Done with New York
I’m going to catch a lot of flack for this, but I’ve got to say that I’m pretty fed up with New York City. Space and time constraints, prohibitively high rents, and the sheer density of the city crush the creative and generative spirit of even some of the most imaginative people I know, turning even idealistic artists into cut-throat opportunists and cynical sociopaths.
New Yorkers wait in lines in crowded bars for the privilege of paying $7 plus tip for a pint rather than buying a six-pack and hanging out at home with some friends because their friends live 45-minute subway rides away in all directions. New Yorkers pay $1,000 (or much more) a month for the privilege of living in roach-infested shoeboxes, and they happily slave away in soul-numbing jobs only tangentially related to their interests (if at all) in order to do so.
They consider $15 for a meal dirt cheap, and the fact that many people have little time to prepare their own food promotes an economy partially propped up by daytime restaurants slinging atrocious, unhealthy slop to the lunchtime masses, duped as they are by blogs extolling the culinary wonders available under Midtown and Soho sneeze-guards (if I ever eat another crappy banh mi, it’ll be too soon).
I guess I’m just wondering why it is that so many put up with the lifestyle that the Big Apple engenders. What I find most frustrating is that so many residents of Gotham, even if they’re from other places, can’t imagine that anywhere other than NYC could be as cool. Many of these same people, drawn by the city’s cultural diversity and dynamism, only take in culture passively, forgetting or unable to schedule time in for their own endeavors, leaving half-finished projects to languish in closets and in the backs of their heads, and throwing down hundreds of dollars a month just for the privilege of looking at stuff.
Outside of cover charges and entrance fees, they don’t contribute to the culture of the city. Yet people across the country and around the world in places like Wuhan, Tehran, Kiev, Helsinki, Wellington, Baltimore, and Lincoln are making their own vibrant cultures, sometimes with very limited means.
To a certain degree, I am lamenting my lack of ability to fully develop my creative practice while I was living in the Center of the World, and that is a failure I can’t entirely blame on the city. But I haven’t been inspired by The City That Never Sleeps (which incidentally it does, like when you’re trying to take the G back home after midnight) for years now, its onslaught of stimuli and relentless pace leaving me catatonic and even shell-shocked, despite my having grown up nearby.
I managed to escape, and the months that I have been away from the Five Boroughs have been the most productive and inspiring of my life. I may not have as many great restaurants to go to, but I have the time and the energy to make meals — some of which have been the best of my life — for myself and the people around me, and they return the favor.
Maybe the city beat me, maybe I just don’t have the fortitude or what it takes artistically to make it there, but all I can say is that I’m happy now, I’m actually making art, and I don’t miss the smell of stale urine one bit.
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YOU'RE SAYING (30)
Rose said | 2 July, 2009
This article is perfectly stated, and I am in complete agreement. What is the gain in comparison to the compromise of much city life? People are meant to be connected and to connect, not under live under a pseudo-lens of connectivity that the city provides.
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
^Already did.
rawksavvy said | 2 July, 2009
while i don’t agree with all of your sentiments — ok, i do get frustrated by lines and expensive drinks and rent, but i guess they don’t raise my ire in the same way. or i don’t find them to be quite the obstacles you do (that said, i’m not an artist, so…) — i understand them, and i think you’ve voiced them, as rose said, pretty perfectly.
bravo. and i’m really happy that you’ve found your creative spirit outside nyc 
Steve said | 2 July, 2009
That’s because you lived somewhere along the G line… and it certainly is a bitch to live there… but that’s not NY
Eli said | 2 July, 2009
I can second (or third) many of your points, Mr. Mak. however, I don’t think it’s all quite so cut ‘n dried. To me, New York is the greatest city in the world — but I don’t want to be here all day, every day, for the rest of my life. how about a happy medium? get the fuck outta NYC just long enough to recharge your batteries, renew your creative energy, and eat food pulled straight from the soil. then come back, explore with fresh eyes, and go crazy for it all over again.
