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Topic: When you're ready to leave NYC, where do you go?
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| notimetolose | Posted – 8/23/2007 11:56:38 PM | show profile Another vote for NC Bailed out of NYC for a tiny town in North Carolina and never looked back. (Except, of course, to email/IM/phone my freelance clients in NYC!) I thought I'd miss all the stuff we all love about the city (food, cultural venues, sample sales), but instead rediscovered all these dormant interests I didn't have time for in New York--and found a few new ones. We bought a cute house for a little over $100k in a town of about 2,000 people near Winston-Salem. Even in this tiny place, we have cool historic buildings, a busy and walkable downtown district, great BBQ, and tons of outdoor activities. A friend is moving to Asheville soon, which is a good place if you're single and artistically inclined. It's a little crunchy there, if you don't mind that. Black Mountain is nearby, which is a hub of awesome old-timey music (NC hipsters are way into bluegrass). Seagrove, south of Greensboro, is the pottery mecca. There are some very cool little towns outside of Chapel Hill that are attracting artists, writers, and young hobby/organic farmers. North Carolina has a surprising amount of publishing, from academic publishers and small presses to big b-to-b pubs like Pace (Greensboro) and Reed-Elsevier. There are writers galore here, offering lots of freelance editing opportunities. If you're in production, NC has a lot of big printers that are always hiring. It might take a while, but if you find enough freelance work via your buddies in New York, it's amazing how well you can live elsewhere without working nearly as hard. Also, if you decide to leave, you definitely have to leave New York prejudices behind. Our neighbors come in all colors and kinds: rednecks, ex-city dwellers, retirees, artists, farmers, professionals, academics, religious folks, Republicans, Dems, Libertarians. Turns out I like them all (well, most of them), and find them all weird and interesting and helpful in their own ways. |
| chucho | Posted – 8/24/2007 5:32:53 AM | show profile An moving abroad: Having spent 7 of the last 10 years abroad I can attest to my growing disdain for that feeling of impermanence. That's a big issue with moving abroad -- unless you're making it with the conviction of permanence the impermanent feeling starts to get old. The only way to cure it is to move to another location abroad (to re-fresh that good feeling of being in a foreign place); taking lots of trips lots of trips (at least 10-14 days every six months, not counting weekend excursions) to take advantage of being closer to appealing destinations than you would be in the States; or start to think about moving to a place that feels more permanent. I'm not talking about cheesy Wizard of OZ "there's no place like home", but rather more practical matters. Living abroad is far more complicated than moving to Texas. Everything changes. Do I need a visa for a phone line here? Do I need a local bank account to rent an apartment here? Will the guy that comes to fix my stove understand me? How do I pay my electric bill? This line hasn't moved in 25 minutes! At one point I was FedExing my paycheck to my US account after buying travelers checks with the cash I was paid working illegally at an English-language newspaper (I did this for two years). Needed cash. I had to use my ATM internationally at $3.50 a pop. Expect snags with your bank and creditors if you are not a homeowner with a US residential address (or somebody who can receive mail as your proxy and forward it to you) but you are living abroad. I had to replace ATM recently (I live abroad right now, though it's not an ideal place) -- the bank won't sent replacement ATMS abroad. I had to call the bank's VP and because I just happened to be going to the States in October, the VP agreed to have the card sent to her and I will stop by in person and pick it up. This kinda of stuff is the more banal part of the adventure. But most of all it always feels impermanent. I haven't wanted to make my apartments very comfortable and lived in because I don't want to spend money on furnishings because I know I will be leaving someday. I just move form one college-housing arrangement after another. (There's actually quite the circuit in used furniture from expats in the world, I've learned. Real bargains on relatively new IKEA stuff). It's getting to a point where I am now seeking to find a place in the States where I can land a decent job and consider buying a home. Either that or Mexico :) |
| chucho | Posted – 8/24/2007 5:35:13 AM | show profile PS - Notimetolose makes NC more appealing than it already was to me. Near the sea. Mild winters. Check. I'll figure out the rest. |
| chucho | Posted – 8/24/2007 5:43:18 AM | show profile PPS - The banking thing has gotten more complicated with the war on terror thing. I've had to explain to my financial institutions more than once what I was doing abroad, my job, they check my transactions. I've been tapped at least once for sure (albeit that was for a story and the woman had had her identity stolen, with her card showing up from where I was calling). I'm fairly certain that because I live in the Middle East right now that I'm probably on file somewhere. You end up making lots of international calls at your expense to talk to people who want to make sure you aren't some jihadi with a Midwestern American accent. Supposedly this stuff makes us safer or something. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 8/24/2007 11:17:52 AM | show profile Chamsah, You might want to examine Rockland County. Although fewer people have heard of it, it has a lot of the draws of more familiar places like Bergen County, with a lower-tax burden and a better mass transit infrastructure. Our taxes are only about $6K in total, and that's to the county, town and our village. Of course, all this varies a little depending on which part of the county you're in, and the northern sections are better as far as train service than the Southern sections like Nanuet. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| minty409 | Posted – 8/25/2007 2:18:19 PM | show profile "Also, if you decide to leave, you definitely have to leave New York prejudices behind. Our neighbors come in all colors and kinds: rednecks, ex-city dwellers, retirees, artists, farmers, professionals, academics, religious folks, Republicans, Dems, Libertarians. Turns out I like them all (well, most of them), and find them all weird and interesting and helpful in their own ways." Very well-said notimetolose. I'm hearing alot of anti-flyover-land sentiment here, and it's pretty depressing. As one poster pointed out, every area - including and especially New York - has people who are narrow-minded and mean. With this superior attitude, those sassy, progressive hipsters will never enjoy living in any other part of the country. Signed, non-native NYC writer for 14 years who will leave when kids reach school-age. |
| writesonwater | Posted – 8/27/2007 2:39:06 AM | show profile I just don't know about New York prejudices. It seems to me that all but the most progressive of America's smaller towns and many of its cities (at least southern ones)have their own prejudices in play. As a straight WASP, prejudice is less of an issue to me than it is for others, but still. Minty, I can hardly blame you for wanting to leave NYC when your kids reach school-age. We have really tried to make good schools and a decent living and resources an issue for a parenting process that has sprawled over what will be three decades by the time it is done. Certainly, kids crimped our style ;) that said, gotta love 'em. I guess there's a light at the end of the tunnel with our baby approaching college. At least I hope it's a light and not a train ... |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 8/27/2007 11:19:24 AM | show profile Peer pressure exists almost everywhere, it seems, but is a lot tougher in a small town or rural area if you don't have many social options. After 18 months of social pariah-hood, I couldn't take one more minute of the bucolic Upper Valley of NH and its all-white chauvinism, no matter how close the ski hills or rivers for easy, affordable recreation. The miseries of a large expensive city can sometimes be worth if if you don't fit some narrow social norm. |
