Results tagged “transplants”

With college graduation season in full swing, New York is about to be invaded with this year's crop of postgrads following the legends they've heard of this safe version of New York City that now apparently even promises affordable apartments in neighborhoods they've seen in movies since they were kids. The Times talks to recent transplants and realtors about just how affordable Manhattan apartments have gotten recently. One apartment hunter tells them, “I can type in my search criteria now and see 50 listings in Manhattan...they are definitely there and two years ago, they weren’t.” Others say that they're just satisfied with how spacious apartments are in neighborhoods they find pleasantly surprising such as Gowanus and Harlem. A recent grad described how many college friends she has in Astoria saying, “I guess it’s the same idea as immigrants—they find ways to stay near one another." One realtor tells the paper that things certainly have changed since the 32,000 graduates who arrived in 2007 when "Wall Street gave them $60,000 a year and $10,000 in moving fees.”

Before people flee the city for Buffalo, they enter it with wide eyes and big hopes. The NY Times looks at what it's like for newbies, who will either be crushed by the city, or embrace it. Just how many fresh transplants are amongst us? The Census for 2006 showed "nearly 77,000 people in their 20s had been in the city for a year or less" -- a number that's likely doubled since the Sex and the City movie came out (unsubstantiated!). While many newcomers find comfort in the skyline they've seen in countless tv shows and movies, others are defeated by a lack of funds and friends. And then there's the rudeness; one claimed he "is still trying to stomach what feels to him like a whole new brand of rude." The same fella has a childhood fear of taxis, and says “I always thought any time I got into taxis they were going to kidnap me, and I was going to die."