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
Rawksavvy, your hair pretty much ensures that you’ll have a great time no matter where you are.
Momo said | 2 July, 2009
Sounds exactly like Paris. Leaving soon.
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
^Steve, your attitude is exactly why I hate NY. When I lived in Queens, I could hardly get anyone to come hang out, let alone move into great apartments around me that were just as far away from Manhattan as Greenpoint or Park Slope. It’s closed-minded and arrogant to say a certain part of New York isn’t “the real New York,” just as it’s ignorant to believe NY is unequivocally the best city in the world. I find New York to be one of the most closed-minded places I’ve ever lived. In any case, whether or not New York or any other city is great is exceedingly subjective. You make the best of where you are, but sometimes certain places aren’t conducive to achieving your goals. New York was too frantic and expensive for me, and, sorry to say, a lot of the stuff I used to love about it just don’t exist anymore. I’m now elsewhere, discovering all sorts of amazing art, music, culture, food, people, and hidden spaces that few New Yorkers will ever see because they’re too full of themselves to look beyond their little crowded bubble.
Spiro said | 2 July, 2009
Gerry, say it isn’t so. To paraphrase Dr Johnson on London: ‘A man who is tired of New York is tired of life.’ But then I don’t actually live in New York. I live in Sydney where the transport system is much worse, the climate and coffee much better and where we lack the bookshops, the history, the night clubs, the energy that comes from a city that believes, and is in my opinion, the centre of the cultural universe. Perhaps it’s a case for this infrequent but always entranced visitor to New York that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
MGARR said | 2 July, 2009
just as long as you keep hipping the hipsters to what metal is now:)
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
^Eli, I’m still from NY and my parents live in the burbs, but I doubt I will be living in the city proper ever again. It’s just not right for me, and the things I used to love about it when I was 20 don’t exist anymore, exist elsewhere, or I’ve outgrown them. The Museum of Natural History is one of my favorite places in the world, but it’s not worth $1000 a month in rent to live in the same city. That’s not to say I don’t understand a lot of people’s loyalty to NYC, but when I say that I’m personally fed up with it, I feel like New Yorkers treat me like I’ve decided to become a priest or something. I’m not necessarily retreating to the woods, and actually, I’ve been having much more of a ragingly good time since I left — it’s surprising how much fun you can have when you don’t have to work full time and you pay $300 for a third of a house.
Morgan said | 2 July, 2009
Hey Gerry – great to hear you found a better place — where are you now?
I agree with you’re general characterization. New York has lost something to me more recently — maybe it has to do with everyone talking about money more, but as an artist, I feel like I’ve always been talking about that with other artists…
I’m writing this from the Caribbean right now and can safely say that New York is not always the best place for an artist. I’ve made two paintings in the last two weeks… more that I’ve made in the last year in the city.
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
Also, Steve, Biggie Smalls grew up near the G. If he’s not the real New York, I don’t know what is.
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
Morgan, what are you doing in the Caribbean? Aren’t you from there or something? I’m actually living in Baltimore currently. I’m surrounded by artists and musicians, which helps me stay inspired and motivated. I think people like me and perhaps you just need some headspace in order to be productive. Other people thrive on over-stimulation, and maybe New York might be more their speed. Money definitely taints things too, and I found something uncomfortably cynical and nihilistic in New York culture that didn’t start with the economic meltdown or even 9/11. It’s become a cliche to call NY a rat race, but I really felt like it was, and it was making me into an ornery, frustrated, depressed person that didn’t have the guts to do the things he loved.
Zac said | 2 July, 2009
Great post Gerry.
My sense of New York as a visitor was that it’s a city geared around work and – as a bye-product – money. If you don’t love both, then it would be a brutal city I’m imagine to live for an extended period of time.
Spiro – my guess is that you’ve never lived in the city. There’s no question that there’s a huge difference between visiting a place and living for an extended period of time.
