The 'proximity breeds socialization' observation is spot on. Apparently, two things help build friendship equity: time and proximity. Having close friends that don't live nearby, I can attest to the inertia that sets in with people who can't be bothered to get together if it's a hassle.
Jack, I resonate with this so much and I can’t wait to re-read your post again. I, too, am an Atlantan/ATLien who grew up in SWGA (Americus!!!), and I’m dying to move to NYC. I spent 7 years in Los Angeles and moved back to Atlanta post-breakup. The part about giving up your golf shirts and chinos made me chuckle.
I think living in larger, expensive cities is totally worth the cost and sacrifice of having 1-2 cars and a yard. You can have everything you’ll ever need in a 350-600 sqft space. Still being one of those people who only visit NYC often, I romanticize the idea of living there myself — hopefully soon! Thank you again for your insight. You mentioned many things here that have been on my mind for a long time, and you put it in words perfectly (especially also coming from the 229!)
Good piece, BUT there are real world consequences that come with punishingly high rents--just ask the people who drive the buses, clean the office buildings, pour your coffee, etc. New York loses out when its working class citizens are priced out. And it ain't all supply and demand, but you know that.
Thank you! And that's a fair critique, but I would argue those dynamics are at play pretty much anywhere. Manhattan, outside of a few neighborhoods, has become more and more desirable, and that desirability is going to send prices up. Especially in a city as tightly packed as Manhattan.
However, New York does have the only efficient subway system, at scale, in the US, making a 30 minute commute from Queens/Brooklyn very doable. Of course it's not perfect, but it is pretty good, imo.
The pricey-ness is a product a supply and demand, but the way supply is described in the piece makes it seem like density is a constraint that cannot be increased. Demand is always going to be high for cities like NYC/SF/LA (which is a good thing), but the supply of housing in these areas have been artificially constrained by self-imposed rules/regulations for decades which has lead to extreme prices in Manhattan (and the surrounding boroughs to a lesser degree).
Hopefully cities and the surrounding areas can get out of their own way, so that working class people don't have to be priced out more.
This was a great piece articulating a lot of the post-college life experience. Do you think your view of NYC as the only city with all of these benefits is influenced by not living in other American big cities (like SF, Chicago, DC, etc)? Not disagreeing with the opinions, but curious to know how that may be affecting your perspective
I have been living part time in NYC since May and I'm almost 50 and I'll tell you the NYC dangers are definitely exaggerated. I'm too old to be up at 2am but the subway feels safe close to midnight when I've ridden it.
I try to read one article on Substack each day, and it takes a while to sort my feed to find something with an optimistic tone. It seems like all media tends to skew 90/10 negative.
New York City sounds like a great place to live. I think you have to be a particular type of person to fall for its charms, but it sounds like you are that type of person. I hope you enjoy your time there!
Amazingly written article. This is one of the articles where you'll come back to read it again. Most of the things mentioned are true for Berlin maybe except for the proximity part.
Great post Jack! Being in NYC for over 5 years, I think you really hit on all the major points. Everyone in New York pays the price of being in NYC (high prices etc.), but they do so because of the benefits you laid out. NYC is certainly worth the price if your willing to take advantage of all it has to offer.
New York is unique in terms of its diversity of people. Compared to other metropolitan areas, it may not rank highest in living quality or safety, but the people you meet there give you room to imagine new ideas and create opportunities, would love to visit again soon!!
- do you play a tournament or a cash game at your weekly Wednesday poker? if tournament, what's the buy-in? if cash, what are the blinds?
- the way you described NYC, it feels like it's a bliss. is there anything you dislike? you've established that high rent and high prices in general are a feature, not a bug, so needs be something else. :)
New York is incredibly expensive and it’s easy to get lost in the sauce and lose sight of your priorities. Discipline is definitely more difficult when you’re bombarded by distractions.
How do you afford all this? The travel prior, but also the new restaurants every night while attending business school? That seems atypical to put it mildly. One thing not mentioned is the NYC cost of living being one of the highest in the country, especially Manhattan.
I loved reading this piece! It's probably one of my favorite articles from you. I traveled to New York for the first time in June 2023, and I can relate to everything you mentioned. Two experiences during my five-day trip really stood out. The first was when I was coming out of the subway, and someone ran up to compliment my outfit. They even asked where I got it and snapped a picture!
The second was when a woman asked me to take a picture with her just to make her boyfriend jealous. And for some reason, visiting Central Park and watching everyone jog in the afternoon had this oddly captivating effect on me. Oh, and yes, there were so many beautiful women. New York is truly one of a kind!
Great article. I can't say I've lived in New York (or anywhere in the US) but I've visited a bunch of times and really enjoyed much of what you've talked about here.
The closest equivalent for me as an Aussie was moving to London, which is pretty similar in a lot of ways to New York but even more dominant in terms of the UK. I had so many friends visit from Australia or around the world and it has similar opportunities to do whatever you want.
One of the two truly global cities in my experience.
The 'proximity breeds socialization' observation is spot on. Apparently, two things help build friendship equity: time and proximity. Having close friends that don't live nearby, I can attest to the inertia that sets in with people who can't be bothered to get together if it's a hassle.
