My NYC Black Folk......Gentrification
- Thread starter Lewis Black
- Start date
It's not really to scare anyone, but really just be aware of what you are getting yourself into. I asked this question to many before and the answers are always puzzling to me. nyc is no doubt one of the greatest cities in the world, but if you are going out there to work like a mad man and not really enjoy all the amenities...is it really the one of the best cities FOR YOU?
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@ any real good night life in Lexington.There are a couple of strip clubs, bars, and some events coming downtown, but obviously nothing like a big city. You've got minor league baseball, UK sports, Keeneland racing track, aviation museum, comedy off broadway, and a couple of other spots on the regular. You can make any mid-sized city yours for relatively little cash. If you like baseball you can watch the Legends play real cheap. Clearly not pro level stuff, but still have a great time. UK Basketball is a little pricey, but its the best college basketball program in the country. UK football sucks, but you can watch some great SEC teams come in and play...or just watch Louisville kick our ass every other year
Plus if you are in your early to mid 20's...the scenery when all the colleges are in is great. Think of it like this...you are young man in your early to mid 20's with a brand new crop of thousands of 18-19 year old females being refreshed every year. All college towns with a population of over 100K you can think of and most young men will have a great time. Everyone should consider it. It will be quite an adjustment if you are coming from a big city, but if you give it a chance you might even prefer it. Enjoy it, save some money, see the new girls come in, enjoy sports cheap, watching rising basketball talent show their worth before they make it to the NBA, hit up a strip club if you like, go to one of the several bars downtown, couple of nice places to eat, check out the aviation museum, the lexington comic-con on a yearly basis now, WWE if you are into that, harlem globetrotters, etc etc
You'd be surprised what these college towns offer. I picked Lexington over Gainesville Florida and I don't regret it one bit. Plus if you start missing the nightlife? Chances are you have saved up a bit of cash and can afford to blow thousands of dollars whenever you want to visit ny, chicago, la, vegas, or wherever you choose with your vacation time and not have much to worry about when you get back.
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Lexington, KY?
yeah, not a bad place to live
Growth has been crazy here in the past couple of decades too. Just hit over 300K as of 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexington,_Kentucky#Demographics
Man I tried to talk wifey into thinking about it. I lived in KY for a year with my family randomly. It was bad but it was beautiful. We went to Lexington a few times and it was pretty nice
I would suggest to plan a trip for the spring time as that's when most things are in full swing and as you said its a beautiful place to visit. April is one of the best times to visit as Keeneland is holding races, usually good events to go to @ Rupp, weather is warming up, legends are playing, and a bit more.
I think its one of the gems in this country. Hell if she is not sold by then at least it was a cheap trip. Outside of the plane tickets to bluegrass there is nothing that expensive out here. Hotel prices go up a bit in April, but nothing too crazy.
Silky Johnson
The Master Investbreh
There are a couple of strip clubs, bars, and some events coming downtown, but obviously nothing like a big city. You've got minor league baseball, UK sports, Keeneland racing track, aviation museum, comedy off broadway, and a couple of other spots on the regular. You can make any mid-sized city yours for relatively little cash. If you like baseball you can watch the Legends play real cheap. Clearly not pro level stuff, but still have a great time. UK Basketball is a little pricey, but its the best college basketball program in the country. UK football sucks, but you can watch some great SEC teams come in and play...or just watch Louisville kick our ass every other year
Plus if you are in your early to mid 20's...the scenery when all the colleges are in is great. Think of it like this...you are young man in your early to mid 20's with a brand new crop of thousands of 18-19 year old females being refreshed every year. All college towns with a population of over 100K you can think of and most young men will have a great time. Everyone should consider it. It will be quite an adjustment if you are coming from a big city, but if you give it a chance you might even prefer it. Enjoy it, save some money, see the new girls come in, enjoy sports cheap, watching rising basketball talent show their worth before they make it to the NBA, hit up a strip club if you like, go to one of the several bars downtown, couple of nice places to eat, check out the aviation museum, the lexington comic-con on a yearly basis now, WWE if you are into that, harlem globetrotters, etc etc
You'd be surprised what these college towns offer. I picked Lexington over Gainesville Florida and I don't regret it one bit. Plus if you start missing the nightlife? Chances are you have saved up a bit of cash and can afford to blow thousands of dollars whenever you want to visit ny, chicago, la, vegas, or wherever you choose with your vacation time and not have much to worry about when you get back.
