We moved back a year ago and has the opposite reaction - it’s cleaner and nicer than the last time we lived here 10 years ago, transit system generally in much better shape, ever more abundant food options, all feels pretty safe, not really any more unhoused people than before though the correct number of those is zero and I hope we eventually realize that it’s cheaper and easier to just give them tiny apartments somewhere.

I just moved back to NYC after a few years but it doesn't have the same charm.

There are a lot of homeless, trash everywhere, city feels like it lost the energy it had. There are tourists, but it feels more transient.

I seriously am counting down till I can move out but here for a job. It is just so expensive for what it is. It is fun to visit but the day to day grind of paying so much for everything and dealing with endless tourists and constant bureaucracy and senseless crimes like people driving in from other states to commit murder is exhausting.

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t sure which forum to post this in.

For various reasons committed to staying in a place I don’t love but can tolerate until our kids finish high school. As a trade off DH has agreed to follow my lead at that time. (Well be mid to late 50s). I’d love to buy a pied-a-terre in the Village. Is this nuts? Love to hear any feedback.

(Before I get the inevitable: I have family in New York City and have spent time there - some extensive- since I was a baby. I know the city well for someone who’s never lived there.)

I suggest living there first while renting and seeing if this is what you really love. Spending childhood years there is very different especially since you are not a young person. You can find many furnished sublets for below market price and no strings attached, and can be less than a year commitment. The idea sounds amazing to me because I love NYC and spent most time there than anywhere else (I moved a lot). But it's incredibly expensive to live there and you must be loaded to afford anything decent. Also despite the fact that I would do this in a heartbeat, I would not want to only have one place (apartment in NYC). You will want to get out of the town and somewhere different than apartment living after a while if you are used to living in a house. You have to allocate funds to having a second home in that case which means many millions in NW to be comfortable.

Also car ownership will be $$$ because parking fees are crazy and street parking requires skill to navigate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Getting a pied a terre is so pretentious especially when housing is at a major shortage in NYC.

AND they don’t want to pay any taxes

They pay RE taxes and sales taxes and contribute to local economy when visiting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When your kids want to come "home" for the summers or holidays how will they fit in your apartment in NY?

We’d get a two-bedroom and would have a couch (and air mattresses).

Ugh, nobody wants to sleep on an air mattress or a couch. Say goodbye to your kids ever staying with you.

Yeah, my friend just bought an apartment in NYC. To quote her “I had no idea I have so many friends and relatives, everyone wants to visit and stay a few days”. They are clamoring for a couch and her young adult kids are super excited to visit too.

Yeah, there isn't going to be a shortage of freeloaders wanting to crush on your couch to avoid paying hefty hotel prices, nothing is surprising there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When your kids want to come "home" for the summers or holidays how will they fit in your apartment in NY?

We’d get a two-bedroom and would have a couch (and air mattresses).

You need a bedroom for each kid.

Not if they have lives elsewhere. It's far better to sleep on air mattresses or murphy beds vs. staying in one hotel room when visiting. Unless both kids spend extensive time there, there is no reason to pay for a big apartment, which also is devastatingly expensive in Manhattan and carries taxes/fees that themselves can equal rent in nice parts of town in most major cities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When your kids want to come "home" for the summers or holidays how will they fit in your apartment in NY?

We’d get a two-bedroom and would have a couch (and air mattresses).

Ugh, nobody wants to sleep on an air mattress or a couch. Say goodbye to your kids ever staying with you.

Yeah, my friend just bought an apartment in NYC. To quote her “I had no idea I have so many friends and relatives, everyone wants to visit and stay a few days”. They are clamoring for a couch and her young adult kids are super excited to visit too.

Anonymous wrote:Wasn’t sure which forum to post this in.

For various reasons committed to staying in a place I don’t love but can tolerate until our kids finish high school. As a trade off DH has agreed to follow my lead at that time. (Well be mid to late 50s). I’d love to buy a pied-a-terre in the Village. Is this nuts? Love to hear any feedback.

(Before I get the inevitable: I have family in New York City and have spent time there - some extensive- since I was a baby. I know the city well for someone who’s never lived there.)

if you can afford it, it's not nuts at all.

I live in NYC now and considered moving to the big house after my kids were out that some people up the chain think one would need for my kids to want to visit me as adults. My dc all said ‘No! Please don’t move!’ There is almost nothing like this city and as long as you manage expectations, your kids will love visiting. Yes, sometimes people may have to stay at hotels, or in my world, there’s a lot of informal apartment swapping during holidays because many people travel and will let others stay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When your kids want to come "home" for the summers or holidays how will they fit in your apartment in NY?

We’d get a two-bedroom and would have a couch (and air mattresses).

You need a bedroom for each kid.

PP with the parents who retired to NYC here. I would rather pay for a hotel or sleep on a sleep sofa to visit my parents in NYC than stay with them in a suburb where there is nothing to do. Also NYC is easy to get to from most places and you don't have to rent a car when you visit - plus people often travel there for work. You can always rent a big house for Xmas someplace fun if you want the entire extended family to gather somewhere.

We never left NYC, and now that my nest is on the verge of empty, I am enjoying the city as much as I did in the early years. It wasn't the easiest place to raise DCs, but it's a fantastic place to be if you have the time and money to enjoy what it has to offer on a regular basis.

Anonymous wrote:I live in a co-op in NYC. I hope to stay here the rest of my life. Living in a neighborhood (like the West Village) makes it feel like home - much calmer and quieter.

I know many older people who are very happy here. So much to do, and relatively easy to get around. There are lots of ways to meet people if you make the effort. It can be an expensive place to live but there are lots of "deals" that help, as long as you manage expectations. You can see plenty of theater as long as you don't need to see the hottest shows right when they come out, etc.

Many people have pied a terres. There is nothing pretentious about it. I wouldn't be opposed for their being a higher tax rate of something on those, but that has very little to do with the housing shortage that people are so obsessed with.

I believe the plural is “pieds a terre.” Also, pass the Grey Poupon.

I live in a co-op in NYC. I hope to stay here the rest of my life. Living in a neighborhood (like the West Village) makes it feel like home - much calmer and quieter.

I know many older people who are very happy here. So much to do, and relatively easy to get around. There are lots of ways to meet people if you make the effort. It can be an expensive place to live but there are lots of "deals" that help, as long as you manage expectations. You can see plenty of theater as long as you don't need to see the hottest shows right when they come out, etc.

Many people have pied a terres. There is nothing pretentious about it. I wouldn't be opposed for their being a higher tax rate of something on those, but that has very little to do with the housing shortage that people are so obsessed with.

Anonymous wrote:Getting a pied a terre is so pretentious especially when housing is at a major shortage in NYC.

How does that make it “pretentious?”

Just admit you don’t know how to pronounce pied a terre

Anonymous wrote:Getting a pied a terre is so pretentious especially when housing is at a major shortage in NYC.

AND they don’t want to pay any taxes