Life After Manhattan

For so many New York City is the end-all-be-all of the professional American dream. They say that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere, and I find that to be all too true. Big city life, public transportation, constant socializing, happy hours, young people everywhere, and the international prestige is incredibly alluring. I wish I could say I was exempt from this phenomenon, but I am not. When I graduated in 2004 I couldn't run any faster to that big, beautiful city and once I got there it was everything I had dreamed it was, and more.

For a 21 year old college grad, it is exactly what you're hoping for. There's an endless amount of fun, culture, excitement, and life. Work is generally fulfilling because you probably have a great job with a very well known company in your field. You probably work on national accounts, work with notable people, or international goods. Museums are free or inexpensive, concerts happen every day of the week on every level, and you can find any kind of cuisine for any price in any corner of the city. Everything really is right there. You're not tied down to car payments & insurance, either. You can pick up at a moment's notice and go.

But - is it really as cracked up as it is made out to be? I spent 3 years in that city working for the world's largest talent agency for the world's biggest stars, and I loved 90% of it. I was 24 and starting to feel restless: my paycheck was not cutting it, I was working a ton of hours, I was having an endless amount of fun but became increasingly more stressed. In an experimental thought, I made the decision to leave Manhattan and go abroad. I resolved that after 1 year if I missed the hustle and bustle of NYC and working in entertainment then I would return and never question my decisions. I stayed away for what turned out to be 2.5 years. Getting perspective on NYC is exactly what I needed.

Compared to Asian cities, NYC is a crowded, unorganized, dark dirthole. Comparing NYC to Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Manila, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Kunming my overall impression is that NYC is pretty much living in the dark ages. Asia is home to the #1 and #2 airports in the world. They have positioned themselves as the design capitals of the world architecturally. They are financial hubs. They create a lot of our technology (LG, Sony, Samsung, Fuji). These cities across the globe have figured out how to have state of the art technology, architecture, and transportation down to an art. Normal everyday people use the public options and buses are easy to navigate and timely. The subways are clean, modern, air conditioned, and on a perfect schedule. Sure, a lot of these systems are no where near as old as NYC's subway, but a lot of the differences are cosmetic. NYC subways smell of urine, trash, and stagnant air and need fresh coats of paint. Working elevators and escalators would be nice too.

My experiment worked. I realized I did not love what I was doing because the world offered more. When I returned back to the States, I thought going back to NYC just made sense, but it didn't. I realized it is a struggle. If you are a 20-something riddled with college debt, that city is a miserable place to be. You must be making nothing less than $50,000 in order to have a $30,000 lifestyle pretty much anywhere else (without college debt). You also will have less to show for it in the sense that you will not own a car, you will live in a closet, and be working like a dog to afford all of it.

After turning down a job offer in NYC in favor of another in Syracuse, NY - I find myself missing the culture, the late nights, the food, and my friends. But what I miss I make up for in cheap rent for a house with a friend, a car that gives me freedom to drive to any city I want at any time, a great job with good hours, flexibility, and professional development. Money to travel the world AND pay my student loans is also a gigantic plus.

The point of this is not to tell you to go or not to go to NYC, but to think about your options. Why NYC? Why not Denver? Austin? Seattle? Raleigh? Tampa? Every big city offers uniqueness & opportunity with its own fair share of struggles. Go somewhere with a community. NYC is devoid of community. I was lucky that I had an army of Syracuse University Alumni to rely on, and I will always love New York for that. Don't let me fool you either... I spend at least one weekend a month playing in that city. But overall life exists elsewhere.

If New York City is your dream - do it - you won't regret it. . But make sure to think it through.

Do you live in a city that's a great alternative to NYC? Did you defect from NYC elsewhere? What are some of your reasons? Would love to share war stories!