Did the college town, early 20's thing already in Boston for a few years. shyt gets
real quick."OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WE'RE HALFWAY THEYERRREEDid the college town, early 20's thing already in Boston for a few years. shyt gets
WHOOOOOO-HOOOOOAAAAAA! LIVIN ON A PRAYER"
Real talk though I just want to live somewhere warm, cheap, w/a nearby beach or lake where people will leave me alone and I have good job prospects
I think the jobs aspect is prob the only place Lexington might fall short
john goodman
All Star
Virginia beach is a dope low key spot
ehh. its really just a huge suburb
Meh I am not a fan of Boston tbh, tons of better college towns to live in for a young cat trying to build himself up. Too cold, expensive, and don't like the attitude up there either.Did the college town, early 20's thing already in Boston for a few years. shyt gets
@Looney...yeah jobs might be an issue depending on what kind of degree you have. Highly competitive when you have damn near half of the residents having at least a bachelors degree. Then again even with a combined income of about 70-80K+ you would be living REALLY comfortable
@She Agree That I'm Looney and @88m3 got me started...I ended up going on a fukking rant
My hometown...great place to live if you can afford to. I am not sure of the economic conditions Looney and 88m3 are in, but I can give you a close friend of mine and my example as why I think leaving New York when I did was probably the best decision in my life just to get my head straight. I was able to think about where my hard work is going to and make a sound decision on what I want to do by the age of 30...comfortably. So I'm 28 years old with relatively no student loan debt compared to my peers, I live on my own, I am in a position in where I can spend a couple of thousand dollars easy and really not worry about it too much. If shyt hits the fan like it did for me back in 2009 I don't have to scramble to look for another job right away and I don't have to worry that my next payment on an apartment is 2K+ is due in a few weeks if I'm short. In fact I don't have to work 40 hours a week right now. I HIGHLY doubt I would have been in this position if I never left Manhattan. Hell there is a good chance I would be like many people I went to elementary and high school with living with their parents because they lost their jobs and have struggled to land something that will give them the pay and benefits they got accustomed to.
So here is my point...at the end of the day what the fukk was it all for to the people I went to school with and never left? The NYC experience? I think the city offers quite a bit for people who have fat wallets, but not to the majority. I feel like many are wasting their time out there and are just living out a loop that they cannot possibly get themselves out of because the costs are rising quicker than what the average paycheck is going to. I visit back home 2-3x a year for about 7-10 days each. In just one of those trips I do anything I want and probably spend a little bit too much money in absorbing all of nyc as quickly as possible. That's right in 7-10 days I am able to do more than what my friends can do working and living in the city 24/7/365 working long hours in the process. All popular destinations? We can hit them. Want to eat at nice restaurants 2x a day? Sure let's go. Broadway show? We'll be there. Knicks, Mets, Yankees, and now Nets games? Bet and I will cover for another. Most people work hard for their money shouldn't they be enjoying all those amenities on a consistent basis? I think so because if you are not in a position to do so...then exactly what enjoyment are you REALLY getting from the nyc that you cannot get anywhere else? The culture? I will concede that point, but it is a big argument you guys have in your favor. What about everything else tho such as regular everyday boring ass activities? McDonald's tastes the same out there and movie theaters are all over the country. Free events? You can only visit those so much before they get boring. Groceries are pretty much the same everywhere and you can order specific clothes if you live in a place like I do that don't carry the styles you will find in the city. Transportation? Chances are they will be cheaper outside the city. I don't even have to touch up on the housing costs
