New York City is the self proclaimed best city in the world. As a kid I loved watching movies and at the epicenter of most of these movies was New York City. It seemed that 90% of urban movies took place there and the remaining 10% was in a nondescript ‘American city.’ So from the beginning New York City seemed important and I was dying to go there and live like everyone in the movies.
My first actual visit to NYC was a bit of shock, but set the stage for me slowly realizing that movies almost in no way reflect real life. My first visit to NYC was for a school Drama trip. We drove all night in a bus and I ended up sleeping on the floor because it was warmer and more comfortable than the tiny seat.
We arrived in New York that morning after driving all night from Atlanta. For some illogical reason we drove through Times Square to get to our hotel and we were all mesmerized by the shockingly large and bright advertising that was forcing its way into our eyeballs. Or maybe we just liked shiny things.
The real shock came when we stepped off the bus and began to actually experience NYC. It was my nightmare. Dirty, smelly, loud, bleak and generally depressing. Part of the depressing aspect might have been that this was a Drama trip so we were interacting with struggling and even successful actors and actresses….that still seemed to be ‘struggling’.
We were surrounded by people that loved what they did, but no matter how hard they worked they were still struggling to pay their bills and get ahead in this crazy city. We discovered that we were actually more surrounded by these characters than we realized after seeing our Tour Guide on an episode of Law & Order the night we arrived.
When I left New York I had an overall sense of disappointment that this great city that I thought I knew so well based on movies basically did not exist. In its place was a giant pile of litter that you must pay a premium to live in. The only aspect I enjoyed was the convenience it provided – specifically the ability to pick up a hot cocoa and croissant for $2 right outside our hotel on the way to our next appointment.
Fast forward to college: Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it) most of my contacts that I made when looking for work lived and worked in New York City so the people they put me in contact with overall lived and worked there as well. So when I was interviewing for a job a month before graduation all of them were in New York City. The reason I didn’t wait longer and expand my search was that I was trying to find a job right after graduation so I wouldn’t have to move from Massachusetts (where I went to college) to Georgia and out again. I ended up receiving one job offer on the day I was leaving New York and I accepted it. This arrangement led to me running off my graduation line, hopping into my parent’s rental car in my graduation gown and driving to NYC to start my first job the next morning.
I have lived in NYC since June 2011 – before any of my friends. And in that time I did learn to love a few things about it, specifically the convenience I discovered on that Drama trip. I love that I can get absolutely anything delivered to my door almost immediately in NYC: food from any cuisine, booze, soap, dog food – literally anything. That may be revealing a bit of my laziness as well, but it blows my mind. I can take a bus 30 minutes and eat authentic food from absolutely anywhere in the world. My latest discovery was Sri Lankan food. I almost burned my mouth off with ⅖ heat, but it was delicious.
Unfortunately this ridiculous level of convenience is accompanied by the highest cost of living in the United States. An average 2 bedroom apartment in Manhattan has a monthly rent of $3,883 while a similar apartment in Seattle costs $1,875 a month. The average price for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home in NYC is $1.4 million while a similar home in Seattle would cost $490,000 — still expensive, but no where near the ridiculousness of NYC. The cost of rent also affects the cost of everything else: bread in NYC is $2.31 and only $1.34 in Seattle and a regular bowling game is $12.33 in NYC and $7 in Seattle. Seeing the prices compared between similar metropolises that offer similar job opportunities is absolutely shocking.
I’ve heard many reasons that the rent in New York City, and the cost of everything as a result, is sky high. Space is limited since Manhattan is an island so everything is at a premium, NYC provides a huge range of high paying jobs so the rent is proportional to what people will pay, you’re paying for the convenience of having small examples of every part of the world at your beck and call.
It makes sense and for a while I bought into it, but I’m beyond done with New York now. The cost is a large factor since most of the above reasons for it are completely false, but it’s also the overall spirit of New York. I realized that it was altering how I viewed people: as obstacles instead of other human beings like myself. As an object in the way of me walking my pace on the sidewalk and entering the subway train I need to get to work on time. That is no way to think of other people and when I realized this city was doing that to me it was over. I would prefer to value human life, which is not something you see in New York. It’s true that you can be in a crowd of people and feel completely alone because I know that if anything happened to me while in that crowd everyone else would ignore it and continue on their business.
So it was time to move, but where to go? One aspect of New York that I do enjoy is the high salaries most of it provides and the mix of cultures and cuisines. Something I was seeking was a more friendly feeling and a city that seems to value human life. After discussing several cities in the Mid-West and on the West Coast including Denver, San Diego and Seattle we decided to move to Seattle when our lease is up this summer. It has everything we need: high salaries, a much lower cost of living (about ½ of NYC), natural beauty (which I am basically starved for. Central Park is not nature) and a small town vibe with big city possibilities. Seattle has all of the above and I am so excited for this next adventure.
I currently live in DC and am considering my options. Thankfully, we’re not as bad (price- or attitude-wise) as NYC, but I was still looking at an average of $2790/mo for a 2-bedroom apartment. I love the city, but I don’t think the bill fits the value – especially since what I really want is to live abroad! Here’s hoping this work-from-home is here to stay.
I think the case for working from home is definitely here to stay. And if you want to move I say go for it 🙂 .