Once again – nice post Gerry.
Matt Miller said | 2 July, 2009
New York is a great place to spend a couple of years. It has the best of everything. The flipside is that is also has the worst. You have done whatever it is that you needed to do there, and now it is time to move on, and you did. It really is that simple, and it’s ok.
Orr said | 2 July, 2009
Swap!
I visited NYC recently and loved it… here in ‘little ol’ Adelaide’ as we like to refer to it life is not all that different to what you describe of NYC. so if its no different lets swap, i’ll take your frustrated arts practice in NY and you can take mine in Adelaide South Australia…
Trevor said | 2 July, 2009
Glad to hear you’re making some changes in your life, hopefully the change stays fresh for a while. You can always come to the Midwest (good brew good people), or Detroit for that matter and buy a foreclosed crack house.
Catherine said | 2 July, 2009
I’m pretty fed up with Sydney – the ‘Emerald city’ is becoming more and more claustophobic it’s exhausting. The jungle of horrid developments and the evergrowing density of our city is unfortunately not making it more culturally inspiring – but breathless and stagnate. We pay well over $1000 a month on a shoebox to look at the sparkling skies and waterways. Yet stepping out the front door and you’ll be met with an abundance of unsocial Sydneysiders – their city reflects their personality: beauty is key, but don’t even think about trying to interrupt. I’m uninspired and bored with this attitude – Sydney makes such an effort to be the diverse and creative community of Australia – but really, if this is it – give me a bucket. I’ve been a professional designer in this town for over 6 years, and horribly I seem to be getting less and less creative as time goes on. The rich, the poor, the metro, the queens, the westies.. Is it the abundance of pollution and population that makes these large cities almost unbreathable? There are rare moments where seeing the horizon makes you wonder about the expanse beyond this Loveless city – or is this just all a case of ‘the grass is greener on the other side’?
Visiting friends and family residing in other parts of NSW and Australia, and you’ll find this attitude almost non-existant. It’s an easier pace of life, and one that is being lived to be enjoyed. So why am I still here in this jungle? Because like love itself, im smitten and blind.
Philippa said | 2 July, 2009
It’s so good to read this. I have been feeling the same way about my home town, The cost of living here in Melbourne (I know it is a creative, multicultural and fantastic city blah blah.) is out of control. The rental market is so tight that landlords can charge whatever they like and it seems to me the divide b/w the haves and have-nots has never been so noticeable. I pay over 50% of my income for the privilege of living close to town and as for holidays or growing savings, forget it! The thing is, the only reason I can afford to live here is that I am living a life that isn’t really right for me. My income comes from working an admin job in which I can’t make use of my creativity. I try to fit in all my creative work around this, but the thing is, I’m tired! I’m thinking of moving to a regional town where I can afford to have a house, pursue my art and maybe have a holiday every now and then. I know modern society wants us to be busy and successful and focussed on accruing wealth, but I don’t think I subscribe. Honestly, sometimes it seems we are all rushing around like mad people! Is it just me?? Creative people out there, you know that creativity needs patience and nurturing just like yourselves. Do you know what I’m saying???
Alison said | 2 July, 2009
I’ve lived in NYC 10 years now, and although I too am considering leaving, I feel compelled to comment. I have experienced most of what you’re talking about, and most often I experience this in the winter after the holidays when the snow is black and the holiday lights are long gone. The weather is better now (kind of) and I’m slowly rekindling my relationship with the city.
A few things…
There are many artists living in Bushwick, Crown Heights, Bed Stuy, Harlem, etc. and they are not paying anywhere near $1000/month. Whether they are realizing their dreams as an artist who knows. If they are, it’s doubtful that they are happy! Not sure that it’s possible to have both.
Roaches are easy. If you have rats, get a cat. Or read the amazing book, ‘Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City’s Most Unwanted Inhabitants’ and learn to appreciate them like the children in the subway do.
