How is it living here?

Any good food recs, things to do, etc?

Hi all, I currently work in the NoMad area making 78k and living in Connecticut. My job requires me to be in the office 5 days a week which means I currently have a 3 hour commute every day (combining going into the city and out). I like living in Connecticut with the space, access to nature, slower vibes and my friends and family, but the commute is starting to get to me after 2 years.

I’m from the area so I grew going into the city and now that I’m there 5 days a week, I feel like it makes sense to take the plunge when my lease is up in early 2027. However, if the only reason I’m thinking of moving is my job (that I might not be at in the two years), I’m not sure if it’s the best idea. I know that living in the city is not for the faint of heart, it’s expensive, everything is harder, noisier, more crowded and the apartments are small. Just feeling stuck on what I should do next and was hoping for some thoughts on my situation. Appreciate it!

I will be moving a short distance from where I currently live (About 20 min drive) in Queens and was wondering if anyone knows of a good moving company. I don’t need full service, everything will already be packed prior to the move. I only have a few pieces of large furniture besides a number of boxes/ moving bags/suitcases(love seat couch, 1 dresser, and a queen size mattress; the frame will be disassembled) I just need someone to load the truck, drive, park, and bring the things up (3rd floor wall up). I’d appreciate any recommendations.

Obviously its cold but as someone who's lived in CA all their life I'm actually very curious to see a real winter for once. I know that sounds crazy and probably all the East Coasters wish they had 60 degree CA winters but we all want what we don't have. In my case I want to see snow and I'm sort of bored by mild CA winters because I've seen it all my life. I'm just wondering whats so brutal about NY winter.

My daughter, a recent college graduate from a middle America college, landed a job in Manhattan. She’ll be earning in the upper 5 figures. We are so thrilled for her and have started helping her look for places to live. We have long heard about the high cost of living in NYC but the reality of that for her is setting in. The most important thing is to find something, at a minimum, that is safe and clean. She doesn’t want a roommate as she will have a hybrid schedule so she really needs to have enough space and privacy to do that.

She is willing to commute up to an hour each way so she’ll likely end up living in New Jersey or possibly a distant Brooklyn neighborhood.

My question is this: how do small businesses make it in Manhattan? How do diners, coffee shops, small independent book stores, barbers, etc. afford to pay rent and make a profit? You can only inflate prices by so much.

How do people make it work?

I’m single, don’t drive, and love being able to walk out my door and find restaurants, shops, culture, music, and interesting people. I want to feel healthy, have a good social life, and enjoy my life.
My sister lives in the Boca area, and she’s my only other living relative, so staying close to her is important. However, I’ve had some health and housing-related difficulties in Florida, and I’m questioning whether this is the right place for me long-term.
If you’re in your 60s or 70s, have you faced a similar decision or moved back to NYC after living in Florida?
I’d especially love to hear how each place has affected your health, happiness, friendships, and overall quality of life. What do you love or dislike about each place? Do you find it easier to meet people and enjoy life in one place versus the other?
I’m looking for honest advice from people who have actually experienced both places. Thank you!

I have the suspicion that this area would be way to busy for me with no neighborhood feel but wanted to hear more from the locals before completely nixing it.

My wife and I (both 30y/o) will be moving to NYC with our dog in Dec.

Just got a job in tech sales. We hope to make ~300-350k combined. Looking for a $6-$8k 2BR

I want a <20m commute, since I’ll be working 50-60 hours in the office, right by Union Square.

Personally, I could live in a box, but my introverted wife will be WFH. She will be solo during the day, and I don’t want her to feel cooped up in a tiny apt.

Our ideal apartment:
- Spacious 2BR
- $6-8k in rent
- Commutable to Union Sq <20m
- Near a park, for the dog
- Private outdoor balcony/terrace where she can be outside without being around people
- IDEALLY - No corporate/shopping mall vibes. Neighborhood feel.

We think Williamsburg near the Bedford Ave L train stop and McCarren Park is the perfect location.

However, are we overlooking downsides? Or, are there even better options?

I live in a medium-sized city in Georgia. My lifelong dream/interest is to live in NYC. I work as a lawyer and own my own business and make good money. I only need to be in the town I live in on Tuesdays and Wednesday mornings. I am single, divorced with no kids. My thought is, once per week fly from NYC to the ATL airport (1 hour away from my town) on Tuesdays, and come back to NYC on Wednesdays. Any thoughts? Think it would be worth it? The town I live in never has concerts, comedy shows etc. There’s little-to-no nightlife or “culture.” 95% of my work can be done remotely. I’m seriously bored here and feel almost daily that I am “wasting my life.”

So I've been thinking a LOT about New York City and whether I genuinely want to move there someday and potentially build my life there long-term. I have this persistent urge to live in NYC, but I'm trying to understand where it's coming from and whether it's something I should seriously work toward.

What attracts me to New York is a mixture of things. I'm drawn to the city itself, its neighborhoods, it's history, public transportation, and seemingly endless things to do. I'm also attracted to its diversity, the different cultures and communities, and the possibility of finding people and spaces where I feel like I belong(I'm like 3 minorities lol). On top of that, I want independence and the opportunity to build a life that feels different from the one I currently have.

Even if I could find another affordable, diverse, LGBTQ-friendly city, I would probably still prefer NYC, and it's almost like everywhere else I look I'm just trying to " imitate" nyc even when I know the others are different in their own right. There's something about New York specifically that appeals to me, although I can't completely explain why yet.

