I have no idea how these people got their cats wedged into their boedgas
October 20, 2014 2:13 PM Subscribe
Last Week, Buzzfeed posted "110 Reasons Why You Should Never Leave New York City," which is somehow even more vapid than you'd expect it to be. Today, Brooklyn Magazine reviewed the list, and offered some feedback.
Ha, ha! I am loving this. New York City Exceptionalism is soooo boooring to the rest of the country.
posted by troika at 2:16 PM on October 20, 2014 [19 favorites]
posted by troika at 2:16 PM on October 20, 2014 [19 favorites]
bodega cats remained a reason to stay.
*spits cat hair out of bodega coffee*
posted by arcticseal at 2:18 PM on October 20, 2014 [6 favorites]
*spits cat hair out of bodega coffee*
posted by arcticseal at 2:18 PM on October 20, 2014 [6 favorites]
The Brooklyn Mag feedback is just so humorless. Damn.
posted by the webmistress at 2:23 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by the webmistress at 2:23 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
I totally did #13 every day! I could imagine entire romantic lives and breakups in the space between two subway stops.
It's one of the things I miss most about NYC (which I have left, twice, but I miss the city deeply). I can't seem to do that anywhere else.
posted by mochapickle at 2:25 PM on October 20, 2014
It's one of the things I miss most about NYC (which I have left, twice, but I miss the city deeply). I can't seem to do that anywhere else.
posted by mochapickle at 2:25 PM on October 20, 2014
I will admit that the stupid Buzzfeed list "57 Reasons Living in London Ruins You For Life" really made me want to see London.
posted by kate blank at 2:25 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by kate blank at 2:25 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm a big fan of hometown pride (which New York certainly has no shortage of).
However, it's a little surprising that Buzzfeed (which is based in New York, and employs a surprising number of fantastic journalists) evidently couldn't find anybody other than a pair of NYU freshmen to write about their own city...
Also, I visited NYC for the first time in a few years over the weekend... It's a very different place than it was even in 2010. I always saw New York as a dynamic city that somehow never seemed to change all that much at its core, and I just didn't get that feeling this weekend.... It was disarming...
posted by schmod at 2:27 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
However, it's a little surprising that Buzzfeed (which is based in New York, and employs a surprising number of fantastic journalists) evidently couldn't find anybody other than a pair of NYU freshmen to write about their own city...
Also, I visited NYC for the first time in a few years over the weekend... It's a very different place than it was even in 2010. I always saw New York as a dynamic city that somehow never seemed to change all that much at its core, and I just didn't get that feeling this weekend.... It was disarming...
posted by schmod at 2:27 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
It's nice that people walk around feeling like they're in a music video, but as someone often walking behind them, it's really annoying.
posted by sweetkid at 2:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [11 favorites]
posted by sweetkid at 2:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [11 favorites]
Actually, the whole response article is super cranky. The person who wrote it needs to leave NY to maybe start being able to appreciate it again.
(I also miss bodega coffee and stumbling on movie sets and getting into an elevator only to find I'm standing next to Johnny Rotten, Isaac Mizrahi, or Anna Wintour. I still wince when I remember I was wearing awful shoes standing next to Anna Wintour!)
posted by mochapickle at 2:30 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
(I also miss bodega coffee and stumbling on movie sets and getting into an elevator only to find I'm standing next to Johnny Rotten, Isaac Mizrahi, or Anna Wintour. I still wince when I remember I was wearing awful shoes standing next to Anna Wintour!)
posted by mochapickle at 2:30 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
sweetkid what they don't realize is that you are the actual star of that video and they are IN THE WAY
posted by poffin boffin at 2:30 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 2:30 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
the whole response article is super cranky
Maybe, but what the hell was the original article? 50 reasons I like not having a car, 10 reasons I like brunch, and a bunch of stuff that implies the writer has never left lower Manhattan in the 10 entire months they have lived here.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:32 PM on October 20, 2014 [24 favorites]
Maybe, but what the hell was the original article? 50 reasons I like not having a car, 10 reasons I like brunch, and a bunch of stuff that implies the writer has never left lower Manhattan in the 10 entire months they have lived here.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:32 PM on October 20, 2014 [24 favorites]
However, it's a little surprising that Buzzfeed (which is based in New York, and employs a surprising number of fantastic journalists) evidently couldn't find anybody other than a pair of NYU freshmen to write about their own city.
No one save for NYU freshmen would write something like this without adding a solid paragraph of qualifiers for every bullet point, deleting everything, turning off their monitor and rubbing the bridge of their nose while muttering "I need a fucking vacation."
posted by griphus at 2:35 PM on October 20, 2014 [18 favorites]
No one save for NYU freshmen would write something like this without adding a solid paragraph of qualifiers for every bullet point, deleting everything, turning off their monitor and rubbing the bridge of their nose while muttering "I need a fucking vacation."
posted by griphus at 2:35 PM on October 20, 2014 [18 favorites]
111. When you thought you might have rats but you actually just have mice
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:37 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:37 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
112. You never have to be alone. Wait, I mean, it is physically impossible to ever be alone, not even in your own home, because you can't afford your own place
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:39 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:39 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
113. There's lots of gay stuff though which is nice
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:39 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:39 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
114. It's hard to get by in many other places if your chief skill is crankily rebutting stupid listicles.
115. More listicle arguments per capita than any other city.
116. Listicle coffee.
117. Listicle cats.
118. Where else can you move after college if you enjoy continuously mistaking one-upsmanship and dumb pissing contests for a successful integration into local culture?
posted by RogerB at 2:41 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
115. More listicle arguments per capita than any other city.
116. Listicle coffee.
117. Listicle cats.
118. Where else can you move after college if you enjoy continuously mistaking one-upsmanship and dumb pissing contests for a successful integration into local culture?
posted by RogerB at 2:41 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
Isn't a bodega just a corner store? So basically a "mini express" supermarket with even less stuff, at twice the price?
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:42 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:42 PM on October 20, 2014
They'll also make you sandwich which is nice and sometimes there are cats
posted by The Whelk at 2:43 PM on October 20, 2014 [12 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 2:43 PM on October 20, 2014 [12 favorites]
Isn't a bodega just a corner store?
As a relocated suburbanite, I like to think of them as gas stations without the gas.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:43 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
As a relocated suburbanite, I like to think of them as gas stations without the gas.
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:43 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
Also you can almost always get a terribly unhealthy and delicious sausage egg and cheese sandwich for like 2 or 3 bucks
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:44 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by showbiz_liz at 2:44 PM on October 20, 2014
Practical cats, dramatical cats
Pragmatical cats, fanatical cats
Oratorical cats, delphic-oracle cats
Skeptical cats, dyspeptical cats
Listicle cats
posted by sweetkid at 2:44 PM on October 20, 2014 [37 favorites]
Pragmatical cats, fanatical cats
Oratorical cats, delphic-oracle cats
Skeptical cats, dyspeptical cats
Listicle cats
posted by sweetkid at 2:44 PM on October 20, 2014 [37 favorites]
Ha, ha! I am loving this. New York City Exceptionalism is soooo boooring to the rest of the country.
One of my favorite trend pieces is where the NYT goes out to the suburbs (the suburbs, Marjorie!) and posts in wonder-filled David Attenborough-style tones about how they have SHOWS and CONCERTS and RESTAURANTS and EVERYTHING ELSE. My stars, it's like they are proper civilized folk from Manhattan!
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2014 [19 favorites]
One of my favorite trend pieces is where the NYT goes out to the suburbs (the suburbs, Marjorie!) and posts in wonder-filled David Attenborough-style tones about how they have SHOWS and CONCERTS and RESTAURANTS and EVERYTHING ELSE. My stars, it's like they are proper civilized folk from Manhattan!
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2014 [19 favorites]
It would be good to visit the Strand one day though. And also to eat the pizza.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2014
117. Listicle cats
I now have "Jellicle Cats" stuck in my head as "Listicle Cats" and once it is out, my vengeance will be swift.
posted by griphus at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
I now have "Jellicle Cats" stuck in my head as "Listicle Cats" and once it is out, my vengeance will be swift.
posted by griphus at 2:45 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
That original article was terrible (and if I was to judge the author by the listicle, I would have to assume it was written by someone who spends ~70% of their life shitfaced drunk riding around on the subway). But! As a person with only a few close friends, I will say that this one:
109. You can eat alone, see movies alone, do anything alone, and no one gives you a second look.
Is in fact totally one of my favorite things about visiting New York (even though when I visit, I'm usually there to see friends!) and does in fact seem to be fairly New-York-specific. Or at any rate, while I love Boston and Providence it sure as hell ain't true in either of those cities, and if you're not in a city? Forget about it, you might as well wear a sign that says "I am an axe murderer, also I have leprosy and rabies" around your neck.
posted by mstokes650 at 2:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
109. You can eat alone, see movies alone, do anything alone, and no one gives you a second look.
Is in fact totally one of my favorite things about visiting New York (even though when I visit, I'm usually there to see friends!) and does in fact seem to be fairly New-York-specific. Or at any rate, while I love Boston and Providence it sure as hell ain't true in either of those cities, and if you're not in a city? Forget about it, you might as well wear a sign that says "I am an axe murderer, also I have leprosy and rabies" around your neck.
posted by mstokes650 at 2:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Jinx sweetkid.
posted by griphus at 2:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by griphus at 2:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's true though; Montreal-style bagels are tastier than those puffy bun things with holes in them.
posted by bonehead at 2:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 2:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Isn't a bodega just a corner store? So basically a "mini express" supermarket with even less stuff, at twice the price?
