living in NYC, is it as bad as people want me to think?

It's great!!!

You won't need a car

You'll never have to worry about being lonely

You'll meet people you never would have met anywhere else

Basically, you'll be living at the center of the civilized world.

But please, for the love of God, do NOT become a Yankees fan. Please? :)

Hell no! Don't let anyone discourage you from going to NYC!

I'm from the Bronx and I miss living up there so much! NYC is fast, real, and exciting. There's always something to do at all hours of the day or night.

The parks are beautiful and the public transportation is so convenient. The food is sooo good! There are tons of places to eat.

You may also run into a few celebrities here and there, which can be pretty cool.

NYC has a lot of history and quality. Yes the streets can get dirty at times and some people can come off as "mean". Don't be scared.

I would move up there for at least a year and see how it goes.

You never know what you're missing out on....

Ask yourself this: do you want to spend the rest of your life saying, "I should have went." or "I was able to go and experience this" ??

I am from the Montana and got to visit NYC for the first time a year ago. I found that is was not as scary as I thought. I loved the subways and traveling around the city. We attended a play and really had a blast but by the end of the 5 days I was ready to go home. I don't think I am cut out to live in any city. I would however choose NYC above all others except for Seattle if I had to pick.

Well, if your plan is to live actually in Manhattan, you're going to need a very well-paying job. However, the four people I know there work in Manhattan, but live in Brooklyn [well, one lives in the upper part of Harlem, and rents there have skyrocketed]. The trick if you live in another borough is to find someplace near a subway line, so you have relatively easy access to the Manhattan.

People love to say that New Yorkers are rude, but it's just not true. Granted, they are to-the-point and can be a little brusque, and that is just jarring to people from laid-back towns where people are more warm. But they're largely good-hearted -- you can stop even the busiest person in midtown to ask them for directions, and they'll give you a few seconds of their time.

Besides rents, other cost of living items can be high, particularly dining in restaurants. For other stuff like utilities, you'd need to seek out some online resource for statistics. The nice thing about New York is that, because of the cold weather during the winter, a lot of buildings are well-insulated.

Among the great things about the city are all the culture to be found, and the availability of food 24 hours a day [and booze up until 4:00am]. On the downside, it's a bit dirty there -- the snow looks lovely when it's falling, but then gets a bit grimy after being on the ground for a while [lovely brownish slush].

If you're a member of a union or some other national organization, contact its New York office and try to hook up with another member to mentor you and give you a little education about how to survive there.

As for crime, it exists there -- but not nearly as dramatic as you see in films and on TV. The trick to avoiding it is to follow all the usual common-sense advice, such as avoiding isolated places at night, not carrying money in your hand, being aware of your surroundings at all times, etc etc etc. But in midtown, particularly around Times Square, there's been a huge police presence since 9/11, so it's gone from being dangerous to being nearly as safe as Disneyland.

But I'd say the worst thing about Manhattan nowadays in the street traffic. Besides the tons of cabs [which is actually a good thing], it seems that more and more people are having cars in the city. If you hop a cab to get somewhere, it helps to ask the driver to take a roundabout route to get around the busier streets -- well worth the couple extra bucks.

They are just jealous that you can afford to live here. I'm a new yorker and i love this city soooo much. There is always something to do. We actually have a very low crime rate compared to other cities. The people who are discouraging you from coming are probably just going by the New York City that they see in movies, where is the violence is dramatized, such as spiderman, those 70's movies like Taxi Driver etc. Trust me, we don't have high speed police chases on a daily basis, lol.

ok now things to look foward to! :

excellent public parks, friendly people, great food, you will get to know people from many different ethnicities, broadway plays, tons of museums to visit, you can visit morning and late night talk shows, all the stores for everything you can ever want, skyscrapers, universities etc.

I was born in Detroit, went to college there. I'm so happy my parents got us out. I've visited NYC on business many times-I could never get out fast enough.

Went to a couple games at Yankee Stadium on a bus, we were told do not leave any valuables on it, do not stop walking. They park in a fenced & guarded area a few blocks from the stadium.

Of course, I have been panhandled outside Tiger Stadium at day games in Detroit and Bank One Ball Park in Phoenix.

You'll find that the majority of people who are thumbs down don't live in NYC and most of thumbs up folks do.

Take it from someone who knows(my husband is from there and we moved there a while back) and yea it kind of is lol. Its dirty, crowded, loud, dangerous, did I mention dirty, etc. lol. But let me tell u a secret I love it. I am from atlanta and I love cities and I have always loved nyc and I enjoy it now. I hope u do too one day.

The people there are great, there is a lot in the way of culture and art as well but you have to like the fast paced move move move lifestyle to like living there.

It's a great city, but there are certain areas where you may possibly be robbed (or even killed) if you're not careful. So long as you know the safe areas to go you'll love it