Top 10 Myths About Living in NYC
I moved to NYC the summer of 2012 to attend college with nothing but a heart full of dreams and $1000 in my bank account that I subsequently blew in the SoHo Topshop later that day...(RIP to that storefront)
But I promise I've learned so much since then and I’m ready to share all that wisdom with you. Below are a few myths people like to believe about this city before actually moving here and experiencing it for themselves, and I'm here to debunk them all.
MYTH # 1 Your life will look like a Sex and the City episode.
Your life will not even remotely resemble a Sex and the City episode except maybe the one where Carrie is sleeping in bed and a rat crawls up her arm. YES mice and cockroaches are common not only down in the subway but in apartments and restaurants too. Look, my problem with Sex and the City is that it makes NYC life look glamorous and cute 24/7 and that's just so unrealistic. If you're coming here for college you're gonna struggle. You most likely won't have a ton of money and going to bars is near impossible with a fake ID. Even as you get older and get a real job and finally have some money you're gonna be so exhausted after work most of your week nights will probably look more like Netflix and Seamless orders than wearing silk slip dresses and getting cocktails with your girls. Life isn't a tv show or a movie even though I wish it could be. But not to worry, you can still have have the cutest nights with your girls and plenty of cocktails... just don't go in expecting that every day.
MYTH #2: You’ll have enough money to brunch every Sunday.
Ok this is my dream. I want to brunch everyday of the week actually. But sadly brunch in NYC is expensive. Bottomless is the way to go always because of the fixed price but even then a tab can run you $60-$90. That's the thing about New York, things add up fast. One happy hour on Wednesday, a night at the bar on Sat and a boozy brunch on Sunday and all of a sudden you realized you spent $400+ 5 days.... Yes this is an absolute reality in a city as expensive as New York. But don't get me wrong you can still enjoy NYC on a budget. Just research restaurants before you go to them, don't be lazy and buy a lunch every day while you're at work, sneak shooters into the bar and limit your brunch outings to once a month like me.
MYTH #3: You can channel your inner fashion queen and strut around in heels to your heart's desire.
No. No sorry please get it out of your head now that you can wear even a slightly uncomfortable shoe when you’re walking around Manhattan. Be prepared to walk A LOT. Everywhere. Up and down flights of stairs in the subway and on cobble stone streets and uneven pavements (yes I almost broke my leg leaving a club in the meat packing) so even when you’re going out at night save the 5 inch heels for suburbia.
MYTH #4: Riding the subway is gross and scary.
Alright look, yes it can be. But you absolutely have to get over this fear if you’re going to live and work here. The subway is your go to, your lifeline, your biggest time saver and an absolutely critical form of getting you places without spending $65 on an Uber or taxi to drive 2 miles. For one thing, the traffic in NYC is brutal and taking a car places can take you literally hours vs minutes by making the decision to just take the subway instead. Also, it’s 10x more expensive to take Ubers and taxis in NYC and part of understanding this is understanding the geography of the city. NYC isn’t like Chicago or LA. There are rivers and yes even oceans (Staten Island!) that divide the city up into different sections. So guess what that means... every time your taxi or Uber passes over a bridge that’s extra $$$ in state tolls and you will pay double for that!! My recommendation is saving the Uber’s and taxis for when you are staying in one borough and not going super far to keep it affordable. Also, if you're traveling with friends and can split the fare. There is NOTHING worse than making the mistake of taking an Uber back to your apartment from the club just bc ur feeling lazy and realizing the next morning you spent $80 to get home when you could of spent $2.75 riding public transportation.
But now I want to talk about subway safety. NYC can be a scary place for a girl who rides alone at 4am. So be cautious in quieter neighborhoods outside of Manhattan. I went to school in Manhattan but would travel to Fordham to go to parties often and have had my fair share of waiting for the train for 40 mins in the Bronx but I was NEVER alone. That’s a huge no. So travel in groups if you can. And if you can’t then it’s totally ok to order an Uber.
I will say the subway is heavily monitored by police in uniform and in plain clothes. There are usually double sided mirrors in most stations where officers can see what goes on without you even realizing they are there. There are also police in the train cars as well. my friends and I were once harassed on the uptown 4 train by a man and a plain clothed officer got up and was actually able to escort the man off the train and we literally had absolutely no idea he was even a police officer so don’t be fooled they are everywhere if you are feeling unsafe. Which is also bad news if you’re like me and like to hop the turnstile to save a few bucks they can and will give you a ticket for that. Another thing to keep in mind is that when you’re in NYC you are hardly ever alone. Whether it’s 3pm in the afternoon or 3am at night there will always be many people around which means the opportunity for crime is a lot less high than if you were in the middle of nowhere. Of course there are always exceptions to this. But we cannot live our lives in constant fear. As long as you exercise caution when down in the subway you should have absolutely no problems.
MYTH #5 NYC is magical in the wintertime.
