Writer, historian, and curator Hugh Ryan, who contributed to this thread with a hilarious tweet about a drag queen, grew up in the city's suburbs but his family is from the Bronx. "I've lived in NYC for the last 20+ years," Ryan told Bored Panda. "I love the constant stream of the unexpected, the way you're never sure what even just a simple subway ride will hold!"
But that's not to say that it's all good. For example, Ryan thinks that Rikers Island is a moral stain on the city. Situated between Queens and the Bronx, Rikers is home to New York City's main jail complex and has been said to host "institutionalized, Fight Club–esque beatings—some fatal—of inmates, especially mentally ill ones, by corrections officers."
New York City is often described as a concrete jungle, but as U.S. News pointed out, there's plenty of nature too. Local officials are dedicated to maintaining and improving access to green spaces. There are more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds, and recreational facilities across the five boroughs. And while Central Park may be referred to as "New York City's backyard," the relatively new High Line – an urban revitalization project in the Lower East Side – is quickly becoming a favorite among residents and visitors.
The buzzing metropolis is also home to numerous world-class museums, a legendary theater scene, and a dizzying array of nightlife venues. Outside Manhattan, nearby beaches lure sun-seeking residents in the summer, and the Coney Island amusement park has been entertaining families for decades.
NYC is a place written about in songs, it has served as the backdrop for countless movies and TV shows. It has inspired people worldwide with its grandiosity but a few years ago, one survey found that it resonates especially well with Millennials. 20% of them believe it's their ideal city.
2,000 people born between 1982 and 1998 were asked to rate 20 qualities on a 1 to 10 scale (with 10 connoting the highest importance), revealing what they look for in a city to call home.
The top three qualities were economic in nature: a thriving job market (average score: 8.19), affordable rent (7.94) and affordable home prices (7.55). Beyond those core three, the ratings for quality of life metrics were fairly evenly dispersed: parks or hiking trails got 6.52, non-chain restaurants received 6.49, and quality pizza ended up with 6.11.
Items ranging from top-rate public schools (6.07) to an LGBTQ-friendly environment (5.47) to access to music venues (5.38) also had above average ratings. In fact, the only quality not achieving a score greater than 5 was the presence of a local college or university (4.99).
A few interesting distinctions arose after dividing by age range, comparing 18-to-22 year-olds with 23-to-28 year-olds and 29-to-34 year-olds. Employment and housing were key concerns among all three groups, though affordable rent outranked job prospects only for the youngest cohort.
For the oldest group, home purchase prices were more important than rental prices. While unsurprising, the differences among age groups did reflect a recent trend. The survey suggests that Millennials do, in fact, want to buy their own place.
The survey was carried about by apartment search site Abodo (now Rentable). According to Sam Radbil, the communications manager at the company, the result shows that millennials are career driven.
"Despite [their] reputation for being lazy or entitled, they care about the job market and their careers," he told Forbes. "They are looking for a place that is affordable."
But affordable housing is an ongoing problem in New York City, with one-bedroom apartments renting for several thousand dollars a month. To see how crazy the prices get, you can watch this video by YouTuber Shan Rizwan where he tries to guess how much random New Yorkers pay for rent.
While housing costs are skyrocketing in Manhattan, they have also risen in the other boroughs – especially Brooklyn. Those looking to save some money often look to communities in Connecticut and New Jersey, or on Long Island.