go for it!

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2006
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 10:55am

I couldn't have said it better myself (obviously, look what happened when I tried!). There are obviously many people that love NY, though, but I just think it's a matter of taste. I love the stupidly-planned old streets of Boston AND London and even though Boston is teeny in comparison to London (but a great walking city), I find them similar in quite a few ways (we also have an AMAZING Little Italy, if you haven't been) and I love them both. I wanted to use sterile to describe NY, and though it works in the commercial, orderly way, it doesn't seem to work so much in terms of cleanliness. :) Not that it's dirty compared to other places, but hey, it is a city.

Ooh, and as for expenses, I have a friend who lives in Brooklyn and loves it and her rent is relatively affordable, so I'd check out the other boroughs (ok, some of them, haha) if I were you.




Edited 8/8/2007 11:04 am ET by cml7721
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-16-2007
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 11:55am

I'm told Brooklyn is similar to smth like say, Brixton or Catford or Hackney here in London?.. meaning ehm.. be very VERY careful with your every move, at all times, but especially so after 10pm lol? Here, if the rent is low, there is always a very good reason for it. There is no such thing as a cheap-ish flat/house in a safe and reasonably aesthetically pleasant area, not in Central London anyway. If the flat's cheap and it's in a great area, believe me, it will be uninhabitable!! Example: say, Kensington, heart of London, gorgeousness, massive parks, hundreds of years of history, beauty all around etc etc.. you want to rent a teeeeeeeny tiny one single bedroom flat there? Expect to part with £1,200 - £1,500 a month at the very very least - double that and you get the amount in USD... Move that same tiny flat to say, Lewisham in South London (ehm..NOT recomended, near Hackney) and the price drops by half. I sure hope it's different in NYC.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-17-2002
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 12:16pm

From what I hear, a lot of the glitz and glamour of New York wears off when you LIVE there.

131.gif image by y_baros th5K.gif image by jade_simo

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-26-2006
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 12:31pm

Well, my friend is a 23 year old woman who's VERY careful about herself and has good reason to be and she loves it. I think it's one of the many neighborhoods of many cities that is up and coming and has changed a lot over the past however many years. To use Boston as an example (because it's just what I'm most familiar with), South Boston STILL has a bad reputation among outsiders (ie The Departed), but it's such a good neighborhood now. When I told my mother I was looking at places in Southie, she panicked and asked me if I felt safe and if it was dangerous, but she hasn't even BEEN to South Boston. The rents are still cheaper because of it's old reputation, which persists in non-residents, but it's such a steal for those of us who know better; it's quiet, family-friendly, and has some of the most AMAZING apartments and condo units I've seen for such low (for Boston, which is also a pricey city) prices in the city. They still run at $1,300 and up for a two-bed, but that is decently priced for Boston.

Now like Southie, in which the West side is still a little sketchy, I'm sure there are still bad neighborhoods of Brooklyn, but there are good ones, too.

Avatar for northwestwanderer
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
In reply to: ndavis50
Wed, 08-08-2007 - 1:10pm

I moved to NYC right after college and was there for 7 years. LOVED IT! It was so exciting for a young woman from the suburbs of Boston and I ate it up. But I also lived in terrible apartments to save money and got mugged once so it wasn't all wine & roses, plus by the end of my time there, I was ready for a move to a place that's less exhausting to live in. But it was fantastic in so many ways and I wouldn't trade my time there for anything. I go back once a year now and enjoy my visits, but I'm ready to come home by the end of my time there. I still love the energy level there but it is exhausting.

I agree with the suggestions to go and spend some time there and live as much like a resident during your visit as you can. I'd been there a number of times and had lived in Paris during college so I was somewhat prepared for life in a big city.

Sheri

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