Plus a cat.
My current mefi profile photo is of my favorite bodega cat, whose name is Melissa. She likes to point out that if you were a cat you'd be lucky to be her.
posted by spitbull at 2:49 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Plus a cat.
My current mefi profile photo is of my favorite bodega cat, whose name is Melissa. She likes to point out that if you were a cat you'd be lucky to be her.
posted by spitbull at 2:49 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I once saw a bodega cat staring wistfully at the rows upon rows of cat food like he was saying to himself, "OK, Mr. Whiskers, you can do this. 'I'll do it someday' isn't good enough. Today is going to be that day."
posted by sweetkid at 2:53 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by sweetkid at 2:53 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
I feel that lists like this are coming from the great blah parts in the middle of the country. Not the cool up and coming places, like Madison, WI. The great swathes of suburbia. Things like:
20.Strand. We always forget that no other cities in the country, let alone the world, have independent bookstores. Silly us.
Independent bookstores are rare, statistically speaking. Going from "Barnes and Nobles, if you're lucky" to the Strand
21. Walking down the street with your headphones and feeling like you’re in a music video. Again, this is fine or whatever, but it’s nowhere near as good as listening to music in a car, where you can sing along.
Missing the point. It's not the music, it's walking down a street that is actually alive, and filled with people.
The thing is, people come to New York from places where shit just doesn't happen. Bands don't play. Book signings don't occur. Movies aren't filmed. The bars all have sports playing in them. There's a starbucks and a 7-11 and a target and a top 40 radio station. And almost all of them require getting into your car, and driving on a freeway. And everything lacking even a trace amount of history. I once joked that if the world ended, I'd go home, because it would take 5 years for it to get there, just like everything else. It is a little annoying that they are comparing some podunk town they grew up in with the City that Never Sleeps, but going from zero to a cultural center of the world leads to naive , wide eyed raving. But some places:
posts in wonder-filled David Attenborough-style tones about how they have SHOWS and CONCERTS and RESTAURANTS and EVERYTHING ELSE.
Really don't, at all. Forgive us rube hayseeds for gaping in wonder. Although if you're still talking like this after five years you go to another part of the world, and see that yes, civilization is in multiple places.
posted by zabuni at 2:54 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
20.
Independent bookstores are rare, statistically speaking. Going from "Barnes and Nobles, if you're lucky" to the Strand
21.
Missing the point. It's not the music, it's walking down a street that is actually alive, and filled with people.
The thing is, people come to New York from places where shit just doesn't happen. Bands don't play. Book signings don't occur. Movies aren't filmed. The bars all have sports playing in them. There's a starbucks and a 7-11 and a target and a top 40 radio station. And almost all of them require getting into your car, and driving on a freeway. And everything lacking even a trace amount of history. I once joked that if the world ended, I'd go home, because it would take 5 years for it to get there, just like everything else. It is a little annoying that they are comparing some podunk town they grew up in with the City that Never Sleeps, but going from zero to a cultural center of the world leads to naive , wide eyed raving. But some places:
posts in wonder-filled David Attenborough-style tones about how they have SHOWS and CONCERTS and RESTAURANTS and EVERYTHING ELSE.
Really don't, at all. Forgive us rube hayseeds for gaping in wonder. Although if you're still talking like this after five years you go to another part of the world, and see that yes, civilization is in multiple places.
posted by zabuni at 2:54 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
109. You can eat alone, see movies alone, do anything alone, and no one gives you a second look.
Some people worry too much about what other people think of them.
I've never had a problem doing this in many cities and non-urban areas around the country without anyone giving me a second look, that I noticed. But why would I notice how many times someone looks at me?
posted by Seamus at 2:55 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
Some people worry too much about what other people think of them.
I've never had a problem doing this in many cities and non-urban areas around the country without anyone giving me a second look, that I noticed. But why would I notice how many times someone looks at me?
posted by Seamus at 2:55 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
Ha, ha! I am loving this. New York City Exceptionalism is soooo boooring to the rest of the country.
YES! Thank you for saying this! Admittedly I get a little defensive living in DC, but most of the stuff on that list applies here too, some of it quite possibly even more (GOD DC happy hour culture). It's true that our Metro system isn't as good but it's also a much smaller city which means that if I can manage to live in DC proper (and I do!) my commute will never be nearly as long as those of my friends who live in New York and taking a cab is generally not really hugely expensive for any trip I'm likely to take. I don't like going places, I like BEING places, and for me the fact that it doesn't take that long to get anywhere, be it work or visiting a friend or going out, is a huge quality of life issue for me. This doesn't mean I "can't handle" or "can't make it in" New York.
I like New York and I like visiting New York and I like a number of people who live in New York, but I do get really really irritated with all the talk I hear a lot about how great New York is (yes, it is great) and how no one else can possibly understand (disagree) and other places don't have stuff like New York does (um, yes, many other places do). I'm not trying to attack New Yorkers but I feel like I hear this stuff a lot and it's nice to see it acknowledged that other places have cool stuff too.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 2:57 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
YES! Thank you for saying this! Admittedly I get a little defensive living in DC, but most of the stuff on that list applies here too, some of it quite possibly even more (GOD DC happy hour culture). It's true that our Metro system isn't as good but it's also a much smaller city which means that if I can manage to live in DC proper (and I do!) my commute will never be nearly as long as those of my friends who live in New York and taking a cab is generally not really hugely expensive for any trip I'm likely to take. I don't like going places, I like BEING places, and for me the fact that it doesn't take that long to get anywhere, be it work or visiting a friend or going out, is a huge quality of life issue for me. This doesn't mean I "can't handle" or "can't make it in" New York.
I like New York and I like visiting New York and I like a number of people who live in New York, but I do get really really irritated with all the talk I hear a lot about how great New York is (yes, it is great) and how no one else can possibly understand (disagree) and other places don't have stuff like New York does (um, yes, many other places do). I'm not trying to attack New Yorkers but I feel like I hear this stuff a lot and it's nice to see it acknowledged that other places have cool stuff too.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 2:57 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
I don't think they should have crossed out 86. It's definitely a thing, even though you're expected to wash the tourist off of yourself and stop feeling awe in the place ASAP.
posted by painquale at 2:57 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by painquale at 2:57 PM on October 20, 2014
So basically a "mini express" supermarket with even less stuff, at twice the price?
It is also often staffed at odd hours by young children who speak exactly like their parents. If you've never been addressed at half past midnight by a twelve year old giving you a hearty HOW ARE YOU TONIGHT MY FRIEND and then ringing up your cigarettes and forty, it is disconcertingly delightful.
posted by griphus at 2:57 PM on October 20, 2014 [38 favorites]
It is also often staffed at odd hours by young children who speak exactly like their parents. If you've never been addressed at half past midnight by a twelve year old giving you a hearty HOW ARE YOU TONIGHT MY FRIEND and then ringing up your cigarettes and forty, it is disconcertingly delightful.
posted by griphus at 2:57 PM on October 20, 2014 [38 favorites]
I feel that lists like this are coming from the great blah parts in the middle of the country. Not the cool up and coming places, like Madison, WI. The great swathes of suburbia. Things like:
20. Strand. We always forget that no other cities in the country, let alone the world, have independent bookstores. Silly us.
Independent bookstores are rare, statistically speaking. Going from "Barnes and Nobles, if you're lucky" to the Strand
21. Walking down the street with your headphones and feeling like you’re in a music video. Again, this is fine or whatever, but it’s nowhere near as good as listening to music in a car, where you can sing along.
Missing the point. It's not the music, it's walking down a street that is actually alive, and filled with people.
The thing is, people come to New York from places where shit just doesn't happen. Bands don't play. Book signings don't occur. Movies aren't filmed. The bars all have sports playing in them. There's a starbucks and a 7-11 and a target and a top 40 radio station. And almost all of them require getting into your car, and driving on a freeway. And everything lacking even a trace amount of history. I once joked that if the world ended, I'd go home, because it would take 5 years for it to get there, just like everything else. It is a little annoying that they are comparing some podunk town they grew up in with the City that Never Sleeps, but going from zero to a cultural center of the world leads to naive , wide eyed raving
But these are largely reasons that living in a city is better than living in the country (which is not true for everyone, although it is certainly true for me). These are NOT reasons you should "never leave New York". The idea that New York is the only places that has these things is just as provincial as you are accusing other people of being.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 3:00 PM on October 20, 2014 [16 favorites]
34. Randomly walking onto a movie set/TV show being filmed… You like this? Who likes that?
Blurgh.
