Questions for Sisters who lives in New York or use to live in NY
 

I was thinking about possible moving to NY (I think more job opportunities are there compared to where I am) and I want to know if you could answer a few questions for me, maybe to help make my decision (I'm not totally sold on moving there, I'm also looking into finding employment in other cities/states):

You could also PM me if you wanted to:

1. What are some of the more affordable neighborhoods?

2. If you recently relocated to NY, How long did it take you to learn the subway system?

3. What is it like living there?

4. How is the social scene? Is dating hard there?

5. What are some of the more affordable places to go shopping/dinner/bars and night clubs/etc?

6. Is there anything you would like to tell me about NY (please feel free to)?

Thank you so much in advance to anyone who answers my questions.

LITP

Ladies, please forgive the forum crash. I started composing this as a PM but thought others might benefit.

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I "sorta-kinda" relocated to the area a few months ago - I took a job in Lower Manhattan and relocated to southern Fairfield County, CT.

Affordable neighborhoods: Depends on where you work. A lot of my coworkers live in New Jersey. A lot of my neighbors in Connecticut work in Midtown. I have yet to meet anyone else crazy enough to commute from Connecticut to Lower Manhattan. :p In general, the farther from Manhattan you get, the less expensive the housing, but there is a tradeoff in the form of a longer commute, higher crime rate, poorer school system, etc. There are also many wealthy enclaves here and there in the suburbs, where housing is very expensive even though the commute is long.

Subway system: I've found it's just like learning the best way to get around by car in a new town. First, you learn how to get to work. Then you refine that route (e.g., do I get off the subway at Fulton St. or Wall St.?). Then you start to learn how to get to different neighborhoods to visit friends or go to certain restaurants or tourist attractions.

I don't live in NYC, so I can't comment on what it's like living there or what the social scene is like.

NYC is an amazing city... there are few places with such good job opportunities, and few places with such good access to cultural activities such as museums and theatre.

Aephi alum thank you for the information.

I really did not think about living in NJ or other areas instead of NY. That also gives more to information to think about.