What is middle-class in Manhattan? -NYT

[thorrocksjs]

im still waiting on you to give me a reason to move out when this apt is gonna be mine with da dirt cheap rent deal intact...im waiting.

It's called giving your parents space to live comfortably and them knowing they have space to relax and not worry about you.As long as your home they still preparing and creating a life around you .After a certain amount of years that's not cool at all it's pretty lame and self serving Your parent still doing all this extra stuff and you just copping kicks and doing the same crap you done for years.I mean to keep it one hundred with you in particular you keep coping shoes til the point they in the kitchen that gives me a guess on how small that living space is when you got your kicks everywhere .You said buying a car is worthless because you have to clean it ,buy insurance ,upkeep etc and that a car value depreciates shoes don't .

 

[ninjahood]

im still waiting on you to give me a reason to move out when this apt is gonna be mine with da dirt cheap rent deal intact...im waiting.

It's called giving your parents space to live comfortably and them knowing they have space to relax and not worry about you.As long as your home they still preparing and creating a life around you .After a certain amount of years that's not cool at all it's pretty lame and self serving Your parent still doing all this extra stuff and you just copping kicks and doing the same crap you done for years.I mean to keep it one hundred with you in particular you keep coping shoes til the point they in the kitchen that gives me a guess on how small that living space is when you got your kicks everywhere .You said buying a car is worthless because you have to clean it ,buy insurance ,upkeep etc and that a car value depreciates shoes don't .

what part of "this apt" is gonna be MINE dont you understand?

 

[slicknick951]

Those micro apartments would only be useful to someone who would only go home to sleep

If I lived in NY...being the single dude that I am, and I love solidarity for the most part...I definitely could see this being the spot. 

Bringing a shorty through...as long as I have my books, movies, some type of video gaming console then I'm good. 

I'm living in NYC...that micro apt would be just fine. 

And thats perfectly fine just like that apartment works for you ninjas apartment works for him. I dont understand why the convo keeps going to how he decides to live his life he isnt trying to compete with anyone as far as i know so whats the issue. You live in your 3 br 2 bath house he lives in his 2br apartment we all go to work and pay our taxes. Some more than others but that's the nature of the game you want "nice" things you gotta pay for it.

 

[Bonafide]

Everyone acts like you HAVE to live in Manhattan.

 

[nazdrowie]

off topic but this cold streak has been feeling nice, besides the wind gusts.  

nice break from that humid *** 50 degree weather the east coast gets. 

 

[Canadian Destroyer]

If you like cold enjoy it now cuz forecasters are saying March will be warmer than normal. Cant wait!
Saw some fool wearin a t shirt on 18th street this morning, i felt like throwing a bucket of cold watervat him

 

[slicknick951]

off topic but this cold streak has been feeling nice, besides the wind gusts.  

nice break from that humid *** 50 degree weather the east coast gets. :x

View media item 231485

 

[Gill Baka Esq. LLC.]

I gotta agree....people going at ninja seem super salty like some sapporo ramen soup packet salty.

Values differ from one man to the next. I see what ninja is doing as an investment oppurtunity. I see his mom moving away or what not, Ninja inheriting the place and making bank off that if he chose to do so.

Like what does it matter where he's at in life compared to where you may/want to be in life. Let people live. NYC will always be the greatest city....overrated? Hell yeah in a lot of ways but I'd go to your city and get bored in a year there. You would need a solid 20 years to get bored of nyc if your doing things right right now. It a frustrating city....this ***** of a city will suck you off one day and have you feeling grand and the next she don't give a **** about you.

Some dudes amass jordans, others action figures, others sex dolls, others cars that couldn't win a street race, others automatic watches when a digital one can give you atomic precision timing....it don't matter.

If your gonna discuss something stop getting salty about what one man's reasons are for doing something that has nothing to do with the topic.

People don't just pay for the spot their at in this city, you end up paying for the atmosphere and the amenities this city has to offer in it's expansiveness. Unfortunately I can see a day when the cost won't match the want to live here and it's gonna come sooner than later.