My neighborhood in Austin . . . every few weeks.
It sucks! I like yelling at people while they are being filmed.
I'm a jackass.
posted by Seamus at 3:09 PM on October 20, 2014
Blurgh.
My neighborhood in Austin . . . every few weeks.
It sucks! I like yelling at people while they are being filmed.
I'm a jackass.
posted by Seamus at 3:09 PM on October 20, 2014
They'll also make you sandwich which is nice and sometimes there are cats
Every bodega sandwich I've ever eaten is ten times better than any sandwich that I've had in the nine years since I moved to Toronto. Sorry Toronto but your sandwiches are terrible.
posted by kate blank at 3:10 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Every bodega sandwich I've ever eaten is ten times better than any sandwich that I've had in the nine years since I moved to Toronto. Sorry Toronto but your sandwiches are terrible.
posted by kate blank at 3:10 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Also the $4 flowers! Still looking for something that good.
posted by kate blank at 3:11 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by kate blank at 3:11 PM on October 20, 2014
I am in an airport terminal right now waiting for a flight back to Brooklyn from St. Louis. STL was great! There was stuff to do and new foods and places I haven't seen. The air was fresh!
The whole "you never need to leave NYC" thing is not something I have ever heard espoused by a real human being in a real conversation. It's a straw man, or at best the abovementioned NYU freshmen who haven't had to take the same cramped bus to the same little office every day for years on end.
posted by griphus at 3:12 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
The whole "you never need to leave NYC" thing is not something I have ever heard espoused by a real human being in a real conversation. It's a straw man, or at best the abovementioned NYU freshmen who haven't had to take the same cramped bus to the same little office every day for years on end.
posted by griphus at 3:12 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
119. Knowing never ever to get on an empty subway car
120. Watching n00bs learn the hard way that you never ever get on an empty subway car from your seat in a nice neutral-smelling adjacent car
posted by oinopaponton at 3:13 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
120. Watching n00bs learn the hard way that you never ever get on an empty subway car from your seat in a nice neutral-smelling adjacent car
posted by oinopaponton at 3:13 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
I can't wrap my brain around why anyone would ever get in a car and drive to a bar and I am always upset about cities that don't synchronize last call to match up with last bus and last subway. NYC is one of the few towns that gets this right.
Powell's makes the Strand look like an airport newsstand, though.
posted by Skwirl at 3:16 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
Powell's makes the Strand look like an airport newsstand, though.
posted by Skwirl at 3:16 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
As someone who never learned to drive and has no desire to, I'm kind of stuck here.
posted by The Whelk at 3:20 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 3:20 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Kristin Iversen wins.
She made the original list worth reading.
posted by Seamus at 3:21 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
She made the original list worth reading.
posted by Seamus at 3:21 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I had to look up "Manhattanhenge," which is apparently an interesting solar event that Neil deGrasse Tyson has some photo tips for (while also proving once again that he doesn't know how archaeology works).
Still, NdT recommends it on a page hosted by the American Museum of Natural History and really the AMNH is genuinely one of the reasons to never leave NYC so -- wait, the AMNH is not on the Buzzfeed list? Wait, NONE of the museums in NYC are on the list? Nor are any of the top-notch, world-class centers for art, music, or science that can literally only be found in NYC?
It's like the list was written by someone who does nothing but take the subway to brunch.
posted by Panjandrum at 3:22 PM on October 20, 2014 [15 favorites]
Still, NdT recommends it on a page hosted by the American Museum of Natural History and really the AMNH is genuinely one of the reasons to never leave NYC so -- wait, the AMNH is not on the Buzzfeed list? Wait, NONE of the museums in NYC are on the list? Nor are any of the top-notch, world-class centers for art, music, or science that can literally only be found in NYC?
It's like the list was written by someone who does nothing but take the subway to brunch.
posted by Panjandrum at 3:22 PM on October 20, 2014 [15 favorites]
Also I've been documenting the status of our local corner grocery's cat
posted by The Whelk at 3:22 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 3:22 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
One of my favorite trend pieces is where the NYT goes out to the suburbs (the suburbs, Marjorie!) and posts in wonder-filled David Attenborough-style tones about how they have SHOWS and CONCERTS and RESTAURANTS and EVERYTHING ELSE. My stars, it's like they are proper civilized folk from Manhattan!
I'm from NJ, and have been reading the NYT pieces about Sayreville with amusement- not by the event itself, that's awful, but the typical NYT view of NJ that's present in the reporting. Particularly when they noted that- gasp!- the suburbs in NJ have town pride even though they're close together and it's hard to tell where one stops and the other begins!! and that they watch high school football even though there's the Giants and the Jets!!
The exception to the suburb bashing is Montclair, where the fact that many NYT reporters live there and want to sell their houses some day is, of course, completely unrelated to the scores and scores of pieces about how awesome it is to live in Montclair.
posted by damayanti at 3:26 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm from NJ, and have been reading the NYT pieces about Sayreville with amusement- not by the event itself, that's awful, but the typical NYT view of NJ that's present in the reporting. Particularly when they noted that- gasp!- the suburbs in NJ have town pride even though they're close together and it's hard to tell where one stops and the other begins!! and that they watch high school football even though there's the Giants and the Jets!!
The exception to the suburb bashing is Montclair, where the fact that many NYT reporters live there and want to sell their houses some day is, of course, completely unrelated to the scores and scores of pieces about how awesome it is to live in Montclair.
posted by damayanti at 3:26 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
I hear LA is pretty nice and that NYC is basically dead now...
posted by pravit at 3:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by pravit at 3:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
The thing is, people come to New York from places where shit just doesn't happen. Bands don't play. Book signings don't occur. Movies aren't filmed. The bars all have sports playing in them. There's a starbucks and a 7-11 and a target and a top 40 radio station. And almost all of them require getting into your car, and driving on a freeway.
Backing up Madam Pterodactyl on this point about a lot the original list just being, you know, city stuff. Why just this weekend I grabbed some coffee at the corner store before walking my dog (feeling no obligation to acknowledge the presence of others, since I was in my own headphone-induced music video). Then I went to brunch, although the damn provincial restaurant I was at had set the cut off at 3pm. I did not drive there, preferring to bike. I passed several murals on the way.
posted by Panjandrum at 3:39 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
Backing up Madam Pterodactyl on this point about a lot the original list just being, you know, city stuff. Why just this weekend I grabbed some coffee at the corner store before walking my dog (feeling no obligation to acknowledge the presence of others, since I was in my own headphone-induced music video). Then I went to brunch, although the damn provincial restaurant I was at had set the cut off at 3pm. I did not drive there, preferring to bike. I passed several murals on the way.
posted by Panjandrum at 3:39 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
wait, the AMNH is not on the Buzzfeed list? Wait, NONE of the museums in NYC are on the list? Nor are any of the top-notch, world-class centers for art, music, or science that can literally only be found in NYC? It's like the list was written by someone who does nothing but take the subway to brunch.
EXACTLY. You could absolutely fill up a 110 item list with things like that, things that are actually NYC-specific and amazing. This person did not do that. This person just likes subways a lot.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:47 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
EXACTLY. You could absolutely fill up a 110 item list with things like that, things that are actually NYC-specific and amazing. This person did not do that. This person just likes subways a lot.
posted by showbiz_liz at 3:47 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Guys! Today I learned that Des Moines is the new Brooklyn! That is by far the most patently absurd [blank] is the new Brooklyn thing I have ever heard and yet is totally delightful to me.
But yes, I live in fucking Iowa, and many of the things on that list apply to me. I pass several murals on my walk to work every morning. We have happy hour and community gardens and trash cans and shirtless running guys! There are many things about New York that I really, really miss, but they aren't the things on that list.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:51 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
But yes, I live in fucking Iowa, and many of the things on that list apply to me. I pass several murals on my walk to work every morning. We have happy hour and community gardens and trash cans and shirtless running guys! There are many things about New York that I really, really miss, but they aren't the things on that list.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:51 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
"Or at any rate, while I love Boston and Providence it sure as hell ain't true in either of those cities, and if you're not in a city? Forget about it, you might as well wear a sign that says "I am an axe murderer, also I have leprosy and rabies" around your neck."
In LA, everyone just assumes you're a screenwriter.
posted by klangklangston at 3:54 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
In LA, everyone just assumes you're a screenwriter.
posted by klangklangston at 3:54 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Des Moines is the new Brooklyn!
Is Pittsburgh The New Austin? The Austin We Hoped And Dreamed Of, The Austin That Was Foretold?
posted by naju at 3:57 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
Is Pittsburgh The New Austin? The Austin We Hoped And Dreamed Of, The Austin That Was Foretold?
posted by naju at 3:57 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
In LA, everyone just assumes you're a screenwriter.