The food here is amazing. Too amazing, really. It has pretty much ruined dining for me outside of the city because I know I can get it better, cheaper, and faster back home. Buying groceries is expensive, but even so, with a little bit of effort you can join a co-op in your neighborhood or participate in a farm share and get fresh, organic produce for cheap.
If you want to see your friends (and they want to see you), then it’s pretty simple: you make the effort to see them. If you kind of want to see a friend/acquaintance, then you make plans to see them in a month. If you don’t want to see someone, then too bad because you’re going to see them anyway at that bar you’re paying $7 to drink beer in. By the way, unless you’re drinking uptown or at Balthazar, there are not many places downtown that charge $7 a beer. If you’re in one of those places (looking for models and what have you), then it’s your own fault and you deserve to pay.
To sum it up, I’ve come to realize that New York picks up on your energy. If you’re pissed off at New York, then the bus to the G train is not going to come, it is going to rain/sleet/snow for weeks straight, a taxi is going to come by and spray sludge on you, the construction workers are going to yell, you’re going to get bedbugs, etc. Something I always try to do is to look for beauty in the everyday. It’s sometimes hard to do that here, but that’s what makes living here interesting.
And just so you know, I live off the G train, right around the corner from where Biggie used to live. Good luck, Gerry. And if you want to come back, NYC will be here stale urine and all.
Gerry said | 2 July, 2009
Philippa, I feel you 100%. The same shit is happening all over the world, and I don’t mean to blame NY entirely. I, like you, am not career minded, and I hate rushing around like crazy with no time to relax.
Alison, I agree with you too. It’s just that, sometimes in NY, you have to go with the flow of your friends, and unfortunately, very often, the group decision will be to go to the Pencil Factory in Greenpoint, where beer is $7, rather than the Palace Tavern a few blocks away, where beers are $1.50. Honestly, my preference would be to hang out at someone’s house, but my friends rarely suggest that unless there’s a party going on. Also, I always made the effort to see friends, but on average, I would see even my closest friends at most once a week, which I guess isn’t enough for me.
My rent steadily rose each year I lived in NY, and the last place I lived in Greenpoint, where rent is considered relatively cheap, was $875 for a tiny tiny room. Unless I moved back to Astoria, I wasn’t going to find anything cheaper. You’re right, I could have chosen Bed-Stuy or one of those places along the JMZ, but even those places hovered in the high $600s, and I chose Greenpoint because I knew I was going to leave soon, and I wanted to spend my last year near my friends. Also, when I signed that last lease, I had a job (a soulless, awful job) that paid me enough to afford it. But I absolutely had no time to devote whole-heartedly to art. My downtime was spent cooking, doing laundry, paying bills, and making more of an effort than I should have had to make to see my friends. This is not to say I have bad friends — it’s just that people were generally too busy and exhausted to leave their neighborhoods on most nights.
Rebecca Cossa said | 2 July, 2009
Here here! Amen!!!
Sometimes it seems that urbanites just enjoy the romanticism of “nature, “environmentalism” and the idea of bucolic farms they want their fresh, local, organic produce to come from rather than taking action to be directly involved in these things.
I bought a house 1.5 hours north of the Bronx with my husband last year. It’s scary to leave but we stay connected. My husband commutes for work and stays down to record his albums. Plus ay home we get breathing room, wildlife, and my work on a farm (yes I am using my degree) is thoroughly fulfilling. Our mortgage is cheaper than our rent in Brooklyn was!
It takes a leap but once you do it, it is worth it. You can always visit the city. Get out while you can! You’re friends want to too! Everyone’s afraid of the unknown but you need to grow up sometime.
PS You forgot to mention other cities like Philly and Pittsburgh that many friends have found great inspiration in.
