Did you leave New York City?

[PRobb]

Originally Posted by IntenseJim

Wow. I remember waking up to the radio and getting dressed with WNEW coming through the small speakers and hearing Dave Herman say "Good just barely morning too you." I loved WNEW back then. I remember being tired in the morning and hearing Dave spin the Kinks "Superman".

Ah- when radio was radio. "Welcome to the evening, this is Jonathan Schwartz". "The all night hookey dookey with Scott Muny". We all had a crush on Alison Steele. Remember how disappointed you were the first time you saw her picture?

DAMN I miss radio.

[IntenseJim]

Originally Posted by PRobb

We all had a crush on Alison Steele. Remember how disappointed you were the first time you saw her picture?

DAMN I miss radio.

I just passed coffee through my sinuses!

[DJamesGoody]

Originally Posted by PRobb

New York to Woodstock in an hour and a half?!?!? Good Lord, man, how do you still have a license?

Ha hA!! Barely..... I keep pleading my speeding tickets down! I'm terrible, and the problem is, the thruway is a joke these days..... everybody loves to sit in the fast lane!!!

[knucklehead1]

Thought I'd bring this thread back to life. I'm thinking about moving to NYC in the next year or so, but I'm interested in hearing more opinions before going. Other serious option is the Nashville area (I do a lot of my work with guy's in Franklin), Boston and Philly have both been brought up as well. Let's hear it guys!

[plop]

Originally Posted by PRobb

We all had a crush on Alison Steele. Remember how disappointed you were the first time you saw her picture?

I've seen worse. (Here she is.)

[adpz]

Originally Posted by mjc68

"nyc is not the town it was
very corporate
very safe
very dull
the observed are all gone
and the observers are walking around, awkward,
under the impression that they are special...."

...This is so true

+1 for sure

[Jon Estes]

I just moved from Brooklyn to Nashville.
The only thing I miss is the pizza.
NYC is a terrible place to live in my opinion.

[DaVinci]

If I lived in NYC right now, I think I'd probably put a lot of thought into where else I'd want to be... then look into buying a house in that area. The housing deals are unbelievable in most of the country right now, and NYC money will buy a very nice place in a lot of other locations.

Whether it's your monthly getaway, or whether you rent it with more of an eye toward long term migration, you have the opportunity to plan for your future while working in an environment that has more financial opportunities.

In the meantime, it also gives you the opportunity to branch out and make some contacts in that area.... maybe pick up some work there or get something going if that's your goal.

Years ago, I played in 3 bands in 3 Florida cities. Each had regular weekly Gigs... 5 nights total. I had a side business, and worked it out so I had clients in all 3 cities, and loved the ability to move around, but have income and contacts waiting for me.

[drockfresh]

This is a hysterical article from the Onion: 8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place To Live

Anyone who left NYC should get a good laugh from the above.

I left NYC and aint going back...but have many friends who love living in the city.

[Teddy Ray]

Originally Posted by Jon Estes

I just moved from Brooklyn to Nashville.
The only thing I miss is the pizza.
NYC is a terrible place to live in my opinion.

I lived there for several months in 1998, and again in early 2000(this time for a different reason). I could not wait to get away from that place. Very bad for one's physical and mental health..especially if one is used to living in a pastoral setting. (Like I was, grew up on a farm)

id rather make a bit less , have "stardom" elude me than to be confined to that place. Hell, every Tom dick and Harry wanna be actor is there waiting tables, and when you have a bunch of self-important theatre types running around the atmosphere is bound to suck. Pretentious twits. I did like the cultural events and the nightlife at the time(not clubs because I can't stand em..the epitome of shallow) live music, etc.. but you don't have to be in NYC to have any of that. I had a much better time living outside of Nashville(not IN) and now , living in the country outside of Columbus.

[Marcocet]

I lived here for five years, moved back to philadelphia for three, and couldn't stand it and have ended back up in NYC for the last 5. Just bought a place here. I'm not going anywhere.

It's a hard place to adjust to. I don't think you can even really get a feel for whether it's for you or not in less than three years. There's just too much to explore. My current neighborhood is nothing like the ones I lived in in 99, 00, 01, 02, or 04.