Trust me I've had my in's and outs with this damn city. It's really a love/hate relationship right now for me.

 

[thepointgod]

If you want to talk about aspirations, being a big fish in a small pond is not for everything. Not everyone cares about cruising around in an expensive car Houston or Miami or DC. If that's what you think success in life is, then props to you. For me, what's the point of being the cream of the crop if it's not in the most challenging place in the world to make it. Would I be satisfied living in a huge estate in Atlanta, chilling in the warm weather? Probably, but not until I've done my time in NY.

"Bruh, give me 80 degree weather any day of the week" or "bruh, I make all this money, but I live in Kansas" -- while this is great for you, no one in NY is taking you seriously, and even if you say you don't pay any mind to what anyone in NY thinks of you, it's obviously not the case if you're in this thread trying to big up your own city and pointing out the flaws of life in NY.

 

[benny bugatti]

To each his own, but I just can't see the value in living in NYC, for what you pay for. I mean, I really don't know for sure because I've never lived there but I lived in the Chicago area for a couple years and people really didn't live more exciting lives than people in Atlanta, Houston, etc. You got your bars, restaurants, and live entertainment. Just like every other city, but more of it. But it's a cultural preference, I guess.

For me I just need a couple sports teams, some bars, restaurants, good looking women, and a crew to roll with. Let's be honest, most of us just want to hang out, get drunk every once in a while, and smash. The other stuff is just extraneous.

 

[omgitswes]

I'd love to live in a shoebox apartment just to be in Manhattan. Favorite city I"ve ever spent time in...actually tied with Chicago in the summer

 

[mrkittles20]

It's funny reading people's pros and cons and questions regarding this topic. I've lived in MD all my life, save for a stretch in Santa Monica and Seattle and I visit friends that live in Manhattan and Queens multiple times a year. As someone who knows the value of a dollar, it hurts me to come back from NY and look at my receipts, but I can't say I didn't have a good time or I didn't have quality food/whatever. I hate the parking/driving/prices/rush of NYC, but I love the energy and the people watching above the rest. I can have the same time at ANY bar or club that has a good ratio, but the difference is I can pull a chick at an NYC club just about every time we go out. Definitely not a humble brag, but these girls in NY don't play. They know what they want and they don't dance around the subject. They've got busy lives to lead and that alone causes them to just go with it. In my younger days, when I was single, if I was having a dry spell, I'd just come up to NYC and recharge those batteries. On the subject of entertainment, I can always find a concert in NY, but its expensive. At the same time, those same bands wouldn't come to Baltimore if their lives depended on it, so you gotta just look at it from another perspective.

It truly just does come down to how you value certain things, but if you've never been and never really experienced that life outside of a day trip or whatever, you can't have the proper mindset and facts to back up claims of it not being worth it.

* Cliffs : It's all about a cost to yambs ratio that makes it worth it.

 

[gllahone84]

^ I agree mrkittles...a NY chick does not play around.

If she's fine and wants you...she can get you.

 

[jewseejay]

To each his own, but I just can't see the value in living in NYC, for what you pay for. I mean, I really don't know for sure because I've never lived there but I lived in the Chicago area for a couple years and people really didn't live more exciting lives than people in Atlanta, Houston, etc. You got your bars, restaurants, and live entertainment. Just like every other city, but more of it. But it's a cultural preference, I guess.

For me I just need a couple sports teams, some bars, restaurants, good looking women, and a crew to roll with. Let's be honest, most of us just want to hang out, get drunk every once in a while, and smash. The other stuff is just extraneous.

i concur with this.... alll of it

 

[epidemik the great]

this

and lets not even talk about da fact that alot of ya drive jalopies, i dont have a need or want to drive a hooptie. when i want a car its gonna be of my choosing.

my philosophy is having a car NYC is a luxury anyways, why not just go ALL da way with it? when i get my whips its literally just to troll my 50ish block neighborhood

on da weekends and have it parked in a garage in da weekdays.

you gonna get robbed stuntin like that for no reason...