So pretty much the same kind of looks, then?
posted by mstokes650 at 3:59 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
So pretty much the same kind of looks, then?
posted by mstokes650 at 3:59 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I would never do someone so mean as assume someone was a screenwriter.
posted by The Whelk at 4:01 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 4:01 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
111. You are a suspect in a murder and the NYPD has told you not to leave town.
112. You are currently incarcerated in Rikers.
113. You are waiting for the kid who will give you a compatible kidney to die at Bellvue.
114. You have crippling anxiety whenever you are more than 10 miles from your apartment.
115. If you stop touching the car, the radio station might give it to some other guy.
116. You have outstanding warrants for your arrest everywhere except NY (don't shit where you eat, bro).
117. Some kind of wacky inheritance thing, who knows.
118. You will lose custody of your child if you leave the city.
119. Somehow, you still don't have a cell phone and worry that you won't be able to check your answering machine.
120. You are a CHUD.
121. You speak a rural Balkan dialect unheard of outside NYC.
122. You have a rent-controlled apartment and pay $53 per month for a three bedroom, but you're pretty sure the building owners will just burn it down if you're ever gone for more than five hours at a time.
123. BATS OH GOD THE BATS
124. You already have a line on bootleg rez cigs.
125. You can only achieve the heights of culture when fed and clothed by morlocks.
posted by klangklangston at 4:08 PM on October 20, 2014 [50 favorites]
112. You are currently incarcerated in Rikers.
113. You are waiting for the kid who will give you a compatible kidney to die at Bellvue.
114. You have crippling anxiety whenever you are more than 10 miles from your apartment.
115. If you stop touching the car, the radio station might give it to some other guy.
116. You have outstanding warrants for your arrest everywhere except NY (don't shit where you eat, bro).
117. Some kind of wacky inheritance thing, who knows.
118. You will lose custody of your child if you leave the city.
119. Somehow, you still don't have a cell phone and worry that you won't be able to check your answering machine.
120. You are a CHUD.
121. You speak a rural Balkan dialect unheard of outside NYC.
122. You have a rent-controlled apartment and pay $53 per month for a three bedroom, but you're pretty sure the building owners will just burn it down if you're ever gone for more than five hours at a time.
123. BATS OH GOD THE BATS
124. You already have a line on bootleg rez cigs.
125. You can only achieve the heights of culture when fed and clothed by morlocks.
posted by klangklangston at 4:08 PM on October 20, 2014 [50 favorites]
I was cursed by a witch to never age so long as I stay within the boundaries of the NYC area and I gotta say it's a pretty sweet deal.
posted by The Whelk at 4:11 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 4:11 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
I am always upset about cities that don't synchronize last call to match up with last bus and last subway.
From New Orleans ... what is this "last call" thing of which you speak?
posted by localroger at 4:12 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
From New Orleans ... what is this "last call" thing of which you speak?
posted by localroger at 4:12 PM on October 20, 2014 [9 favorites]
Every bodega sandwich I've ever eaten is ten times better than any sandwich that I've had in the nine years since I moved to Toronto. Sorry Toronto but your sandwiches are terrible.
What! No! There are good sandwiches here. Although I am somewhat embarrassed to realize that the two best sandwiches I've ever had can no longer be found, due to the restaurants in question being defunct. That said: Caplansky's!
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:24 PM on October 20, 2014
What! No! There are good sandwiches here. Although I am somewhat embarrassed to realize that the two best sandwiches I've ever had can no longer be found, due to the restaurants in question being defunct. That said: Caplansky's!
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:24 PM on October 20, 2014
126. Running across the same scam artist every year and a half, the one who claims to be a Broadway producer or director of commercials, who needs 50 bucks to get a cab for some wacky reason, and having to remind him he's pitched you before.
posted by vrakatar at 4:38 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by vrakatar at 4:38 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
109. You can eat alone, see movies alone, do anything alone, and no one gives you a second look.
Is in fact totally one of my favorite things about visiting New York (even though when I visit, I'm usually there to see friends!) and does in fact seem to be fairly New-York-specific. Or at any rate, while I love Boston and Providence it sure as hell ain't true in either of those cities,
Really? I lived in Boston for a long time, alone for most of it, and spent tons of time at bars, restaurants, and movies by myself when I didn't feel like mobilizing other people to do stuff with me but I still wanted to try that new menu/have a particular drink/see a certain movie. No weird looks, no problems at all, good chance to make friends with bartenders. It was awesome.
posted by olinerd at 4:41 PM on October 20, 2014
Is in fact totally one of my favorite things about visiting New York (even though when I visit, I'm usually there to see friends!) and does in fact seem to be fairly New-York-specific. Or at any rate, while I love Boston and Providence it sure as hell ain't true in either of those cities,
Really? I lived in Boston for a long time, alone for most of it, and spent tons of time at bars, restaurants, and movies by myself when I didn't feel like mobilizing other people to do stuff with me but I still wanted to try that new menu/have a particular drink/see a certain movie. No weird looks, no problems at all, good chance to make friends with bartenders. It was awesome.
posted by olinerd at 4:41 PM on October 20, 2014
Re sandwiches and pizza: NYC doesn't have great variants of either, but what they have are the Platonic ideals of both. I can get a great, interesting sandwich elsewhere, but it's oddly difficult to just find a regular sandwich.
posted by jpe at 5:00 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jpe at 5:00 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
128. Rubalad parties.
posted by vrakatar at 5:16 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by vrakatar at 5:16 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
people in Boston literally will not look at you
pretty much no matter what
I need to move to Boston immediately.
(Ha ha like I can ever afford to live within fifty miles of Boston. Or NYC for that matter. *sob*)
posted by kalimac at 5:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
pretty much no matter what
I need to move to Boston immediately.
(Ha ha like I can ever afford to live within fifty miles of Boston. Or NYC for that matter. *sob*)
posted by kalimac at 5:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
When I visited New York years ago it was in the fall and one of my favorite things was the smell of roasting chestnuts from street vendors. Nobody ever mentions that so it was a kind of pleasant surprise. The other notable olfactory observation I had was that Madison Avenue smelled strongly of expensive cigars. Nowhere else. Just Madison Avenue.
posted by wabbittwax at 5:30 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 5:30 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
And how the hell do you make a list of great things about NYC and not mention a single museum?
posted by wabbittwax at 5:34 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by wabbittwax at 5:34 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
I hear LA is pretty nice and that NYC is basically dead now...
Sounds like you turned your dial to the Sara C. station...
posted by sweetkid at 5:35 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
Philly has some pretty good murals going on.
Things that I find remarkable about NYC: the number of parks and playgrounds. The number of parks with water features for kids to play in.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:36 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Things that I find remarkable about NYC: the number of parks and playgrounds. The number of parks with water features for kids to play in.
posted by sciencegeek at 5:36 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, Buzzfeed's similar piece on Chicago was correct and perfect.
Chicago exceptionalism = always allowed in my book.
posted by capricorn at 6:10 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
Chicago exceptionalism = always allowed in my book.
posted by capricorn at 6:10 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]
I hear LA is pretty nice and that NYC is basically dead now...
NYC has been undead since 1978.
posted by griphus at 6:16 PM on October 20, 2014
NYC has been undead since 1978.
posted by griphus at 6:16 PM on October 20, 2014
Wow, though, that original list is terrible. Like unreadably bad. And this is as a lifelong New Yorker who's planning on moving away within the next year, so I should really be the target audience here.
The pleasure of the one-swipe MetroCard at the turnstile.
When the fuck will NYC get contactless NFC cards like the entire rest of the goddamn civilized world?
posted by Itaxpica at 6:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
The pleasure of the one-swipe MetroCard at the turnstile.
When the fuck will NYC get contactless NFC cards like the entire rest of the goddamn civilized world?
posted by Itaxpica at 6:29 PM on October 20, 2014 [8 favorites]
traditionally that would be as soon as someone's crony puts in a bid to upgrade the system.
posted by poffin boffin at 6:33 PM on October 20, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 6:33 PM on October 20, 2014 [6 favorites]
As someone who never learned to drive and has no desire to, I'm kind of stuck here.
Oh, honey. I have never learned to drive and I have thrived in DC, Auckland, Krakow, and Buffalo. New York City is not special in that regard, either.
posted by troika at 6:42 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
Oh, honey. I have never learned to drive and I have thrived in DC, Auckland, Krakow, and Buffalo. New York City is not special in that regard, either.
posted by troika at 6:42 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
And this is why I am perhaps one of the most self loathing residents of Brooklyn. I don't think I will ever get the NY thing, and I work with a ton of aspiring Artists/Musicians/Actors/Insert Creative Pursuit Here and my Beau and friends are basically entirely native New Yorkers. So I totally get it on both sides.
posted by KernalM at 6:50 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by KernalM at 6:50 PM on October 20, 2014
San Francisco has all that, & hills too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:15 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:15 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
this point ignores the fact that it is FAR SUPERIOR to listen to music in the car, where you can sing along at the top of your lungs.
YES! Says the lady who finally got an AV cord for her minivan so she can stop listening to the radio and start singing shoooooowtunes on Route 4!
