Who here is from NYC and who here is a transplant?

EmilyM wrote: But don't you think that many of them intend to, and find that in the long run they can't afford it?

In my personal experience, no. It feels like ever since NYC "came back," it's been a stop in the post-collegiate life of many a person. They get the experiences and go somewhere else. That's obviously a generalization based on personal experience, though. There are always exceptions, and a neighborhood based board like this will be filled with them, since you have to care about where you live to bother coming here.

nybt wrote: Renters don't jack up their own rent, the landlords jack up rents. That being said...

If rents are increasing and the area is hot, the new businesses that follow usually account for an increase in the quality of the neighborhood amenities. How is that bad? It's a free market, man. If someone else is willing to pay more for the area and the experience, well, life just isn't fair and it's something that we all have to put up with, right?

It's the renters' faults. When a group of people find a cheap area and blow it up, they're the front line warriors for gentrification. And you're right, it's not fair and you have to just deal with it. Part of my way of dealing with it is saying, 'Fuck you hipster transplant gypsies.'

kidicarus wrote: hipster transplant gypsies?

i just moved to new york a year ago, i'm in love with it, i think the people here are far nicer than where i'm from (pittsburgh), and i plan on staying here for a long time. my girlfriend is the same way, and many of my friends are the same way.

i'm also new to this message board and shit like that makes me feel very unwelcome, as i'm sure it would to any recent "transplant."

i also enjoy newer art and music, so i suppose that makes me a "hipster."

i guess i only have one strike left.

Do you DJ? That would be strike three for sure.

vanilla wrote: [quote=devincf]
Anyway, there's a difference between improving a neighborhood and making it hip. Williamsburg is the perfect example of a place ruined by newcomers. Which is saying a lot, because it used to really be an awful area.

how can you "ruin" an "awful" area? :?

By turning it into a cesspool of and beacon for annoying hipsters. People come from all over the country just to live in Williamsburg now. It's sort of like what I imagine the Village was like in the 60s, only with a horrible and shallow cultural movement.

nybt wrote: As of the 2000 census, only 52.3% of the New York population was born in NY state. Can't find numbers on those actually born in the state but not in the city.

Ruined by newcomers? New York was, and is, built on immigration, from both outside of the state and outside of the country.

Come on. I don't know if you're misunderstanding my posts or just twisting them. I'm not saying to wall off the city. I am talking about the transient types, who move to New York after college because it's a thing to do and mommy and daddy will pay their rent and they want to go to the clubs and be on Last Night's Party. I met a girl who has lived in Greenpoint for two years who didn't know that Brooklyn and Manhattan have the same mayor. These are not people who give a shit about where there are beyond its proximity to the nearest scenester bar.

And what happens is this: Artists and pioneers are pushed out of their area by gentrification so they move to a new, low cost neighborhood. They bring some life to the area so hipsters follow. Hipsters bring chain coffee joints and places to eat and boutiques and the neighborhood gets written up and the yuppies follow. By now it's so expensive to live in the neighborhood the artists and pioneers have moved on. Begin cycle again.

kidicarus wrote: what do you find annoying about the hipsters?

i'm not attacking your comment, i'm just really into this whole subject. i didn't move here for williamsburg, but i love williamsburg and i actually (brace yourself) feel more "at home" in williamsburg than any other place in the city, maybe even the country. the people there have been extremely nice to me, i've met a lot of friends there and made some really great memories there.

explain the "horrible and shallow cultural movement" part. the only movement i've seen in williamsburg is a hatred of chain stores, and can you blame them? but i'm sure you're talking about something bigger, so elaborate.

Any time a bunch of people dress the same, act the same, drink the same beer, etc etc etc, it's a movement. Lame as it is, it's a movement.