Any New Yorker will tell you this is one of the worst times to be a New Yorker. Crowds like you have never seen in your life of tourists blocking sidewalks and streets to see the tree, temperatures BELOW freezing past December, wearing the same damn winter coat over every cute outfit until May ??? Puddles of melted snow larger than your entire closet you must hop over when crossing the street. This is just the reality of living in the North East but it’s especially harsh in cities like New York where you don’t have a car and have to walk everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, NYC can be cute during this time too! It’s all about picking the right days to walk around, window shop, and buy hot chocolate. Preferably days that aren’t below 34 degrees and limit your time in tourist hotspots to weekdays and not weekends!! Our winters have also been a lot less intense the past few years (it hasn’t snowed?) which is very concerning for our planet but also kinda good news if you’re not a cold weather person.
MYTH #6 Everyone in New York is rude and mean.
Ok here’s the thing, yes people in New York can come across as rude, mean, cold, pushy, and aggressive as you pass by them in midtown walking to work in the morning. If you’ve ever been around Penn Station between the weekday hours of 8am to 6pm you know what I’m talking about. But what you have to remember is living and working in New York is exhausting. New York is crowded and people are just trying to get from point A to B as fast as they can to not have to deal with all the commotion that comes with walking through the city. What you have to realize is people are just people no matter where you are in the world. It doesn’t matter how cold someone may come across when passing them on the street or first meeting them, as soon as you get to know them you’ll realize they are just as human as anyone else. I've been to other parts of the country before and have definitely been caught off guard by how outwardly nice strangers are to one another. I think that's what gives people in the North East a bad name. I don't think this means people in other parts of the country are nicer than people in New York I think it means the culture is different and life is a little more slower paced. New York is a city filled with millions and millions of different personalities. Meeting people is easy when you go out at night and actually put in an effort to. Don’t ever be intimidated by stereotypes/RBF! In a city of 8 million you are bound to meet sweet, fun, and amazing people.
MYTH #7 You can maintain close friendships with people who live in different boroughs than you.
WRONG lol if you’ve ever had a friend that lives in Bushwick while you’re over in Morningside Heights you’ll know that they mind as well be living in Nebraska. 10 miles in NYC distance is the equivalent of 60 miles in a regular city. Do not get me wrong it doesn’t mean you’ll never see this person but don’t expect to be chilling at each others apartments 24/7. You’ll probably be able to muster up the strength maybe once a week to walk to the subway wait 15 mins for the 1 train to come only find out it’s being held up by train traffic transfer to the B line and wait another 10 mins for that train to come spend 15 mins riding that train to transfer to the G train wait 25 mins for that train to come to walk 1.5 miles to their apartment.... you get the idea. You could always hop in a cab tho and spend $70 and 1 hour of your life to go 10 miles... up to you! Both options are miserable tbh so definitely take into consideration what neighborhood you decide to move into and how close/how fast the public transportation is in your area.
MYTH #8: NYC is really dirty.
This is the most annoying one in my opinion. People living in other cities LOVE to throw this one in your face when you tell them you live in NYC as if the city they live in doesn't smell like trash every so often. Look, no NYC doesn't smell like gumdrops in the summer but that's just the reality of any large city. Obviously there's neighborhoods that are less clean than others... (AHEM 8th avenue...) but for the most part NYC is actually relatively clean and well kept when you think about how many businesses and people are living here.
MYTH #9: All the food in NYC is amazing.
Honestly wish this one was true but sadly it isn't! Yes, NYC has the best bagels and pizza in debatably the entire world but I've also had the grossest bagels/pizza here too so beware... not all food is created equally in the city. As a general rule of thumb most chain restaurants pale in comparison to smaller family owned restaurants in terms of food quality.
MYTH #10: It's easy to get lost.
I don't think I've ever been lost in NYC ever in my life except maybe when I try to find a restaurant in the West Village after getting off the subway. One of my favorite things about NYC is numbered streets and avenues making it so easy to know where you are and how far away you are from where you're trying to be. Obviously there's some neighborhoods that don't have numbered streets so it's a little harder to know where you are but with the invention of smart phones theres literally no reason to ever be lost also, the subway stops have cell service so when you're down there trying to figure out what subway line or stop to get off you can always whip your phone out and check!
With all that being said, the negatives that come with living in NYC are always outweighed by the positives. If you’re ready to live a life that’s the farthest thing from ordinary, meet some of the most interesting people from any and every background you could imagine, and experience the best food you’ll probably ever have in your life... NYC is the city for you.
Honestly, I could talk about New York for hours and hours. About how much I hate it and how much I absolutely love it at the same time. Everyone who’s ever called New York home will tell you it’s a city like absolutely no other. Every person has their own “New York” and it’s a completely different version than the one you’ll have if you decide to move here too. So don’t let anyone convince you otherwise, you’ll just have to find out for yourself exactly what it’s like to call this crazy place home.