This list is going to be good for me. I'm about four months out of NYC (moved to the Jersey 'burbs and got a minivan, as one does when you have a second baby), and I do miss it. I loved the life I had there. I think I'm going to love it here too, though; I just haven't really settled in yet (plus I'm on maternity leave, so it's like double social isolation). Although the faux-bodega at the mall where I got a soda today didn't have a bodega cat, so. I dunno.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:15 PM on October 20, 2014
YES! Says the lady who finally got an AV cord for her minivan so she can stop listening to the radio and start singing shoooooowtunes on Route 4!
This list is going to be good for me. I'm about four months out of NYC (moved to the Jersey 'burbs and got a minivan, as one does when you have a second baby), and I do miss it. I loved the life I had there. I think I'm going to love it here too, though; I just haven't really settled in yet (plus I'm on maternity leave, so it's like double social isolation). Although the faux-bodega at the mall where I got a soda today didn't have a bodega cat, so. I dunno.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:15 PM on October 20, 2014
I was kinda hoping they would written this after No. 21: "Walking the street wearing headphones is possibly one of the least street-smart things you could do in NYC. Being able to hear what's going on around you: very important. But I guess you think you've been living here only for six months and haven't gotten your phone stolen yet."
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:17 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:17 PM on October 20, 2014 [3 favorites]
Panjandrum: "I had to look up "Manhattanhenge," which is apparently an interesting solar event that Neil deGrasse Tyson has some photo tips for (while also proving once again that he doesn't know how archaeology works). "
He also has no idea how filmmaking works:
Filmmakers are not typically awake in the morning hours to film an actual sunrise, so they film a sunset instead, and then time-reverse it, thinking nobody will notice.
Yeah, you know what, Neil deGrasse Tyson, I bet most film crews are awake earlier than you in the morning. We want to catch that golden first hour of sunlight, because that's when everything looks beautiful, and we have to be set up for it, and before we can set up, we have to get to the location, and so on. So unless you count "being on location and ready to shoot at 7:30, which means being on location starting to set up at 7:00" as "not typically awake in the morning", you can fuck off.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:20 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
He also has no idea how filmmaking works:
Filmmakers are not typically awake in the morning hours to film an actual sunrise, so they film a sunset instead, and then time-reverse it, thinking nobody will notice.
Yeah, you know what, Neil deGrasse Tyson, I bet most film crews are awake earlier than you in the morning. We want to catch that golden first hour of sunlight, because that's when everything looks beautiful, and we have to be set up for it, and before we can set up, we have to get to the location, and so on. So unless you count "being on location and ready to shoot at 7:30, which means being on location starting to set up at 7:00" as "not typically awake in the morning", you can fuck off.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:20 PM on October 20, 2014 [5 favorites]
Also, on the way to a Brooklyn Mefite's house once (I forget exactly which one- hermitosis, maybe?), I saw my favorite bodega cat of all time. He was in the chip rack, sleeping upside down on top of all the 99-cent bags of generic nacho chips. That is my dream life.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:21 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:21 PM on October 20, 2014 [7 favorites]
griphus: "I hear LA is pretty nice and that NYC is basically dead now...
NYC has been undead since 1978"
Gothamirite?
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:24 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
NYC has been undead since 1978"
Gothamirite?
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:24 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Wow. Both the original list and the rebuttal are so off-putting!
posted by trip and a half at 7:54 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by trip and a half at 7:54 PM on October 20, 2014
As if you need confirmation that the original was written by people who are barely out of college, the reference to "Hey Arnold" cinches it (which I had to look up).
[Shakes cane, hobbles back to rocking chair]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:01 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
[Shakes cane, hobbles back to rocking chair]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:01 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
Pat Kiernan unbuttoned his shirt? When was this?
posted by bunderful at 8:33 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by bunderful at 8:33 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
For a site that lives and dies by its listicles, FuzzBeed sure blew it on this one.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:42 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:42 PM on October 20, 2014
Independent bookstores are rare, statistically speaking.
I have lived in towns and cities with populations ranging from 7,000 to a million, metro, all in the South. MS, LA, AL, GA. Every last one of them has had an independent bookstore (say, this outstanding one, in Jackson MS, where I live now), with the exception of the smallest town, and this includes one town of 35,000). They're not THAT rare. And the Strand isn't the biggest independent store in the country, is it? Not that anyone said that, but... Still, doesn't that title go to Powell's in Portland? So Portland has more to brag about there, I'm afraid, if it wants to brag at all.
posted by raysmj at 8:56 PM on October 20, 2014
I have lived in towns and cities with populations ranging from 7,000 to a million, metro, all in the South. MS, LA, AL, GA. Every last one of them has had an independent bookstore (say, this outstanding one, in Jackson MS, where I live now), with the exception of the smallest town, and this includes one town of 35,000). They're not THAT rare. And the Strand isn't the biggest independent store in the country, is it? Not that anyone said that, but... Still, doesn't that title go to Powell's in Portland? So Portland has more to brag about there, I'm afraid, if it wants to brag at all.
posted by raysmj at 8:56 PM on October 20, 2014
You big city dwellers are making this Midwestern suburbanite really envious. Even the original list. I'd totally ride that subway all day and night and they would be good enough for me. The rest would be gravy. (From a city that 20 years ago shafted public rail because ew minorities. So I have to travel to Chicago for my kicks.)
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:02 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by [insert clever name here] at 10:02 PM on October 20, 2014
guggggh guys stop talking about New York, that's exactly what it wants you to do
posted by threeants at 10:03 PM on October 20, 2014 [10 favorites]
posted by threeants at 10:03 PM on October 20, 2014 [10 favorites]
Brad Pitt opens the box at the end of Se7en. A bodega cat jumps out.
posted by naju at 10:22 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by naju at 10:22 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]
"San Francisco has all that, & hills too."
Also, wherever you go you get a free complaint about LA!
posted by klangklangston at 10:43 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also, wherever you go you get a free complaint about LA!
posted by klangklangston at 10:43 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I live in New York. I really enjoy living in New York. But honestly, the Strand is large for New York and decently sized for an independent bookstore. But it's not enormous, it doesn't dwarf the imagination. You don't say, need a map to get around. It's a fine bookstore. But it's severely overrated.
And all the bodegas around me do not have cats. I think they are defective (the bodegas, not that non-existent cats).
posted by Hactar at 10:45 PM on October 20, 2014
And all the bodegas around me do not have cats. I think they are defective (the bodegas, not that non-existent cats).
posted by Hactar at 10:45 PM on October 20, 2014
Number 38 just guts me. There are people in New York - in any city - who think it's okay to just fart anywhere you like and "no one notices"? Seriously?
Guess what, person farting on everybody else on the subway: we notice. We notice every time you do it.
If you want the privilege of farting without anybody noticing it, I would humbly suggest that a high-density urban environment is not what you seek, but rather something approximating the precise opposite. Maybe outer Saskachewan or Kamchatka.
posted by koeselitz at 11:20 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Guess what, person farting on everybody else on the subway: we notice. We notice every time you do it.
If you want the privilege of farting without anybody noticing it, I would humbly suggest that a high-density urban environment is not what you seek, but rather something approximating the precise opposite. Maybe outer Saskachewan or Kamchatka.
posted by koeselitz at 11:20 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
I only sort of get the bodega cat thing. I mean, humans love cats, and stranger cats that we can pet if we don't have our own cats are nice. But I live in a sprawling city where everyone has yards and spend plenty of time petting the cats that lounge around on sidewalks and stuff, especially when I'm walking home from one of the bars. They aren't as amusingly on top of things, I suppose, but I think this is made up for somewhat by the fact that you can sit down on the sidewalk to give them scritches without causing a foot traffic hazard.
posted by NoraReed at 11:33 PM on October 20, 2014
posted by NoraReed at 11:33 PM on October 20, 2014
This week on GlamTram: 30 Reasons That Lists Written By New Yorkers Will Make You Wonder Whether Its Stockholm Syndrome Or Just Something In The Water.
Subscribe to see next week's list: A Million Ways To Die A Little Inside In The West.
posted by belarius at 11:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
Subscribe to see next week's list: A Million Ways To Die A Little Inside In The West.
posted by belarius at 11:46 PM on October 20, 2014 [1 favorite]
The cheap comedy shows thing is true though. I mean specially cheap Amazing comedy shows. The comedy cellar is 10 freakin $. I can spend 10$ to see a comedy show in DC which will be two decent comedians I know personally and 10 bad nothankyous. I'm sure it's true for other fields too, like theater or storytelling. The talented people are here so even low budget shows are profesh as fuck.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:06 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:06 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hahaha omg the Related Content ads:
See Also
1.
5 Signs Of Depression
2.
Rent Apartments In Brooklyn
3.
Plus Size Clothes
4.
Restaurants in Brooklyn
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:09 AM on October 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
See Also
1.
5 Signs Of Depression
2.
Rent Apartments In Brooklyn
3.
Plus Size Clothes
4.
