<p>The NYT article goes on to discuss higher income families and I think they were from Asian India. Currently I’m reading “Behind The Beautiful Flowers”, by Katherine Boo, which may give one an idea of why Indians can live in NY on that income. Yes, I’ve lived in Manhattan.</p>
<p>Would you recommend that book, parent 1986? I’m looking for something to read.</p>
<p>bhmomma,
I would never move to NYC. You might like it, but it is so hard to live there, logistics alone takes so long, you cannot hop in a car and go where you need to. I visit every year and always feel so restricted there. Very crowded and smelly place. But some prefer it this way. However, NYC have jobs in comparison to the rest of the country, this might be the reason why people live there, I cannot think of any other.</p>
<p>you cannot hop in a car and go where you need to
I thought they had public transportation?
[Travel</a> and Transportation Guide, New York City](<a href=“http://www.ny.com/transportation/]Travel”>Travel and Transportation Guide, New York City)</p>
<p>I love NYC, but I confess that I would like my bio to say, “Hunt divides his time between NYC and (say) the South of France.”</p>
<p>NYC is also comprised of five boroughs, four of which do utilize cars frequently, and two of which are car-dependent.</p>
<p>It is a tough place to live, though. To go from my borough to the next state (which we should be part of) or the next borough costs $13 in bridge tolls. One bridge. $13. Within the same city.</p>
<p>emerald,
"you cannot hop in a car and go where you need to
I thought they had public transportation?</p>
<p>-Yes, we walked from “public transportation” at 1am once (with teenage D.!!), I will never repeat this experience and would not advise anybody to do so. Thank goodness, nothing happened, but I basically made other two run and pray all the way. After that, my D. was told “No evening Broadway shows, period”, no taxi was taking us where we needed to go, one of them even unloaded us (he could have lost his badge for that, but we did not know that and who would argue with them after midnight anyway). Thsi experience was Not my cup of tea, for sure.<br>
Car can take you to very limited places in NYC primarily because of parking limitations and because you can get stuck so badly that you would be sorry that you did not walk. On our last visit, I insisted on that - walking. But after few of walking events, others started calling our excursions “marches of death” and to my surprise I have also discovered that people in NYC are not capable of walking significant miles (5+) at normal speed, and I am talking about those who are 20 years younger than me.<br>
I suppose, no more walking either, getting more and more limited, almost like a big prison there but with lots of jobs though.</p>
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<p>Funny, H and I are in the process of buying an apartment in NYC to move back to (after 2 years of living abroad. Reasons are - 1) great public transportation, not even going to own a car, will rent when leaving NYC, 2) all good restaurants and stores are steps away, 3) all grocery stores and restaurants deliver (when we get too old to cart grocery bags around, we could have it delivered right to our kitchen), 4) good museums, broadway shows, ballet, 5) Central Park, 6) easy to hire cleaning people, 7) no more house maintenance…</p>
<p>We have the option of moving back to the burb again, but the idea of owning 2 cars, taking care of a yard, worrying about snow…just not that appealing to me.</p>
<p>I lived/worked in NYC since I graduated from college, and I never had any problem getting around NYC. I don´t know why MiamiDap had such a difficult time. I walked every where in NYC, took subway/bus, and cab.</p>
<p>I LOVE not having to use a car! I get most places by walking! Many NYers stay in shape because we are always walking, walking, often carrying our groceries. If I am not walking I am taking the subway, which will get me anywhere fairly quickly, easily, and without fighting traffic or paying for parking. No car = freedom! And if you don’t want to schlepp something, everyone delivers. Everything is at your fingertips here. Every food, every culture, every experience short of nature. And nature is only 45 minutes away, same as many places in the burbs, also. NY is about being with people from all walks of life, from all over the world. I can take a train a few stops and feel like I am in the heart of Russia. When I get the urge I can find a Uyghur restaurant (delicious food) and talk to the owner about his culture. Once every two weeks I go to Queens and eat Peruvian, and also talk with the people in the restaurant and learn about their culture. I know NY is not for everyone, but it doesn’t have to be. And those who visit NY and stay only in Manhattan are missing out on amazing, eye-opening experiences.</p>
<p>Oh, Miami, this is funny: "But after few of walking events, others started calling our excursions “marches of death” it sounds like you ended up in all the wrong places. Most places you will go in NY today, even at 1:00 in the morning, are safe, as long as you are sensible, like anywhere else.I’m sorry for your bad experiences, but maybe you should have had a better person to guide you. This in no way describes what it is like to be a NYer. It also sounds like you were walking along tourist city, 5th avenue, Times Square, etc. Those are parts of NY I avoid like the plague. That is tourist NY, not real NY.</p>
<p>“Logistics alone takes so long” Logistics are only hard if you are a tourist and don’t know what you are doing.</p>
<p>oldfort: I always thought NYC would be the absolute best place to live as a retired person. So many things to do, with everything easily accessible.</p>
<p>oldfort,
It is so interesting that everything that you have mentioned, we simply do not do, living in suburbs:
"but the idea of owning 2 cars, taking care of a yard, worrying about snow…just not that appealing to me.’