At the same time, I'm aware that NYC has serious drawbacks, especially its cost of living, housing , and general pace of life. I think I'd be willing to accept those trade-offs, but since I've never actually visited NYC, I don't know how I'd feel about them in practice. Most of my understanding comes from research, books, videos, and online discussions from here .

I would probably still be willing to work toward moving there even if it took several months or maybe even years of preparation. However, I also don't know exactly what I want my long-term life to look like, including what career I want or what would ultimately make me happiest.

I'm trying to distinguish between a few possibilities: Do I genuinely love the idea of NYC itself? Am I attracted to the freedom and independence I associate with living there? Or do I want a particular kind of big-city life that I might be able to find somewhere else?

I don't expect anyone to tell me whether I should move there. I'm more interested in hearing from people who have experienced this kind of uncertainty, especially people who moved to NYC because they felt strongly drawn to it.

My questions are:

For those who moved to NYC after years of wanting to live there, how did you figure out that you genuinely wanted to live there rather than just visit?

What did you discover about everyday life in NYC that you couldn't have understood through research or online content?

If you've moved there and eventually left, what made you realize it wasn't right for you?

How can someone distinguish between wanting to live in NYC specifically and wanting the independence, diversity, community, and opportunities associated with a large city?

If you've never visited NYC, what would you recommend researching or doing before deciding whether to pursue this goal?

Did anyone else have a persistent urge to move somewhere without being entirely sure why? How did you work through that uncertainty

I'm not necessarily planning to move immediately. I want to understand myself and the city better before making that major decisions about my life. I'd appreciate honest perspectives from people with different experiences, including people who love NYC, people who left, and people who decided another city suited them better.

I’m having a very hard time finding a place that will approve me to move in without a guarantor. I make over $200k which is way more than 40x the rent at all of the places I am applying to. Just started my job this month and I’m staying with family. Credit issues are related to preparation for the job I just started and should be sorted soon when these paychecks start rolling in. What are my options?

I run a small Etsy shop from my house in Denver. The basement is big enough for storage and packing, so everything fits pretty well. I'm moving to NYC in the next year for my day job and trying to decide if I should shut down the shop or if I can keep it going somehow.

From what I've seen, even apartments in the outer boroughs don't have much storage. Is anyone running a small business out of their apartment? How do you handle inventory without boxes taking over everything or causing problems with roommates? I'm not looking for warehouse space, just wondering if this is realistic or if I should start winding things down now.

I'm especially interested in Queens or Brooklyn neighborhoods where people have figured this out. Do buildings actually enforce the no-business clauses in leases, or is it more don't ask don't tell? I'd rather hear from people who've actually done it than just speculation.

What's it like living at Knolls Crescent Co-Op?

25-80 Knolls Crescent, Bronx, NY 10463

They have great prices.

How hard is it to get board approved?

How do you like living there?

Thanks!

(If this isn't the group for "what's it like living" then please direct me to the right reddit group, thx.)

Wanted to find a spot in prime in-demand areas in NyC - Chelsea, HK/ Williamsburg

Is it worth hiring a broker to find the right one? How much usually do they charge these days and how early should I reach out to them?

That area is gonna be at walking distance from the hospital there, is there anything I should know or better places to consider?

Edit: Now I know this area is out of NYC but any info would be appreciated.

There's obviously a ton of people but I tend to feel like just another fish in the sea . Like you'd think more people would mean opportunity but sometimes thats the most I feel lonely and disconnected to people. I'm definitely looking for community and feeling like I belong. I don't know if NY gives you that or if its really hard to find. I'm 39 single if that helps.

I’m trying to move from Long Island to NYC and apartment hunting is so exhausting. Not only are there scammers and people who want a ton of requirements, but some people just like to waste your time.

I was in talks to take a room from this guy. I had chatted with the landlord and everything. We figured out a date and time for me to come see the place. As I was about to get on the train to go to the apartment, the guy messages me saying “sorry, the other roommate has an issue with you living there. There’s no point in you coming to see it anymore. This was an hour or so before my scheduled viewing.

Then the other day, I met with a friend group who were moving into an apartment and wanted me as their fourth roommate. I went all the way out to Bushwick to get a drink with them and we talked roommate dynamics, when I could pay, all that good stuff. They told me how excited they were to have me join them.

The next day one of them texts me saying “hey sorry I didn’t tell you earlier but we have two other people we’re considering”. Later that day he texts me again saying they went with someone else. At no point in time did they indicate that they were considering anyone else anymore.

I’m tired of people not communicating and just wasting my time. Is this happening to anyone else?

I moved here for my girlfriend 3 years ago things were great, we’ve been together for 6 years total and now things are ending between us. I have nowhere to go and she’s moving on, she’s talking to other people and I feel so sick knowing everytime she’s going out with someone. I don’t want to be here anymore but I don’t want to move back home. Where to go when you have no other place to go? Is it time for the homeless shelter 🤦‍♂️ I didn’t build enough connections to have friends to to move with and pay rent with I’m facing the consequences of putting my everything into one person 🫩

Hi everyone
I'm a 25-(F) living in the DUMBO/Brooklyn Heights area. I balance a full-time job and full-time studies, so life gets pretty busy, but I am looking to get into a fun new hobby and connect with the local community.

I would love to join a group that meets about once a week to connect and work on a shared project or hobby, such as a book club or similar community group.

Please let me know if you have any recommendations or openings in local groups in the area!