Restaurants in Brooklyn
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:09 AM on October 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm confused. Are bodega cats supposed to be an NYC exclusive? Because they're also not the sole purview of New York. The one near my subway station roams outside during the summer, and is an unholy menace to neighborhood dogs and any pigeon complacent enough to set down within eye sight. (During the winter, he just glares at dogs through the window, then sits on top of the onion dip with a big smirk on his face when they go ballistic and their owners can't figure out why) My dry cleaner also has its own version of the bodega cat: a three-legged miniature schnauzer/poodle who roams freely up and down the block, befriending small children as a clever ruse to beg their parents for food.
posted by Mayor West at 5:05 AM on October 21, 2014
posted by Mayor West at 5:05 AM on October 21, 2014
If you're the kind of person who always wants to try new things, NYC is hard to beat.The thing is, I'm not that kind of person, and I wasn't really that kind of person when I lived in New York. I actually find constant novelty pretty overwhelming, and I made New York feel like home by basically frequenting the same few places all the time. I don't think that constant novelty-seeking is a universal trait, and I don't even think it's a universal trait among people who love New York.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:36 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Pat Kiernan unbuttoned his shirt? When was this?
I am vaguely embarrassed to report that I remember this historic event.
posted by poffin boffin at 7:13 AM on October 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
I am vaguely embarrassed to report that I remember this historic event.
posted by poffin boffin at 7:13 AM on October 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
Oh, honey. I have never learned to drive and I have thrived in DC, Auckland, Krakow, and Buffalo. New York City is not special in that regard, either.
Yeah, seconding this. Unlike troika, I did learn to drive, but it's something I avoid doing as much as possible. I live in DC now, and I don't have a car, most of my colleagues and friends who live in the city don't have cars, and the cost of grabbing a cab for the few times a year when I need a car is dwarfed by what I would pay to actually own one.
posted by capricorn at 7:31 AM on October 21, 2014
Yeah, seconding this. Unlike troika, I did learn to drive, but it's something I avoid doing as much as possible. I live in DC now, and I don't have a car, most of my colleagues and friends who live in the city don't have cars, and the cost of grabbing a cab for the few times a year when I need a car is dwarfed by what I would pay to actually own one.
posted by capricorn at 7:31 AM on October 21, 2014
I found New York City a little underwhelming but, I have to admit my own bias - I'm from Chicago. It has nothing to do with any sort of rivalry or "second city" insecurity, I can definitely see why people love it there and would never want to leave. If I'd been born there, I'm sure I'd feel the same.
But coming from a very similar city, it didn't wow me. It was a bigger, dirtier version of Chicago. And I'm sure someone coming from NYC to Chicago would find it a smaller, duller version of their hometown. San Francisco is unique to me. Miami is unique. London was amazing. NYC? It's alright.
posted by bgal81 at 7:54 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
But coming from a very similar city, it didn't wow me. It was a bigger, dirtier version of Chicago. And I'm sure someone coming from NYC to Chicago would find it a smaller, duller version of their hometown. San Francisco is unique to me. Miami is unique. London was amazing. NYC? It's alright.
posted by bgal81 at 7:54 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I've lived in NYC for...jesus, just over 15 years, now?
I think I hate NYC exceptionalism more than most folks who don't live here.
It's a city. There are things I like about it, which make it a good city for me specifically to live in, but there are lots of cities, and lost of them have just as many good points to recommend them. Not to mention all of the equally nice places to live that aren't giant blocks of brick and concrete.
Whenever I hear people talk about NYC like it's the greatest place on the planet, I mostly just wish they would shut up and stop making the rest of us look like twits.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:39 AM on October 21, 2014 [8 favorites]
I think I hate NYC exceptionalism more than most folks who don't live here.
It's a city. There are things I like about it, which make it a good city for me specifically to live in, but there are lots of cities, and lost of them have just as many good points to recommend them. Not to mention all of the equally nice places to live that aren't giant blocks of brick and concrete.
Whenever I hear people talk about NYC like it's the greatest place on the planet, I mostly just wish they would shut up and stop making the rest of us look like twits.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 8:39 AM on October 21, 2014 [8 favorites]
jpe: “Re sandwiches and pizza: NYC doesn't have great variants of either, but what they have are the Platonic ideals of both. I can get a great, interesting sandwich elsewhere, but it's oddly difficult to just find a regular sandwich.”
snickerdoodle: “Any that's why the ‘you can get this anywhere’ comments are missing the point. Many cities have hip neighborhoods, great restaurants, etc. But once you've exhausted them, you're done. Depending on the city, this may take one weekend or several months, but in the US at least, you'll find all the ‘cool’ spots pretty quickly. Or maybe they're strong in one area but lacking in almost everything else. If you're the kind of person who always wants to try new things, NYC is hard to beat.”
I think this is true in a more limited way than New Yorkers often realize. jpe actually made a great point, one that I've been turning over in my head for years, and it's worth highlighting.
There's a huge cultural difference to restaurants in New York as opposed to (say) California. You say that in other places "you'll find all the 'cool' spots pretty quickly." This is probably true, but you're leaving off an important question – why would you want to find the cool spots in the first place?
In New York, it's essential to find the cool spots, the really good places, the hidden gems, because there is a vast sea of terrible restaurants and city life is about finding those really good ones to enjoy. City-dwellers know these joints, and that knowledge is part of their currency as city-dwellers. They pride themselves on their little collection of awesome spots to eat, and they take joy in learning about new ones from other folks and sharing this knowledge with people they value. This is how city life works, and it's true – New York has a larger set of "that one really great place for X food" than any town I know.
So when New Yorkers go to another place, like California, they ask around about what the best taco truck is, or the best Jamaican place, or the best whatever, and they find – well, people might have a favorite, but it's only their favorite really, and while sometimes a place is so good that everyone intelligent agrees it's the best, there's probably just that one. So New Yorkers, who are used to the culture of cataloging the exceptional places to eat, conclude that there must not be that many great restaurants, since people don't seem as eager to engage in that kind of cataloging behavior.
But here's the rub: in my experience – I admit it's my experience, but I've spent a fair amount of time in a number of places in both areas – if you just walk into a restaurant in California, you're much more likely to find passable food, made with at least relatively fresh ingredients, than you are if you just walk into a restaurant in New York. There are a variety of reasons for this, one of the big ones being the higher availability of fresh produce in California. It is not because Californians are "better at food" or any nonsense like that; the best restaurants in New York stack right up against the best restaurants in California, and frankly in a lot of cases New York probably wins. I just mean the average restaurant you walk into will probably be better.
The thing is, to people steeped in the New York culture of restaurants, this almost makes no sense anyhow. You're not supposed to "just walk into" a restaurant. You're supposed to talk to people about what restaurant to go to, or ask others if they've been there, or at least (for heaven's sake) go on Yelp. And, yeah, people do that elsewhere. But in New York (and other eastern cities) it's a cultural cornerstone, particularly because these cities are uniquely the places where, as far as I can tell, there are many more people who eat out frequently and sometimes don't cook for themselves at all.
posted by koeselitz at 8:57 AM on October 21, 2014 [6 favorites]
snickerdoodle: “Any that's why the ‘you can get this anywhere’ comments are missing the point. Many cities have hip neighborhoods, great restaurants, etc. But once you've exhausted them, you're done. Depending on the city, this may take one weekend or several months, but in the US at least, you'll find all the ‘cool’ spots pretty quickly. Or maybe they're strong in one area but lacking in almost everything else. If you're the kind of person who always wants to try new things, NYC is hard to beat.”
I think this is true in a more limited way than New Yorkers often realize. jpe actually made a great point, one that I've been turning over in my head for years, and it's worth highlighting.
There's a huge cultural difference to restaurants in New York as opposed to (say) California. You say that in other places "you'll find all the 'cool' spots pretty quickly." This is probably true, but you're leaving off an important question – why would you want to find the cool spots in the first place?
In New York, it's essential to find the cool spots, the really good places, the hidden gems, because there is a vast sea of terrible restaurants and city life is about finding those really good ones to enjoy. City-dwellers know these joints, and that knowledge is part of their currency as city-dwellers. They pride themselves on their little collection of awesome spots to eat, and they take joy in learning about new ones from other folks and sharing this knowledge with people they value. This is how city life works, and it's true – New York has a larger set of "that one really great place for X food" than any town I know.
So when New Yorkers go to another place, like California, they ask around about what the best taco truck is, or the best Jamaican place, or the best whatever, and they find – well, people might have a favorite, but it's only their favorite really, and while sometimes a place is so good that everyone intelligent agrees it's the best, there's probably just that one. So New Yorkers, who are used to the culture of cataloging the exceptional places to eat, conclude that there must not be that many great restaurants, since people don't seem as eager to engage in that kind of cataloging behavior.
