9 Reasons to Move to New York

There are a lot of great things about New York City.

While so many cities offer a lot, there's no city like New York. I talked to dozens of New Yorkers to figure out what draws people here.

This blog follows the How to Move to New York City series, an instruction manual for the biggest move of your life. Want to watch the episode? Find it here.

Today we discuss the top nine reasons to live in New York City:

1. You love the arts

New York City is the cultural capital of the world. The city has more than 170 museums, over 120 live music venues, and over 40 theaters. Creative people are everywhere, and there are a lot of ways to be creative yourself. You'll feel like life is passing you by if you don't go to the historic theaters and comedy basements at least a couple times a year. People who love New York are dazzled by the talent they can see just minutes away on the subway.

2. You enjoy people

NYC is the most populous city in the country, and it’s also the most dense. We’re packed in like sardines. Don’t be weirded out if someone starts talking to you. There’s no way to separate yourself from the crowd. The spontaneous conversations can be very beautiful, even if brief. People will often step into a train car and ask, "uptown or downtown?" To which the crowd goes in unison, "uptown!"

3. You love to walk

New Yorkers walk as much as 3x that of the average American per day. If you move here, you’ll become more active, just by nature of everything being within walking distance. As Deb told me, she walks an hour a day just in the course of her normal activities. In my experience it was hard not to walk an hour a day unless you never went beyond your neighborhood. If you enjoy driving, New York will NOT be the city for you!

4. You want to be near the experts or elevate your career.

With such a large concentration of people comes a large amount of economic activity, and that means more companies, larger companies, and faster growing companies. Innovation thrives in places like New York, so it’s no wonder it’s the most economically productive US metropolitan region. Tomas, a doctoral student in Manhattan, told me that being near expert scientists was a huge draw for him.

5. You want to explore your Romantic Life

New York is one of the most open cities in the country, with more queer people here than anywhere else. There is strength in numbers and being around folks who are out and proud builds a wide community of understanding and acceptance. It's a beautiful thing to see - the freedom to be!

There are also a lot of ways to find alternate partnership outside of the monogamy norm. If you want to get into swinging, great. If you want to try polyamory, that doesn’t shock people here. Just do whatever you want… as long as you communicate well and take responsibility as always.

6. You know what you’re after

New York is a great place to do some self-discovery. But don’t get lost in that journey and never end up sure of what you want and what you’re looking for – otherwise you’ll miss out on what’s right in front of you. It's also an expensive place - so to be unsure of what you're doing here is a costly choice.

7. You love being around a lot of cultures

There are over 700 languages spoken in the big apple! No single group holds the majority of the city. With this diversity comes different kinds of celebrations, traditions, and food in the city. Being in New York requires a lot of openness to difference, so if you find that exciting, then you may enjoy the city.

Sydney told me this was one of the best parts of living in the city - "SO MUCH GOOD FOOD!"

8. You know that NYC is more than just Manhattan

There are 5 different boroughs of the city: some of which are completely separated by water. The feel of each of these boroughs is very different, and of course the neighborhoods within them. There’s so much more to the city than skyscrapers and food carts and central park. I spoke with Jade, a lifelong New Yorker and Staten Islander. She reminded me that there's a lot of diversity on Staten Island, and to not let stereotypes prevent exploration to the outer boroughs.

9. You don’t have a choice

Deb and David moved here to be closer to family, and Sydney faced a hard breakup too late to change her upcoming move to the city. But they all made it work and love what the city offers them. This may be your situation too - maybe your employer is dragging you here. But no matter the reason, you can still make the most of it while you're here, even if it's only a few years.

Now, think about all of these features of the city: do you still want to move here? Have you visited yet?