I’ve lived in Manhattan for the past 3 years, and I moved here at the height of the pandemic. Prior to moving here, I frequented the city but lived on the west coast. Coming to New York then was always so much fun, the city was always so alive and it felt safe, bustling and lovely. Like you, I LOVED NYC.
But now, it’s an utter hellscape. Keep in mind, when conservative media outlets started reporting how dangerous the city was becoming or how bad things were, I was the last person on earth who actually believed them to be true. Fake news, right? Except, it’s not fake news. Even the extreme liberals can’t deny what is happening to this city.
There are no rules, and no enforcement of the law. People know there are no repercussions for shop lifting, jumping the subway turnstiles, or traffic violations - to name a few. There are bands of illegal dirt bikes and ATV’s (hundreds) that swarm the streets in packs. Stabbings and assaults on the subway are a daily occurrence. The streets are becoming increasingly less safe, and in the last month alone I’ve seen two people with handguns. Seeing someone having a psychotic episode on the sidewalk is the usual. Three people have illegally attempted to enter my home this year alone. Food deliveries and packages are stolen frequently.
And then there’s the money.
Yes, it’s expensive, and I my becoming more so. The sheer number of conveniences and accessibility of whatever you want basically at any time means you can easily spend a few thousand a month just getting takeout every other day. Grocery deliveries take less than 10 minutes with some services, so keeping a pantry becomes less important as you can order whatever you want on demand. Even if you’re rich, in Manhattan, you feel poor because there is always someone who has exponentially more than you. I’m my opinion you can’t even think of considering yourself to be wealthy unless you are worth at a minimum of $50 million. The infrastructure is awful, there is literally always garbage piled up on the sidewalk because there is no space for dumpsters - it’s done so intentionally. Garbage disposals in a kitchen sink are effectively illegal because the plumbing in the city can’t support the number of people that live here.
Most apartments are shitty and old with slumlord cheap landlords. New construction is sometimes nice but always incredibly small. Your idea of having an apartment in the city and a house on Long Island isn’t exactly original and in fact is almost the rule and definitely not the exception. Having an apartment in a full service building and a home in Rhode Island, Connecticut, the Hamptons, Westchester, Tuxedo Park, etc. Is definitely how to go.
All in all, I think NYC is a great place to visit or somewhere to have a secondary residence but to live here full time and have nowhere else to stretch your legs would be miserable.