I'm not a big party animal. I don't go out all the time. I DEFINITELY don't schmooze very often. And I'm not really interested in stardom. But working in music this feels like a great place to be. In philadelphia if I got to make two or three records in a year with bands that I really like it was a good year. Here I don't even have to work on stuff I don't care for. There are so many musicians it's ridiculous.

It's certainly not for everybody, and I'm not even suggesting it's worth giving it three years here to try it out if you're not interested. But I love it here.

[knucklehead1]

Originally Posted by Jon Estes

The only thing I miss is the pizza.

Funny, that's the one complant I hear all the time from Nashvillians who moved from ny.

Well let me ask, for those who are looking to expand into the truly big leagues. Who are still trying to make the connections and be around the incredibly talented writers, composers, producers, etc that make, or perhaps made, up nyc and have hopes of one day making it into the "club" of the elite, is NY still one of the best places to be to try and break in? Or do you feel that while it still may be a contender in a very specific genre, you're best bet is to look else where when you add in all the things you hate about ny (lack of growth, housing situation, etc)?

OR; forget about making it on that sort of basis and focus on making good connections with enough people to be able to work wherever you'd like while making a living. Go to nyc for a few years, make some contacts, then move. ???

[tsvisser]

I lived there for 9 years, more than any other single place my entire life, and still consider it "home" even though I have not been back in several years. I now live in Hawaii and although it is nice here, I still miss the place (I'm not much of a sun / sitting on the beach type of person). My advice to anyone is to not move there... it is a difficult place to live and often times not pleasant. Many move there anyways and some make it and acclimate to the environment. It is unique, it is NOT a big city, but a bunch of very small ones.

[Chucho]

I lived in London and New York and in London I was broke and in NYC I was loaded.
I loved both for different reasons. I'm in rural England right now and I suppose I think about NY every 5 or 6 minutes.

It's always easy if you can afford it and If money was no object I'd pick .....

NY

[monkeyxx]

Originally Posted by Marcocet

and I'm not even suggesting it's worth giving it three years here to try it out if you're not interested.

that's a really good point. Having moved every 3-4 years for my entire life (military upbringing), I've found it takes about 3 years to establish a sufficient amount of any kind of meaningful relationships, to get comfortable, find a decent routine, get the feel of a place. moving is hard!

fwiw I've only visited NYC twice in my life, but there was a bit of magic to it, lived up to the term Big Apple, for me.

[gongbass]

New York City is either a place you love like crazy or don't. I lived all over NYC and spent most of my 20's in it doing drum sessions, and composing work. I'm about 50 minutes NW of it no win Jersey (NY state border) and only go in when I have a spotting session or a gig.

My wife still loves Manhattan, My dad still works in the city and loves every day of it. Personally I think more about the traffic, the traffic tickets, parking, not finding parking, horrible load ins, gigs for next to nothing... whereas most other people would look at my career in NYC and say "wow you played with a ton of great artists, in great studios, scored TV shows, etc..."

I'm much happier doing as much as I can from my home studio or studios outside the city. Once I'm in New York I always dig it but its the mental exhaustion that goes along with getting in and out that drives me crazy.

The Production company/music library I'm a partner in is located in Rhinebeck, NY. Thats a beautiful area with tons of NYC ex-pats. Lots of great musicians, a fare share of places to play, excellent restaurants and quite a bit of music/film work. I'd check out that general area if you were looking to get out of NYC yet still be close enough to pop in for the occasional session. Also close (an hour) to the Albany area which has some stuff going on too.

[PureHeat]

I came to Atlanta, GA a few years back to record a project... Stayed in College Park for about 2 months and fell in love with GA.

I finally convinced my wife to leave NYC when she got laid off. We pulled off the impossible, and bought a huge home in South Atlanta. The schools are great, clean air, good neighbors, plenty of elbow room, lower cost of living, and a pool to boot! It has been a huge quality of life upgrade for us all!!!

We missed NYC and 2 weeks ago we decided to make a trip back with the family. We were supposed to stay for a week. As soon as we pulled into town my blood pressure shot up, and about 2 hours later my wife began to feel the stress as well.

Fast forward a few days... We decided to cut our trip short and ran home to Georgia.

Job wise we aren't getting out there yet so I can't really comment except to say that I've seen some neighbors struggling to find work. I am glad to say that money is not really an issue for us right now.