Jack, I resonate with this so much and I can’t wait to re-read your post again. I, too, am an Atlantan/ATLien who grew up in SWGA (Americus!!!), and I’m dying to move to NYC. I spent 7 years in Los Angeles and moved back to Atlanta post-breakup. The part about giving up your golf shirts and chinos made me chuckle.
I think living in larger, expensive cities is totally worth the cost and sacrifice of having 1-2 cars and a yard. You can have everything you’ll ever need in a 350-600 sqft space. Still being one of those people who only visit NYC often, I romanticize the idea of living there myself — hopefully soon! Thank you again for your insight. You mentioned many things here that have been on my mind for a long time, and you put it in words perfectly (especially also coming from the 229!)
Good piece, BUT there are real world consequences that come with punishingly high rents--just ask the people who drive the buses, clean the office buildings, pour your coffee, etc. New York loses out when its working class citizens are priced out. And it ain't all supply and demand, but you know that.
Thank you! And that's a fair critique, but I would argue those dynamics are at play pretty much anywhere. Manhattan, outside of a few neighborhoods, has become more and more desirable, and that desirability is going to send prices up. Especially in a city as tightly packed as Manhattan.
However, New York does have the only efficient subway system, at scale, in the US, making a 30 minute commute from Queens/Brooklyn very doable. Of course it's not perfect, but it is pretty good, imo.
The pricey-ness is a product a supply and demand, but the way supply is described in the piece makes it seem like density is a constraint that cannot be increased. Demand is always going to be high for cities like NYC/SF/LA (which is a good thing), but the supply of housing in these areas have been artificially constrained by self-imposed rules/regulations for decades which has lead to extreme prices in Manhattan (and the surrounding boroughs to a lesser degree).
Hopefully cities and the surrounding areas can get out of their own way, so that working class people don't have to be priced out more.
This was a great piece articulating a lot of the post-college life experience. Do you think your view of NYC as the only city with all of these benefits is influenced by not living in other American big cities (like SF, Chicago, DC, etc)? Not disagreeing with the opinions, but curious to know how that may be affecting your perspective
I have been living part time in NYC since May and I'm almost 50 and I'll tell you the NYC dangers are definitely exaggerated. I'm too old to be up at 2am but the subway feels safe close to midnight when I've ridden it.
Alright I’ll move to NY
Thank you for writing something positive!
I try to read one article on Substack each day, and it takes a while to sort my feed to find something with an optimistic tone. It seems like all media tends to skew 90/10 negative.
New York City sounds like a great place to live. I think you have to be a particular type of person to fall for its charms, but it sounds like you are that type of person. I hope you enjoy your time there!
Amazingly written article. This is one of the articles where you'll come back to read it again. Most of the things mentioned are true for Berlin maybe except for the proximity part.
Great post Jack! Being in NYC for over 5 years, I think you really hit on all the major points. Everyone in New York pays the price of being in NYC (high prices etc.), but they do so because of the benefits you laid out. NYC is certainly worth the price if your willing to take advantage of all it has to offer.
New York is unique in terms of its diversity of people. Compared to other metropolitan areas, it may not rank highest in living quality or safety, but the people you meet there give you room to imagine new ideas and create opportunities, would love to visit again soon!!
Jack, I really enjoyed this piece. 2 questions:
- do you play a tournament or a cash game at your weekly Wednesday poker? if tournament, what's the buy-in? if cash, what are the blinds?
- the way you described NYC, it feels like it's a bliss. is there anything you dislike? you've established that high rent and high prices in general are a feature, not a bug, so needs be something else. :)
$50 buy ins, $0.25 $0.50 blinds. Just for fun.
New York is incredibly expensive and it’s easy to get lost in the sauce and lose sight of your priorities. Discipline is definitely more difficult when you’re bombarded by distractions.
Having returned from NY in July 2024, I agree with you that it's beautiful and the people are nicely dressed and attractive.
How do you afford all this? The travel prior, but also the new restaurants every night while attending business school? That seems atypical to put it mildly. One thing not mentioned is the NYC cost of living being one of the highest in the country, especially Manhattan.
Travel: sold my car and worked remote. Costs were really low staying in hostels.
NYC: Was working the whole time in B school, but we definitely didn’t go out every night. I was just highlighting that you *could* if you wanted.
I loved reading this piece! It's probably one of my favorite articles from you. I traveled to New York for the first time in June 2023, and I can relate to everything you mentioned. Two experiences during my five-day trip really stood out. The first was when I was coming out of the subway, and someone ran up to compliment my outfit. They even asked where I got it and snapped a picture!
The second was when a woman asked me to take a picture with her just to make her boyfriend jealous. And for some reason, visiting Central Park and watching everyone jog in the afternoon had this oddly captivating effect on me. Oh, and yes, there were so many beautiful women. New York is truly one of a kind!
Great article. I can't say I've lived in New York (or anywhere in the US) but I've visited a bunch of times and really enjoyed much of what you've talked about here.
The closest equivalent for me as an Aussie was moving to London, which is pretty similar in a lot of ways to New York but even more dominant in terms of the UK. I had so many friends visit from Australia or around the world and it has similar opportunities to do whatever you want.
One of the two truly global cities in my experience.
It’s great to still have hair at age 54. I weep for the balding folks.