NYC
Dec 3rd 2009 | 3:20 am
#31
I approved this message
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,425
From: Chicago
Re: NYC
The first time I went to NYC was in '81. As soon as I stepped out of the train in Grand Central, I was almost hit by a smirking bike messenger who seemed to be wearing a pair a smoked lab goggles. He might as well have been from Mars to me, a kid from rural Massachusetts. We stayed at a friend's apartment and in the elevator, I saw a woman going for a jog while wearing a Walkman and a set of headphones (jogging? Walkman?). The train cars were covered with incredible full-car graffiti. I saw tons of kids my age breakdancing on pieces of cardboard in Central Park while wearing custom iron-on t-shirts. I saw a banker with a gigantic portable telephone in a case. I went to electronic stores selling the latest stuff from Japan that I'd never seen before (what the hell is a CD player?). Etc. The whole place was overwhelming and completely distinct. Now, not so much. Part of this is due to the internet and other factors making trends spread much more rapidly than they did back then, but part of it's because New York is now much more similar to the rest of America than it was thirty years ago.
Dec 3rd 2009 | 4:20 am
#32
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,512
From: Bouncing between Canada and US
Re: NYC
The first time I went to NYC was in '81. As soon as I stepped out of the train in Grand Central, I was almost hit by a smirking bike messenger who seemed to be wearing a pair a smoked lab goggles. He might as well have been from Mars to me, a kid from rural Massachusetts. We stayed at a friend's apartment and in the elevator, I saw a woman going for a jog while wearing a Walkman and a set of headphones (jogging? Walkman?). The train cars were covered with incredible full-car graffiti. I saw tons of kids my age breakdancing on pieces of cardboard in Central Park while wearing custom iron-on t-shirts. I saw a banker with a gigantic portable telephone in a case. I went to electronic stores selling the latest stuff from Japan that I'd never seen before (what the hell is a CD player?). Etc. The whole place was overwhelming and completely distinct. Now, not so much. Part of this is due to the internet and other factors making trends spread much more rapidly than they did back then, but part of it's because New York is now much more similar to the rest of America than it was thirty years ago.
Dec 3rd 2009 | 5:08 am
#33
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 35,082
Re: NYC
The first time I went to NYC was in '81. As soon as I stepped out of the train in Grand Central, I was almost hit by a smirking bike messenger who seemed to be wearing a pair a smoked lab goggles. He might as well have been from Mars to me, a kid from rural Massachusetts. We stayed at a friend's apartment and in the elevator, I saw a woman going for a jog while wearing a Walkman and a set of headphones (jogging? Walkman?). The train cars were covered with incredible full-car graffiti. I saw tons of kids my age breakdancing on pieces of cardboard in Central Park while wearing custom iron-on t-shirts. I saw a banker with a gigantic portable telephone in a case. I went to electronic stores selling the latest stuff from Japan that I'd never seen before (what the hell is a CD player?). Etc. The whole place was overwhelming and completely distinct. Now, not so much. Part of this is due to the internet and other factors making trends spread much more rapidly than they did back then, but part of it's because New York is now much more similar to the rest of America than it was thirty years ago.
). And bootleg music! And *such* cool thrift stores.. Unfortunately, the whole world has gone to this bland corporate sameness (one of the reasons Portland OR is still so cool.. much less of that).
I remember a trip my mom made to Prague, she wanted to bring me a souvenir unique to the city.. she kept tripping over darn Guatemalan weaving everywhere instead.
Dec 4th 2009 | 9:09 am
#34
Diamond Geezer
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,488
From: New Jersey
Re: NYC
The first time I went to NYC was in '81. As soon as I stepped out of the train in Grand Central, I was almost hit by a smirking bike messenger who seemed to be wearing a pair a smoked lab goggles. He might as well have been from Mars to me, a kid from rural Massachusetts. We stayed at a friend's apartment and in the elevator, I saw a woman going for a jog while wearing a Walkman and a set of headphones (jogging? Walkman?). The train cars were covered with incredible full-car graffiti. I saw tons of kids my age breakdancing on pieces of cardboard in Central Park while wearing custom iron-on t-shirts. I saw a banker with a gigantic portable telephone in a case. I went to electronic stores selling the latest stuff from Japan that I'd never seen before (what the hell is a CD player?). Etc. The whole place was overwhelming and completely distinct. Now, not so much. Part of this is due to the internet and other factors making trends spread much more rapidly than they did back then, but part of it's because New York is now much more similar to the rest of America than it was thirty years ago.
Dec 4th 2009 | 5:23 pm
#35
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,913
From: Manhattan
Re: NYC
Pah, NYC has turned into a giant themepark for tourists from Kansas and the rich: NewYorkLand. I've been going there since the early eighties and the change is remarkable. In the vast majority of Manhattan (particularly in the parts a tourist is most likely to visit) has been sanitized and homogenized with the rest of America. It's all yuppies, chain stores and chain restaurants these days....
The real New York and real New Yorkers have been relocated to the outer boroughs.
The real New York and real New Yorkers have been relocated to the outer boroughs.
Dec 4th 2009 | 7:35 pm
#36
I'm off to find a spanner
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 2,867
From: Maine
Re: NYC
I love NYC and would quite easily live in Manhattan. The driving in the city suits my style (Oh I wanna be 4 lanes over then I will just turn my steering wheel and I am there, what is all this honking about?). I could live in the Guggenheim or walk that big bastard market they had on 5th Ave. for days. Loved the look and feel of the village too.
Dec 4th 2009 | 10:52 pm
#37
Forum Regular
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 254
Re: NYC
I have lived in Manhattan since Oct 2007 but in Dec I am quitting New York and going on a road trip. Motels on the road will cost the same as my flat.
I ended up loving Manhattan and would live there again. But it certainly isn't the place I thought it would be. It is a really sanitized version of what it was post 9/11, people are scarily obedient, video surveillance is everywhere, smokers are already treated as criminals, people who drink more than 3 or 4 beers are social outcasts. Manhattan is characterised by fickle fashions and populated by non-New Yorkers who like the idea of living there more than the city itself.
I agree that most NYers are polite but bureaucrats can be very rude indeed.
Saying that, the architechture is stunning, and there is an incredible energy about the place. I am going to miss it.
I ended up loving Manhattan and would live there again. But it certainly isn't the place I thought it would be. It is a really sanitized version of what it was post 9/11, people are scarily obedient, video surveillance is everywhere, smokers are already treated as criminals, people who drink more than 3 or 4 beers are social outcasts. Manhattan is characterised by fickle fashions and populated by non-New Yorkers who like the idea of living there more than the city itself.
I agree that most NYers are polite but bureaucrats can be very rude indeed.
Saying that, the architechture is stunning, and there is an incredible energy about the place. I am going to miss it.