Alex said | 3 July, 2009
This article troubles me. It seems that more than anything, you need new friends and a new fresh outlook on things. That would have most likely happened if you spent the last 10 years in San Francisco, Sydney, Paris, London, etc. I applaud Alison for her comment- it’s easy to see all the bad when you’re in a rut and very negative. This city has so much to offer- in culture, in food, in people, in places. As a person who was born and raised in Manhattan (my parents pay $385 in rent for a two bedroom in Midtown and have lived there for 30 years) I have left and come back only to rediscover a new city that is always changing and always moving. While I hate many of the changes I see going on in my neighborhood, I realize that they’re inevitable. Just because I’m having a bad day or craving a change doesn’t mean I’m going to bash the place that has given me so many memories, good times and experiences that I probably wouldn’t have had otherwise. This same article would have probably been written about London had you chosen to live there instead.
daddy g said | 3 July, 2009
If you think New York is expensive don’t even think about living in London. You can’t get anthing for $1000 a month. That’s rock bottom!
Gerry said | 3 July, 2009
I would not choose to live in London. In any case, I realize that my problems with New York stemmed from my own personal issues to a certain degree, I still harbor a little resentment at the truism that New York is the best place ever. Also, Alex, your parents pay $385 probably because it’s rent controlled, certainly if they’ve had the same place for 30 years. For a person like me, I just couldn’t find what I needed in NY. I grew up in and around the city, and I always considered it my home, but in the past five years or so, I’ve just become estranged from it.
Honestly, I don’t really want to live in a hub city anymore. I don’t want to live in the Bay Area, I don’t want to live in Berlin, I don’t want to live in Beijing, Hong Kong, or Tokyo. Right now I live in Baltimore, and I love it. I can get coconut oil and goat meat across the street, I can get top notch lengua tacos in Fells Point, I can get Trinidadian food a couple blocks away, and the farmers market is also right across the street. I hang out with artists and musicians, and there’s something fun to do almost every single day. The financial pressure that has been lifted from my life since leaving NY has made all the difference in the world, allowing me to live the life that I’ve always wanted to live.
I’m just saying that I don’t miss New York, not even slightly. It’s a great city for a lot of people, just not me.
Ang said | 3 July, 2009
seriously …myrtle and willoughby..as we all continue to search for the LES ’80s style..the rent was much cheaper then…and life was different then…didnt need to work as much..you were able to spend time and energy on your passions. Unfortunately that was a different time and theres no going back.
Props for keeping in real! I spend the past 5 years in the city and now have resigned to keep myself there only part time..live somewhere else (PA) and go to the city with a direct purpose and then peace out for a bit.
The city didnt beat you…we all are looking for “N.Y.C.”..reality is different..enjoy your creativity and peace.
Good for you.
Stads said | 19 July, 2009
Ha. Ha. Baltimore blows, I mean wow a fat hipster slob named Dan Deacon who’s just oh-so cool came from there and rye rye. wow, great. astounding. . . but baltimore really? I mean the visionary art museum is alright. . . I think you are just interested in a smaller, slower lifestyle but not entirely removed from a city. You are just getting old, and you harbor your angst of age focused onto one city you grew up in. I bet if you were young, just getting into a scene and experiencing your coming-of-age you would be having the time of your life in NYC. I’m moving from Baltimore to NYC next month, i’m safely saying I will be much happier, it just is the shit. As I stated before, you really are just growing older and a little impatient with the rhetoric of a city you once loved, finding the slower yet urban life of Baltimore more suitable.
Gerry said | 19 September, 2009
Maybe so, Stads. Have fun paying half your pay in rent. I don’t judge a place by how many “cool” things there are to passively take in, and by-the-way, I think the Visionary Art Museum is way more than alright. Funny enough, I feel younger in Bmore than I did in NY. Everyone I know makes art, music, and food 24/7 because that’s what they love to do. That’s all I really need the space to do. I actually experienced my coming of age in Chicago and Beijing, and I loved NY for my childhood experiences there. Anyway, I may be getting old (if 30 is still considered old), but you sound like a young twat with nothing to offer but snottiness.
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bob said | 2 July, 2009
Please leave. Soon.