New Yorkers? Do you prefer the new hipster new york or the old new york?

Question

I know people talk about new york being safer, which it is..but with manhattan pretty much becoming an island of tourists and hipsters making it near impossible to find a decent place to live for native new yorkers do you really prefer it this way? Not to mention that the new york attitude is being replaced by what seems to be a Los Angeles fake type of character.

The new york I remember and that's described to me by older people in the 70s and 80s seemed to be a brutal unsafe place where you got yours if you just worked for it. Knowing the right people and being 'hip' got you things but it wasn't as neccessary as it is today.

My opinion honestly is that new york, where I was born and raised, has become a pathetic social club that's getting more and more shallow and plastic by the day and more and more looks like los angeles.

before I start getting instulted let me say I'm not some hater who's blaming my poverty on other people. I have a great income, more than most people my age and live a decent place. I'm just angry that hard working people making 40k-50k/yr are literally struggling to live on their own. Allowing New York to become a city for the rich will be one of the greatest sins in the history of the American Government

BTW, to tourists: PLEASE visit the other 4 boros and upper manhattan. please see what the real new york is like, pick up the village voice, metro news and AM. See who we really are, New York isn't only central park, time square and yankee statdium

Answer 1

New York today is a corporate product, of Disney, MTV, chain stores and chain restaurants. It's has almost lost it's soul.

I miss NY of the 70's and 80's.

I miss The Mudd Club

I miss Max's Kansas City

I miss CBGB's

I miss Canal Jeans

I miss Second Coming Records

NY city was a hotbed of culture, no more.

NYC will never give birth to another:

Africa Bambaattaa

Woody Allen

Martin Scorsese

The Ramones

Darryl McDaniels

Rick Rubin

John Benitez

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Answer 2

yea brighton beach, arthur ave. and flushing are cool etnic neighborhoods and park slope and greenpoint have some nice things to see, i agree with the fact that new york is becoming too expensive and that brooklyn queens and the bronx and maybe even staten island (richmond), defintely have some good places to see  

Answer 3

i totally agree with you. i grew up in the NYC of the 60's and early 70's (and still live here), so i would take the old NYC back any day.

Answer 4

I do agree with you in the larger sense, however LA can never hold a candle to New York. It's not a real city. LA is highly populated, but New York is the city with the tall buildings and is the city that is known for more than its shopping as LA is known for Rodeo Drive. New York still has that flame that LA doesn't, the New York state of mind as so wonderfully described by Billy Joel. I mean, what exactly could be called the LA state of mind? Tanning? Movie stars? What's the point? I don't believe that the New York attitude is being replaced. It's irreplaceable.

I also agree with your point that it's starting to be an exclusive city for the rich now. Yes, it's absolutely fabulous to live there but it shouldn't cost 3500 a month to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in Chelsea. Go on a real estate website. There's a list of amenities for every apartment. They include pets, a deck, a pool and an exercise center, which is understandable. But things the fact that air conditioning is an amenity proves that it can never turn into LA. If a superficial LA girl comes here and sees that a/c isn't always there, she'll go running to the hills. Hollywood hills. New York doesn't have any hills to run to, which is why there's a New York attitude. We don't need anyone's help. We're fine on our own. Let's face it- we're stronger than them. We deal with things like 9/11 and no air conditioning.  

Answer 5

I grew up in the 50s and 60s in NY, it was a little crazy back then, and yes it wasn't really safe to wander around alone, even during the day, but it was real. I visited recently and the whole time I felt like someone should yell "CUT" - Print it - that's a wrap" it just seemed so unreal.