 

[ninjahood]

this

and lets not even talk about da fact that alot of ya drive jalopies, i dont have a need or want to drive a hooptie. when i want a car its gonna be of my choosing.

my philosophy is having a car NYC is a luxury anyways, why not just go ALL da way with it? when i get my whips its literally just to troll my 50ish block neighborhood

on da weekends and have it parked in a garage in da weekdays.

you gonna get robbed stuntin like that for no reason...

Im a firm believer of da second amendment.. plus u always keep a Louisville slugger on da trunk

Just in case.

 

[wawawowee]

i mean.. i really think that if they got rid of rent control, things wouldnt be as bad as what folks are saying...

i eally think it would level the playing field.

they technically GOT rid of it already.

only thing left is rent stabilized apts (that still go up, just not nearly as fast) and market prices.

only rent control apts are da ones that have been occupied, those leases are da ones in which their rates are frozen from da time da tennant moved in

however many years ago.

its literally like a grandfathered phone plan, so people who have these apts are VERY savvy enough to keep em, and pass em down to their immediate

family.

these apts are SO MINOR in da grand scheme of housing spectrum of NYC, its just people who are salty that folks have such a sweet deal and da

rent hikes are ridiculous that is shining a light on em.

Ninja, you may be fooling some cats in here but you aren't fooling NY'ers.

No one with a healthy career will have the goal of keeping a rent controlled apt. 

I have a friend who lives right off of Union Square with his moms in a 1BD. His mother pays about $750. He's in Finance and has healthy prospects (mid 20's already making 75k+) and the last thing on his mind is keeping that apartment. I have another friend who was in a similar situation on the LES and now dude is making 120k+ in his late 20's; do you think he's thinking about rent controlled apt's? He's living in a $2750/month 1BD on the UWS near Central Park West. 

The LL's are just waiting for the majority of folks to die/move and buy out the rest so that they can convert these buildings into condos. Even the buyouts aren't that great; 40-75k. Buyout prices used to be much better even 5 years ago. 

I personally think rent control is pretty crazy (I'd love to have a rent controlled supercar) but understand the reasoning behind it. On the other hand, if you think a rent controlled apt will allow you to live like anyone in the top 20% of earners in the US then you're kidding yourself. 

The Heights hasn't felt that gentrification pressure yet. Give it some time and when developers feel that they can make some real money there then the war will start. It may never start because the Heights might just be too far uptown for many yuppies, hipsters, "OMG! I love NY" out of towners, etc. but you folks haven;t felt the pressure of real NYC real estate developers. Once they can smell the billions they reach into those deep pockets and flip through those huge rolodexes. 

Sooner or later big business gets what it wants. Especially in NYC. 

 

[wawawowee]

As an aside, non NY'ers don't know how modern NYC works. 

The modern NYC middle class is basically private commercial union workers and city workers. They make up the bulk of NYC's (all 5 boroughs) middle class. These people earn anywhere from 50-100k with good benefits. 

Then you have your working poor/lower middle class (0-45k all in comp) and then your skilled workers (85k+ not including bennies). 

The middle is shrinking while both ends are growing. 

Manhattan itself has been heavily commercialized and transformed into a HK, City of London, Moscow, Tokyo, etc. type of city. It's not going to revert back to the gritty old Manhattan anytime soon. 

The game in NYC nowadays is simple; keep the machine going. Unfortunately, that means that the middle class loses out. 

 

[benny bugatti]

I can have the same time at ANY bar or club that has a good ratio, but the difference is I can pull a chick at an NYC club just about every time we go out. Definitely not a humble brag, but these girls in NY don't play. They know what they want and they don't dance around the subject. They've got busy lives to lead and that alone causes them to just go with it. In my younger days, when I was single, if I was having a dry spell, I'd just come up to NYC and recharge those batteries.

First valid argument I've heard in this thread.