I guess you could say that we are taking time to admire the roses... Thumbs up for life in ATL!

Best,

E.

[latestflavor]

Originally Posted by monkeyxx

,,,, I've found it takes about 3 years to establish a sufficient amount of any kind of meaningful relationships,,,,,

i wouldn't be coming in expecting meaningful. come to achieve and forge alliances....

[mixmixmix]

NYC was great experience - education wise especcialy. After 11 years moved back to Australia. Don't miss the city, but miss friends . Wrote a tune about the city few days ago. It's called "New York City Blues"

YouTube - New York City Blues

Peace

[ray_subsonic]

It's hard to appreciate how suffocating that mass of concrete is .. Until you leave.

Living in New York one develops a perverse sense of tolerance and endurance no matter how hard life gets. Whether you become worn down, stronger or just an an asshole in this process .. is a constant personal decision and always a separate question.

It depends who you are .. For me, it was better to be on the coast in NJ. NYC was always an hour away by car or train. Other options could have been The outer Boroughs, upstate NY, Long Island, CT, Philly .. Right now with the average box costing $2000 per month to rent and the ability to buy for less than that in surrounding areas ..

[mattg082]

I've been told by many friends who live out there to not live in the city. Just stay about 45min to a hour away so you can get a nice place for a decent price and commute. I've never visited the city but have been all over upstate new york. I stayed next to syracuse/ithaca ny for a bit and it was actually really pretty. The people out there where I stayed were all straight edge and kinda snobby but egh it was a pretty area and rent wasn't bad.

[dream]

I would never choose to live in NYC. One word: taxes. Plus C.O.L. Eastern states dominated by unions isnt my thing

[Gary Ladd]

Originally Posted by drockfresh

This is a hysterical article from the Onion: 8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place To Live

I've felt exactly that way about NYC since the day I moved here...in fact, back in the 70s when I visited with my trucker Grandfather I felt the same then as well (for slightly different reasons).

As a SoCal native, that has traveled the Continental USA extensively through the 70s through the present, I can say I have a Love/Hate relationship with New England in general, but especially NYC.

Unfortunately, I hit the lotto when I started a business in lower Manhattan in 97' and I've stayed for that, although I haven't lived in NYC proper since 2001.

At the moment I'm preparing to transition back to some sort of music business (haven't been full-time in music since 88'), but I'd NEVER do that in NYC...

So, I'll be preparing to vamoose out of this hellhole, and I can't wait to escape!

P.S. If you think NYC is the center of the universe, please ignore what I said and stay there!

[bee]

Originally Posted by drockfresh

This is a hysterical article from the Onion: 8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place To Live

Anyone who left NYC should get a good laugh from the above.

I left NYC and aint going back...but have many friends who love living in the city.

That's hilarious! Thanks for posting!

[Lance Lawson]

I left NYC 15years ago. I'll suggest to anyone considering leaving NYC to think it over carefully. You'd be amazed at how utterly backwards most of this country is. I've developed a huge dislike for "country living and simple country folk". It ain't like Hollywood and Madison Avenue present it. A certain candidate running for president in 2008 made a reference to certain areas being a bit too gun loving and that candidate was correct. Add to that the theological implications that accompany it and you've got an ignorant stew waiting to boil over.

But if you're gonna split from the Big Apple make sure you're heading for some place where there's a lot of ex pat New Yorkers. If you go too far into the sticks you'll discover just how much the blissfully ignorant out there hate New Yorkers.

[The Real MC]

Originally Posted by Lance Lawson

You'd be amazed at how utterly backwards most of this country is.

Most of the country think the same thing about NYC with good reason.

I've developed a huge dislike for "country living and simple country folk".

Watch your language. I'm a country who doesn't own any guns so back off the blanket generalizations.

[Jim Williams]

I like visiting New England, it's a nice country. I still prefer living in the California Republic. I need my deserts, mountains and beaches, sometimes all in one day. I also have a hard time understanding their language in New England. Where did they learn to talk like that?

Over there it's either too cold or too hot, I prefer 72 degrees year round. Some of the people are nice, but I feel like I'm in another country with so many foreigners there, all I see in the city now days are cabbies and stock brokers, most with an accent on top of that jibberish English they use.

From the air Manhattan looks like a cockroach, with all those bridges looking like their legs spreading out.