- We love having a car for each member of the family, so 3 for us. We feel independent this way. We do not do anything with them besides driving them and taking them to dealer for services or needed repair.
- We do NOT take care of yard, people are coming to take care of it on a regualr basis (they are not permitted to come over the weekends, I do not want to hear the noice, we do not even own the machine to cut the grass. The same goes for the whole house, cleanning lady is coming while we are not there. I love my house clean, but hate to clean it.
- We do not need to worry about snow. I am not allowed to come to the office in bad weather for safety reasons. I must work from home. My H. has the same option, but he goes anyway. Driveway is cleanned by the same people that do our lawn in a summer, very cheaply both.
Everything that you have mentioned is NOT appealing to me either…so I just do not do it. But many love to take care of their cars, lawns, driveways, houses and they have plenty of opportunities to enjoy these activities. Everybody has choices where we live and how we live in places of our preferences. If I live in NYC, I would be stuck at home by my choice most of the time, I would not walk after midnight, I would be scared to death to drive the car in NYC, I lack this skill big time.</p>
<p>We lived in NYC until D2 was 3 years old. We had a car at that time because we were going out to NJ a lot to visit my parents, with kids it was easier to have a car to move stuf around. I still remember I could pull the car up to our building´s circular drive way, give my keys to the doorman, he would have someone bring everything up to our apartment and park the car after everything was unloaded. All it took was few dollars to tip them. I just had to bring 2 kids up to the apartment.</p>
<p>It was a lot more difficult when we moved out to the suburb. If H wasn´t around and I didn´t have a sitter, I would have to bring both kids grocery shopping. After shopping, I would have to strap them in first, then put all the grocery in the trunk. Once I got to the house, I would have to bring all the grocery in the house first then go out to the car to get the kids in. It would mean 5+ trips in and out for me before I was done. If a kid was sick or I was too tired, there was no restaurant delivery service.</p>
<p>It’s hard to find competent live in health care providers at any cost in NYC.</p>
<p>Zoos, yes I’d recommend it. Before I buy a book I download a free sample on my Kindle, and rarely end up buying the book. This one I bought.</p>
<p>MiamiDap - trust me, we didn´t do any of that either, there has been occassions when people couldn´t show up, and we were out there shovelling or be trapped in the house. Unfortunately I didn´t have the kind of job that I could stay home whenever I wanted.</p>
<p>Why is it hard to find good health provider in NY? When we lived in NJ, whenever we had a major illness we went to a doctor in NYC.</p>
<p>^^^Live in health care providers - non-RN aid to help with cooking, ambulation, etc. - for when you are no longer able to live alone and don’t want to leave your apt. for assisted living or a nursing home.</p>
<p>I think it is hard to find good live-in health care providers anywhere. I’ve had this discussion with friends with parents both in and outside NYC.</p>
<p>Anyway, the point is, as a retired person, when you are still ambulatory, NY is a great place to live. Once you are disabled it is difficult whether you live in city or country.</p>
<p>I think you have to spend quite a bit of time in NYC to really become comfortable there. It’s just more overwhelming than most cities. But once you’ve lived there a while, there are numerous respects in which no other place compares.</p>
<p>But I’ve gotta think that it gets pretty hard when you get older and have limited mobility.</p>
<p>I actually think it would be easier to find health care providers in NYC because Manhattan is easy to get to from many outer boroughs. Out in the suburb, the only way to get to somene´s house is by car, and it eliminates a large number of health care providers. </p>
<p>It was the case when I needed babysitter when kids when little. There were a lot more options when I lived in the city, I hired sitters from Brooklyn, Queen, and around Manhattan. But once I moved out, I needed someone who could drive so she could get to my house by herself (once she got to the train station we would still need to pick her up), and I also wanted someone who could take my kids to various activities or to doctor´s office if there was an emergency.</p>