But here's the rub: in my experience – I admit it's my experience, but I've spent a fair amount of time in a number of places in both areas – if you just walk into a restaurant in California, you're much more likely to find passable food, made with at least relatively fresh ingredients, than you are if you just walk into a restaurant in New York. There are a variety of reasons for this, one of the big ones being the higher availability of fresh produce in California. It is not because Californians are "better at food" or any nonsense like that; the best restaurants in New York stack right up against the best restaurants in California, and frankly in a lot of cases New York probably wins. I just mean the average restaurant you walk into will probably be better.
The thing is, to people steeped in the New York culture of restaurants, this almost makes no sense anyhow. You're not supposed to "just walk into" a restaurant. You're supposed to talk to people about what restaurant to go to, or ask others if they've been there, or at least (for heaven's sake) go on Yelp. And, yeah, people do that elsewhere. But in New York (and other eastern cities) it's a cultural cornerstone, particularly because these cities are uniquely the places where, as far as I can tell, there are many more people who eat out frequently and sometimes don't cook for themselves at all.
posted by koeselitz at 8:57 AM on October 21, 2014 [6 favorites]
Speaking of cats in odd places, I was just reading this, where people on the local pilot's discussion group were talking about where to find a good aviation medical examiner to renew their medical certificates. One doctor was universally recommended with the caveat that he has cats lurking throughout his offices.
posted by exogenous at 9:01 AM on October 21, 2014
posted by exogenous at 9:01 AM on October 21, 2014
It is also often staffed at odd hours by young children who speak exactly like their parents. If you've never been addressed at half past midnight by a twelve year old giving you a hearty HOW ARE YOU TONIGHT MY FRIEND and then ringing up your cigarettes and forty, it is disconcertingly delightful.
How the hell is that even remotely legal. Doesn't NY have child labour laws?
posted by Mitheral at 9:13 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
How the hell is that even remotely legal. Doesn't NY have child labour laws?
posted by Mitheral at 9:13 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Also "legal" and "bodega" are quite often at odds in a way that are socially acceptable unless it gets egregious or abusive. I don't think you're allowed to have animals in an establishment that prepares food, either. Or pay your employees in cash. Or hire non-resident aliens. Or sell loosies. Or any other of the dozens of things that separates a bodega from a 7-11 and keeps the 'bodega' a living concept.
posted by griphus at 9:53 AM on October 21, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by griphus at 9:53 AM on October 21, 2014 [6 favorites]
or take photos of people who bounce checks in your store and make them into wild-west-style wanted posters
posted by poffin boffin at 10:01 AM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:01 AM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
In New York, it's essential to find the cool spots, the really good places, the hidden gems, because there is a vast sea of terrible restaurants and city life is about finding those really good ones to enjoy.
It's actually kind of funny that you'd say that, because when a good friend of mine first moved to Brooklyn, one of the things he would frequently comment on was that basically any restaurant that had people in it would be tasty, if not amazing. As opposed to his (and my, if I'm honest) experience with restaurants in suburbs and smaller cities, where you will sometimes sit down in a jam-packed establishment and be served the sort of food you'd expect in a high school cafeteria.
I don't think NYC is particularly amazing about this -- no more so than any other city of comparable size with such a large number of people eating out all the time. But it's definitely a Thing that I've come to take for granted, and that I miss when I'm away for long periods of time.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 10:04 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's actually kind of funny that you'd say that, because when a good friend of mine first moved to Brooklyn, one of the things he would frequently comment on was that basically any restaurant that had people in it would be tasty, if not amazing. As opposed to his (and my, if I'm honest) experience with restaurants in suburbs and smaller cities, where you will sometimes sit down in a jam-packed establishment and be served the sort of food you'd expect in a high school cafeteria.
I don't think NYC is particularly amazing about this -- no more so than any other city of comparable size with such a large number of people eating out all the time. But it's definitely a Thing that I've come to take for granted, and that I miss when I'm away for long periods of time.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 10:04 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Yeah, NYC having a vast sea of terrible restaurants does not ring true to me. In my experience, the average restaurant in NYC is much better than the average restaurant in California. Competition is much more fierce for restauranteurs and food vendors in NYC than anywhere else in the country, and that results in everyone stepping up their game.
posted by painquale at 10:16 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by painquale at 10:16 AM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I was born here (DC area) but pretty much my entire extended family is from and/or lives in New York. In my experience, the people who have this obnoxious "Only in New Yawk, baby!" attitude rarely have the state on their birth certificate.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 10:48 AM on October 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 10:48 AM on October 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
"Only in New Yawk, baby!"
I think the few times I have said and/or thought this, it was almost always regarding bodily excretions being somewhere one generally does not expect bodily excretions to be.
posted by griphus at 10:58 AM on October 21, 2014 [7 favorites]
I think the few times I have said and/or thought this, it was almost always regarding bodily excretions being somewhere one generally does not expect bodily excretions to be.
posted by griphus at 10:58 AM on October 21, 2014 [7 favorites]
6. The ability to go out and never worry about how you're getting home.
Seriously? Many times I stood helplessly in the rain praying for a cab. Yes, I lived there pre-Uber but everyone knows there are times when it is absolutely impossible to get a cab. And the subway does not go everywhere.
I lived in New York for a long time. There are many things I miss (Economy Candy, the Chrysler Building at night, Zabars, Fairway, Murray's Sturgeon Shop, and yes, The Strand) but there are many more things I don't miss.
posted by Kangaroo at 11:05 AM on October 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
Seriously? Many times I stood helplessly in the rain praying for a cab. Yes, I lived there pre-Uber but everyone knows there are times when it is absolutely impossible to get a cab. And the subway does not go everywhere.
I lived in New York for a long time. There are many things I miss (Economy Candy, the Chrysler Building at night, Zabars, Fairway, Murray's Sturgeon Shop, and yes, The Strand) but there are many more things I don't miss.
posted by Kangaroo at 11:05 AM on October 21, 2014 [3 favorites]
NYC is the municipal equivalent of a person who suffers from high self esteem.
posted by Flexagon at 11:50 AM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Flexagon at 11:50 AM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
"Yeah, NYC having a vast sea of terrible restaurants does not ring true to me. In my experience, the average restaurant in NYC is much better than the average restaurant in California. Competition is much more fierce for restauranteurs and food vendors in NYC than anywhere else in the country, and that results in everyone stepping up their game."
o_0
The average apple at a farmer's market might be better than the average of all of the oranges in California, but that's not really a reasonable comparison, is it? I haven't lived in NY, so obviously my sample is small, but the average restaurant there seemed pretty comparable to the average restaurant in LA or Chicago.
posted by klangklangston at 12:10 PM on October 21, 2014
o_0
The average apple at a farmer's market might be better than the average of all of the oranges in California, but that's not really a reasonable comparison, is it? I haven't lived in NY, so obviously my sample is small, but the average restaurant there seemed pretty comparable to the average restaurant in LA or Chicago.
posted by klangklangston at 12:10 PM on October 21, 2014
the few times I have said and/or thought this, it was almost always regarding bodily excretions
For me it's mostly a reaction to being spontaneously, publicly heckled.
posted by RogerB at 12:26 PM on October 21, 2014
For me it's mostly a reaction to being spontaneously, publicly heckled.
posted by RogerB at 12:26 PM on October 21, 2014
"Only in New Yawk, baby!"
A friend of mine considers this a very strong indicator of Stockholm Syndrome. "When I stepped out for a coffee I saw a homeless guy using my foyer as a toilet, ha ha, only in New York!"
e: oh I see yeah it all comes back to bodily excretions, doesn't it
posted by Spatch at 1:34 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
A friend of mine considers this a very strong indicator of Stockholm Syndrome. "When I stepped out for a coffee I saw a homeless guy using my foyer as a toilet, ha ha, only in New York!"
e: oh I see yeah it all comes back to bodily excretions, doesn't it
posted by Spatch at 1:34 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
They say the streets are paved with them.
posted by griphus at 1:42 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by griphus at 1:42 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
New York, New York
it's a hell of a town
the subway puke's orange
and the sidewalk poop's brown!
posted by Juliet Banana at 1:49 PM on October 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
it's a hell of a town
the subway puke's orange
and the sidewalk poop's brown!
posted by Juliet Banana at 1:49 PM on October 21, 2014 [2 favorites]
A friend of mine considers this a very strong indicator of Stockholm Syndrome. "When I stepped out for a coffee I saw a homeless guy using my foyer as a toilet, ha ha, only in New York!"
Funny you should mention!
"In addition, 3 million New Yorkers reportedly left the city because they realized the phrase "Only in New York" is actually just a defense mechanism used to convince themselves that seeing a naked man take a shit on a park bench is somehow endearing, or part of some shared cultural experience."
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 3:02 PM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
Funny you should mention!
"In addition, 3 million New Yorkers reportedly left the city because they realized the phrase "Only in New York" is actually just a defense mechanism used to convince themselves that seeing a naked man take a shit on a park bench is somehow endearing, or part of some shared cultural experience."
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 3:02 PM on October 21, 2014 [4 favorites]
109. You can eat alone, see movies alone, do anything alone, and no one gives you a second look.
This isn't a problem in many individualistic, passive aggressive west coast cities where no one talks to eachother or makes solid plans they can't hedge out of(see that cell phone thread from september) like seattle, portland, SF, etc. There isn't really a single activity that i don't really see people doing solo, including eating at fancy "date" restaurants.