 

[bandit country]

The Heights hasn't felt that gentrification pressure yet. Give it some time and when developers feel that they can make some real money there then the war will start. It may never start because the Heights might just be too far uptown for many yuppies, hipsters, "OMG! I love NY" out of towners, etc. but you folks haven;t felt the pressure of real NYC real estate developers. Once they can smell the billions they reach into those deep pockets and flip through those huge rolodexes. 
Sooner or later big business gets what it wants. Especially in NYC. 

I don't think any manhattan neighborhood is immune from gentrification. There is only so much land on this tiny island.

 

[ninjahood]

Less then 40k apts under rent control in ALL of NYC. for a 2 bedroom, best believe i aint

Going nowhere b. And since these joints arent tied to income, making bank + low overhead = $$$$$$

 

[wawawowee]

The Heights hasn't felt that gentrification pressure yet. Give it some time and when developers feel that they can make some real money there then the war will start. It may never start because the Heights might just be too far uptown for many yuppies, hipsters, "OMG! I love NY" out of towners, etc. but you folks haven;t felt the pressure of real NYC real estate developers. Once they can smell the billions they reach into those deep pockets and flip through those huge rolodexes. 
Sooner or later big business gets what it wants. Especially in NYC. 

I don't think any manhattan neighborhood is immune from gentrification. There is only so much land on this tiny island.

Some are immune because out of towners are very fickle. 

For many, a 30 min subway commute is out of the question. I'm not even exaggerating. I've experienced this firsthand more than a few times. 

For natives, commuting an hour is fine. For outsiders who want to live in NYC, it's not. The majority of non natives who reside in Manhattan haven't even ventured out of the dam borough. They live in their own world. 

 

[pharelfor3]

This. It feels good to be near everything and to get to work in 15 minutes, not have to transfer 3 trains and get stuck in a tunnel every damn day, have old asian ppl coughing on you and mexicans with a 1000 kids running around all over the place.

John rocker, is that you??

If you want to talk about aspirations, being a big fish in a small pond is not for everything. Not everyone cares about cruising around in an expensive car Houston or Miami or DC. If that's what you think success in life is, then props to you. For me, what's the point of being the cream of the crop if it's not in the most challenging place in the world to make it. Would I be satisfied living in a huge estate in Atlanta, chilling in the warm weather? Probably, but not until I've done my time in NY.

"Bruh, give me 80 degree weather any day of the week" or "bruh, I make all this money, but I live in Kansas" -- while this is great for you, no one in NY is taking you seriously, and even if you say you don't pay any mind to what anyone in NY thinks of you, it's obviously not the case if you're in this thread trying to big up your own city and pointing out the flaws of life in NY.

exactly. i see my fam in Miami living content as hell, While i'm stunintin paying $100 in a club. I mean damn. $100 is a regualr *** tuesday night sometimes

 

[neverflopped]

If u live in manhattan there's really no need for a car unless it's for personal reasons. The only borough where u might need it (but still can travel easily by public transportation) is Staten Island.

I can see where ninja is coming from with not moving out and waiting for his mom to leave for the fixed rent. And I can also see where people are coming from that are saying he needs to move out. If him and his mom are living comfortably then I don't see any probably with him staying there if she's leaving soon. Why should he be spending $700+ for his own spot right now when he really doesn't need it. And plus he'll be saving a lot of money for the future for if he has a family and is ready to move to a new, bigger spot. He can live there with his fam on that cheap rent while saving money to buy a house in the future.
If anything I would do the same if I couldn't find a spot for the same price. Probably just split the rent with my mom to help out.

 

[thepointgod]

It would be downright moronic for Ninjahood to give up the apartment because if it's rent-controlled, you keep that in the fam for as many generations as possible--- on the other hand, it's not an excuse to live one's life based on maintaining ownership of that apartment and to not to even consider moving out and striving to do bigger things. Keep the apartment, but let your mom live in it, or let a different family member live in it, it's not going anywhere.

If one had a 4000 sq. rent-controlled old world loft in Nolita, I could understand the complacency, but in my opinion, a 2BR in the Heights is not the type of place to be content with living in forever.