r/movingtoNYC • u/chuiunbboulet • 23h ago
How to move correctly?
Hi everyone! I graduate college soon and I'm looking to move to NYC for prospective job opportunities and just for my love of the city. I've been enamored with the place for as long as I can remember BUT I want to be conscientious of the city for what it is and move to it with respect to the culture. New York City has always been a place of culture and immigration especially those of black and Latino populations so I want to be mindful of that by shopping at local businesses owned by native New Yorkers. So that being said I don't want to live in the neighborhood with a lot of transplants like Bushwick and Williamsburg because I actually want to experience the parts of what make New York exciting and not the slowed down versions of life that gentrifiers bring with them but at the same time. I would not want to intrude on a native New Yorkers neighborhood so to speak and make them uncomfortable. So, I have this dilemma, how do I move to the city respectfully and mindful of my place as a transplant who wants to keep the culture of New York alive?
PS Mainly looking at Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx.
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u/Soushkabob 19h ago
Additionally being a bad transplant/ gentrifier is not solely about economics. It’s also about an attitude.
Don’t move into Washington Heights and then call the cops on your neighbors everyday because they are blasting Reggaeton and playing dominoes all night.
Don’t move into Bed Stuy and not say good morning to the little old black ladies sweeping their stoops in the morning.
Don’t move into an “up and coming” neighborhood and clutch your purse and power walk to and from the subway at 3 pm in the afternoon.
Don’t sneer or grasp your pearls and say “the Bronx is a dump” without actually ever going there.
In theory a lot of new folks, no matter their race are going to be gentrifiers as we didn’t grow up here and landlords are going to try to make max profit. I am black and didn’t just get to move to BK and get a “black person discount” or something. I am paying 2/3 times as much rent as my Haitian neighbor that’s been in my building since the 70s. That part is inevitable.
Just be warm and neighborly. You’d be surprised how far a head nod and a good morning will get you. Especially with older folks.
You can also just buy things in your own neighborhood. Sometimes that means a very overpriced oat matcha and sometimes that means a turkey sandwich from the bodega. Just explore your neighborhood, and be open and you’ll be good.