Pros: Amazing food, music, "culture" in general. In general, if you enjoy some cultural niche, it is probably most at bloom in the U.S. inside the doors of some random address within the NYC boroughs. Compared to many cities, it's relatively easy to make new friends. In most neighborhoods, you can be born, go to school, play, eat every meal, go grocery shopping, get married, get divorced, spin out, find yourself, etc. in a walkable or at worst bikable distance.
Cons: wickedly expensive. You can trade-off some things to make it more affordable, but you have to get creative. It helps to know a local. If you want consistent access to real nature, you realistically need a car. Owning a car in NYC (usually) sucks.
I sum it up as a three-legged stool. It's a great place to have few-to-no responsibilities, be youthful (at heart, at least), and very gainfully employed. If you're short one of those three things, it becomes a shaky proposition. I've wanted to leave at one point or another for at least half the time I've been here, I'll probably still be here in 10 years.
Lived in BK for 15 years. This summary rings true. The thing that lit my leaving fuse was the noise. Once it started getting to me my clock was ticking. Also the moving. I moved 12 times in my 15 years and each time it ate up 6+ weeks and thousands of dollars. Few moves were voluntary. After a while I simply could not even any longer
Pro-tip: City Island and Pelham Bay Park are very nice in summer, and get you somewhat close to nature with just a subway and bus ride.
Similarly, LIRR/MNRR run to quite a few nice hiking or otherwise outdoorsy areas. They're obviously not as flexible as a car, but I've had consistently good experiences taking MNRR to e.g. the Bear Mountain area for day hikes.
On knowing a local, locals will know which neighborhoods align with your lifestyle. They'll also be able to share helpful details about which brokers to work with / avoid, and how to time the markets.
Basically, any apartment you see on zillow/streeteasy (they're the same company) that's been listed for more than 1 week in a desirable neighborhood is either not "bona fide good" or incredibly overpriced, which could (incorrectly) lead you to believe that no good rental options exist in NYC.
The reality is that all the bona fide goods are snapped up within 48 hours. The best ones are practically snapped up before they're even listed. Unless you've lived in NYC for a while and tried to play the housing game, this reality isn't super discoverable.
The landlord's broker will show prospective tenants before the apartment's listed (and before the prior tenant has moved out, if they get the prior tenant's permission).
If a prospective tenant is seriously interested, you can have all the paperwork submitted before the apartment appears on Zillow. We got our last apartment this way. I think the apartment was vacant for less than 7 days.
It tilts the market in favor of people who are willing + able to pay a broker fee. Personally, I'd rather there be no brokers (it'd make the market more fair) but the game is what it is.
Pros: Amazing food, music, "culture" in general. In general, if you enjoy some cultural niche, it is probably most at bloom in the U.S. inside the doors of some random address within the NYC boroughs. Compared to many cities, it's relatively easy to make new friends. In most neighborhoods, you can be born, go to school, play, eat every meal, go grocery shopping, get married, get divorced, spin out, find yourself, etc. in a walkable or at worst bikable distance.
Cons: wickedly expensive. You can trade-off some things to make it more affordable, but you have to get creative. It helps to know a local. If you want consistent access to real nature, you realistically need a car. Owning a car in NYC (usually) sucks.
I sum it up as a three-legged stool. It's a great place to have few-to-no responsibilities, be youthful (at heart, at least), and very gainfully employed. If you're short one of those three things, it becomes a shaky proposition. I've wanted to leave at one point or another for at least half the time I've been here, I'll probably still be here in 10 years.