I think I go on these rants about NYC mostly because I get frustrated with the majority of stories I hear about people out there. It depresses me when I hear that a single mom/dad or whoever out there is working 60-70 hour weeks just to make ends meet for them and their family. A part of my history bugs me to this day because I never stop calculating. I calculated how much has been spent during my lifetime on a nice apartment in NYC and nothing to show for it at the end of the day. Nearly 500K that will never see a return. I am not saying that my stance on this issue is the correct course of action for everyone out there, but its something that I think everyone should consider. If you REALLY love NYC calculate where you think you will be in 5-10 years. If it doesn't match up to where you want to be then try to see if you can realistically get it done while not having to leave then you better start exploring your options. Don't settle for what you THINK you can do if you stay in nyc, go after WHAT you really want. I am a bit harsh on my parents and is a big part as to why I don't have any kids. I still have not found myself comfortable enough in where I can give my son/daughter anything I want. Hopefully in the next 2 years I will be exactly where I planned to be when I started putting my plan to action years ago. I want to leave with my family being as comfortable as they possibly can be...so the generations after me won't have to go through the BS MOST of us on this very forum had to go through growing up.
88m3 sounds like many of my friends who live back home...they love their city and are passionate whenever people are taking shots at it and he brings up some examples of city living that I do miss. I think I miss them more now because every time I do go back I have a blast and not worry about having to go back to work every day of the week or it could have possibly meant that I ended up at some hope center because I was unable to make my payments for a little while. I am able to spend thousands of dollars taking in what the buzz is all about. I have estimated that in order for me to experience all those things out in NYC on a consistent basis I would need an income of about 250K per year. Am I spoiled? I guess you can somewhat say that, but it wasn't always like this. I have tried to put myself in the position that I am so close to getting to for almost 6-7 years without any help. I did not want to put that burden on my parents. Most people that leave NYC don't end up going back because they prefer the comfortable suburban lifestyle...and nobody can fault them for that. I am not really cut out for it and why I think eventually at the very least I will own a place out there in the near future.
My friend? He left NYC as well about 9 years ago. Got a damn good job with a major tech company, but he started missing nyc too much. He put together a plan. He QUIT the position he had at the major tech company that was bringing in 150K+. Found a good woman who he married and now lives in DUMBO...in a fukking NOICE apartment that would make most materialistic people jealous. It was a 6 year plan in his case and does not regret it at all. He started his own company, works on his terms, and does not have much to worry about financially at this time. Debt is zero, also 28. He also agrees that it would have taken so much longer if he stuck it out at home...it would have been a mistake if he did not leave to come back when he did. I am sure his parents are grateful as in about 2-3 years he will probably be in a position to buy his parents a very nice place anywhere in the city they desire.
Before the rebuttals come in a couple of things:
I do not find working 60-80 hours a week just to have a bit of spare change left over as a viable option for those who do not earn much. At that point I consider you a worker that is just working to get back to work 5-7 days a week.
I do not agree that someone should have to be forced to live with a roommate just to be able to afford living in a nice area of Manhattan or Brooklyn.
I will not accept taking the tougher route just for the sake of living in the city. Chances are the tougher route is going to take a longer time, go through much more stress, and even the possibility of ultimately never reaching your goal. I will not accept the possibility of failure when there are clearly easier routes you can take.
I have nothing else
Great points. And I will add that there are a whole lot more opportunities for New Yorkers outside NY than in NY. People, such as mid-westerners, really value New Yorkers - they like to hire them. My bros didn't become extremely successful until they left NYC for corporate gigs. They were making nice change in NYC(50-70k) but it wasn't until they left NYC that they started balling out of their minds(75K and up, beamers, houses, started businesses). Now they fly/drive to NY several times a year and ball out their mind - eating at the best restaurants and catching up with broads. They would be struggling to pay rent in Manhattan(where we are from originally) if they had stayed.
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