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My experience:

So many rats I accidentally kicked one while casually walking once. You see them literally everywhere.

In Manhattan regularly you walk around huge mountains of stinking garbage bags.

Constant noise

$16/gallon for organic milk at the grocery store

Streets with pot holes absolutely everywhere

Many subway stations that feel like you’re descending into a medieval dungeon. As you wait for the train you get to look at the track bed covered in mold, slime, and scurrying mice.

Actually clinically insane people laughing and talking to themselves everywhere, you get to be right next to them all the time (guess we didn’t need those clinics we shut down?)

I am so thankful every day that I got out of there.



We are so thankful that you left.

It amuses me when people who leave NYC (and SF I suppose) feel the need to give a litany of exaggerated complaints about what a hellhole it is.

I’ve lived in Manhattan 30 years (after growing up in a suburb) and raised three children here and loved it.


> We are so thankful that you left. > It amuses me

You don’t sound amused, you sound like your feelings are hurt because someone doesn’t like the city you live in.


I don't know why there are all these ex-NYC residents who all but cross themselves and shudder when remembering their time there and then it turns out that they never tried to live anywhere other than the busiest parts of Manhattan or, apparently, shop at anything other than bodegas.

(I'm with you on the garbage and crazy people, though.)


Trader Joe prices in Manhattan are pretty reasonable.


The only thing that is truly absurd and unjustifiable is the trash. Why is it acceptable to just leave bags of trash on the sidewalk? Having lived in and visited NYC off-and-on for 20+ years, I never quite got that one.


What’s there to get? There are no alleys in NYC for garbage trucks to use. There is no underground garbage collection system. There is too much trash to install permanent garbage bins on the sidewalk because these bins would be a huge permanent eye sore. You could potentially have each building use large plastic garbage bins, but then you will need a lot of bins for the same amount of trash, which would be an eye sore and a barrier to walking.


You'd think that the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in human history would figure out a trash solution other than "pile the bags on the street 24/7." That's what there is to get. And honestly, this attitude is quite typical of NYC – "it's always been this way, what's the problem?" It's one reason why the city never seems to actually get better at things other places like Tokyo or Singapore figured out decades ago.


Meh. There aren’t so many rats and now business are required to containerize trash which will reduce rats. Soon all residents will have to as well. There aren’t any more potholes than you’d find in any city that goes thru something called Winter Milk is not $16/gallon (and don’t post some random link at one spot where it is). I don’t buy organic, a regular gallon is about the same at Whole Foods as at an aldi in NJ. Organic probably double. Congestion pricing will fund the MTA to improve on its system. The 2nd avenue line is quite nice.


I don’t want to get into a tit for tat but yes the milk is $16, at a regular grocery store. It’s on 81st and 1st you’re welcome to go visit it.




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