Plenty of people go to bars i'd associate mainly with people hanging out with their friends just to read a book or write. And some of these are loud, rowdy dive bars. My friend and my boss both make a habit of seeing movies solo a couple times a week.
Skwirl: I can't wrap my brain around why anyone would ever get in a car and drive to a bar and I am always upset about cities that don't synchronize last call to match up with last bus and last subway.
It's way, way worse when you live in a town that USED to understand this, and then went out of their way to cut back bus routes so that a lot of them stop at midnight for no reason. When i was in high school you could take the bus home at 2:30 or even 3am no problem, and the next soonest "night owl" bus ran maybe a half hour after that.
To add insult to injury, the city put up signs on all the parking meters that say, as part of an anti drunk driving thing, "park it! cab it! transit!" when you... can't take the damn bus home.
I'm always thrilled when i visit places like portland and i can take the train late at night to get back to where i'm staying from wherever i went out in drinking. Because in seattle, it's like "you can bus to a bar that isn't within walking distance of your house, but you better either be prepared to get an uber home or figure out some kind of ride".
In the end, i often try and bum rides from friends and then buy them beers or snacks or whatever, and just try and obfuscate the fact in my mind that someone is having to be the poor fuck who drives to the bar and probably isn't quite as sober as they think they are when they finally go home. It's shit urban planning.
This does segway in to another irritating NYC exceptionalism thing though: the people who upon hearing that sort of statement, blather on about how NYC is a true world city because of the transit, and that's a big part of what makes other cities beta-tier cities, and yada yada yada.
posted by emptythought at 5:49 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
This isn't a problem in many individualistic, passive aggressive west coast cities where no one talks to eachother or makes solid plans they can't hedge out of(see that cell phone thread from september) like seattle, portland, SF, etc. There isn't really a single activity that i don't really see people doing solo, including eating at fancy "date" restaurants.
Plenty of people go to bars i'd associate mainly with people hanging out with their friends just to read a book or write. And some of these are loud, rowdy dive bars. My friend and my boss both make a habit of seeing movies solo a couple times a week.
Skwirl: I can't wrap my brain around why anyone would ever get in a car and drive to a bar and I am always upset about cities that don't synchronize last call to match up with last bus and last subway.
It's way, way worse when you live in a town that USED to understand this, and then went out of their way to cut back bus routes so that a lot of them stop at midnight for no reason. When i was in high school you could take the bus home at 2:30 or even 3am no problem, and the next soonest "night owl" bus ran maybe a half hour after that.
To add insult to injury, the city put up signs on all the parking meters that say, as part of an anti drunk driving thing, "park it! cab it! transit!" when you... can't take the damn bus home.
I'm always thrilled when i visit places like portland and i can take the train late at night to get back to where i'm staying from wherever i went out in drinking. Because in seattle, it's like "you can bus to a bar that isn't within walking distance of your house, but you better either be prepared to get an uber home or figure out some kind of ride".
In the end, i often try and bum rides from friends and then buy them beers or snacks or whatever, and just try and obfuscate the fact in my mind that someone is having to be the poor fuck who drives to the bar and probably isn't quite as sober as they think they are when they finally go home. It's shit urban planning.
This does segway in to another irritating NYC exceptionalism thing though: the people who upon hearing that sort of statement, blather on about how NYC is a true world city because of the transit, and that's a big part of what makes other cities beta-tier cities, and yada yada yada.
posted by emptythought at 5:49 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Much to my chagrin, I have never lived in NYC, but I've spent a fair amount of time there and I love it. Seriously, when I lived in Philadelphia for 7 years, spent at least one weekend there a month, frequently more, along with the less frequent 3-6 day stays. I live in DC now and manage a few trips into NYC a year, the length of which depends on my how precarious my finances are.
I realize that frequent visits over the course of approximately 2 decades does note equate to living there, but if I could I would live there in a heartbeat and here are a few that don't appear on this list, starting with the number and quality of just the art museums--generally my number 1 reason for visiting as a former art historian. But as a single middle aged woman, I like that not only is the bit about being able to go out alone true, but you generally are not the only single at any given restaurant or wherever and will actually talk to you. Perhaps, it's a case of the grass always being greener, but I have the feeling that I would actually have something resembling a social life if I lived in NYC. Who knows? I just feel weirdly at home there considering that I've never actually lived there.
Oh, honey. I have never learned to drive and I have thrived in DC, Auckland, Krakow, and Buffalo. New York City is not special in that regard, either.
I have never had a license, only driven a car with a permit once over 25 years ago, and have managed Boston and Philadelphia quite easily ; three years in Austin was a bit of a challenge, but in all seriousness, the DC metro and its constant delays and the limited service on weekends that has been going on forever with no end in sight, has made me regret my life choices. And it's ungodly expensive; it is the first metro area with a mass transit system that I've lived in or spent significant time where more than one person has mentioned that they've done the math and it's actually cheaper for then to own a car and drive than to take the metro. So while there are many things that I've grown to love about DC, I wouldn't exactly say that I'm thriving here as a carless person. At the very least the equivalent commute in NYC (measured in miles, stops, or minutes) would be a lot less expensive.
posted by kaybdc at 7:25 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
I realize that frequent visits over the course of approximately 2 decades does note equate to living there, but if I could I would live there in a heartbeat and here are a few that don't appear on this list, starting with the number and quality of just the art museums--generally my number 1 reason for visiting as a former art historian. But as a single middle aged woman, I like that not only is the bit about being able to go out alone true, but you generally are not the only single at any given restaurant or wherever and will actually talk to you. Perhaps, it's a case of the grass always being greener, but I have the feeling that I would actually have something resembling a social life if I lived in NYC. Who knows? I just feel weirdly at home there considering that I've never actually lived there.
Oh, honey. I have never learned to drive and I have thrived in DC, Auckland, Krakow, and Buffalo. New York City is not special in that regard, either.
I have never had a license, only driven a car with a permit once over 25 years ago, and have managed Boston and Philadelphia quite easily ; three years in Austin was a bit of a challenge, but in all seriousness, the DC metro and its constant delays and the limited service on weekends that has been going on forever with no end in sight, has made me regret my life choices. And it's ungodly expensive; it is the first metro area with a mass transit system that I've lived in or spent significant time where more than one person has mentioned that they've done the math and it's actually cheaper for then to own a car and drive than to take the metro. So while there are many things that I've grown to love about DC, I wouldn't exactly say that I'm thriving here as a carless person. At the very least the equivalent commute in NYC (measured in miles, stops, or minutes) would be a lot less expensive.
posted by kaybdc at 7:25 PM on October 21, 2014 [1 favorite]
Whoever wrote the original article is not from NYC. You can easily see this in reason #27:
27. You can walk everywhere.
Except that you can't. NYC is a series of islands with only a few bridge crossings that allow pedestrians on them. But you definitely can't walk everywhere.
posted by I-baLL at 4:41 AM on October 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
27. You can walk everywhere.
Except that you can't. NYC is a series of islands with only a few bridge crossings that allow pedestrians on them. But you definitely can't walk everywhere.
posted by I-baLL at 4:41 AM on October 22, 2014 [3 favorites]
griphus Or sell loosies.
Or sell untaxed (NY and NYC) cigarettes. This recent article was interesting:
In New York, a Nose for Hidden Compartments and Cigarettes
posted by mlis at 1:02 PM on October 22, 2014
Or sell untaxed (NY and NYC) cigarettes. This recent article was interesting:
In New York, a Nose for Hidden Compartments and Cigarettes
posted by mlis at 1:02 PM on October 22, 2014
Also related: 8 Things That Only People From Your State Understand
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 7:47 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 7:47 PM on October 23, 2014 [1 favorite]
50. There are trash cans on every corner, WHICH IS REALLY CONVENIENT. Well, there are trash cans on many corners. Most of which are overflowing. So.
The trash cans were one of the things that made me want to leave. They were always, always overflowing in my last NYC neighborhood (Jackson Heights, a decade ago). A neighbor explained that it was because of the high number of illegal apartments; landlords would tell the residents that they couldn't use the building's trash cans, because that would tip off The Man that there were extra people living there.
This might have all been urban legend, but it felt true.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:45 PM on October 23, 2014
The trash cans were one of the things that made me want to leave. They were always, always overflowing in my last NYC neighborhood (Jackson Heights, a decade ago). A neighbor explained that it was because of the high number of illegal apartments; landlords would tell the residents that they couldn't use the building's trash cans, because that would tip off The Man that there were extra people living there.
This might have all been urban legend, but it felt true.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:45 PM on October 23, 2014
NYC Officials Assure Public Most Puddles Of Bodily Fluid On Streets Not Contaminated With Ebola
posted by griphus at 3:55 PM on October 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by griphus at 3:55 PM on October 24, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by sweetkid at 2:15 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]