Rules to living in NYC

Incoming summer intern and was wondering what I should and shouldn’t do while living in the city. Are there bad areas to be around in Gramercy? Are the subways dangerous at night/when drunk? Anything I should particularly avoid?

 
DickFuldsbastardchild myballsaremassive

Avoid Phebes or one to one

What’s wrong with Phebe’s?

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Controversial

Been there 6 times. 

5/6 six times, girls get uncomfortable when I literally say "Hey, how's it going" and smile (In the chilling/smoothest way possible). This is fucking retarded 

1/6 times, fucked a dime piece but she spent an hour going on about how men just want sex and I have to circumvent that by pretending to be ok w/ just chilling all the while rubbing that clit to eventually get the deal funded and closed 

American girls just fucking hate men in nyc Im not exaggerating and this shit is wild 

 

I met the hottest girl I have ever seen at Phebe's. We had a fling for a couple of weeks, but were never an item. Sex was out of this world - she had the perfect body. Blonde hair blue eyes, 0 waist and natural DDs. And she was a highly successful fashion designer.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
undergradstoodent

Incoming summer intern and was wondering what I should and shouldn't do while living in the city. Are there bad areas to be around in Gramercy? Are the subways dangerous at night/when drunk? Anything I should particularly avoid?

You'll be fine.  New York isn't particularly dangerous as long as you aren't an idiot.  Use common sense and it's fantastically unlikely you'll have an issue.  Like, if you were moving to LA, you wouldn't need to be told that driving home blackout drunk from a bar is a bad idea, right?  Same logic applies.

 
qwertykeys

Most American cities are dangerous these days. Even the nice areas are becoming political targets. 

Everywhere is dangerous, if that's your worldview.  Cities aren't meaningfully more dangerous than anywhere else, I'd think.  Cities might seem scarier, because there are lots of strangers, but it's not like you don't get murders and break-ins and rapes in small towns where everyone knows everyone.

Some of the most dangerous states are the ones that aren't densely populated and don't have a large degree of urbanization.  Some of the safest are the opposite.

There is a saying that to a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.  Similarly, if you are actively looking for reasons to be afraid of potential crime, everywhere will seem dangerous.

 
undergradstoodent

Incoming summer intern and was wondering what I should and shouldn't do while living in the city. Are there bad areas to be around in Gramercy? Are the subways dangerous at night/when drunk? Anything I should particularly avoid?

Anywhere north of 100 or near the projects are places to avoid. ie. in Alphabet City, Avenue D is sketchy. Avenue C is ok.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 
Isaiah_53_5 💎🙌💎🙌💎
undergradstoodent

Incoming summer intern and was wondering what I should and shouldn't do while living in the city. Are there bad areas to be around in Gramercy? Are the subways dangerous at night/when drunk? Anything I should particularly avoid?

Anywhere north of 100 or near the projects are places to avoid. ie. in Alphabet City, Avenue D is sketchy. Avenue C is ok.

We disagree again.  Don't go north of 96 or so on the east side,  The white castle just into the 100s isn't worth it. Ave C/D is also kinda sketchy, beyond that there's nowhere that you won't be safe with a decent street sense.  I really think that everywhere on the far west side up to the cloisters is fine these days.

These aren't rules I follow, these are rules for a modestly smart kid.  Clueless ones? don't leave times square.  Also, if you act like you know what you're doing you can dress like the most loaded fruit and not get touched walking thru the projects.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 
Whatever1984

We disagree again.  Don't go north of 96 or so on the east side,  The white castle just into the 100s isn't worth it.

Lol.  The whole area is fine.  Don't walk around with a roll of 20s hanging out of your pocket at 2am, but... don't do that in a lot of places that are "safe".  On the west side you can go way far up.

Ave C/D is also kinda sketchy, beyond that there's nowhere that you won't be safe with a decent street sense.  I really think that everywhere on the far west side up to the cloisters is fine these days.

Ave C is fine.  Avenue D has housing projects across the street, if that's the concern... but there is also no reason to be on Avenue D, ever.

These aren't rules I follow, these are rules for a modestly smart kid.  Clueless ones? don't leave times square.  Also, if you act like you know what you're doing you can dress like the most loaded fruit and not get touched walking thru the projects.

Haha Times Square is probably the most dangerous part of Manhattan.  At least from a robbery standpoint.

 

If you're Asian, don't stand close to the tracks if there are any of the local housing-challenged people nearby. In fact you should just avoid them entirely whenever possible, regardless of who you are. Not only are they a stinking eyesore, they've gotten notably more aggressive in recent years. 

"The obedient always think of themselves as virtuous rather than cowardly" - Robert A. Wilson | "If you don't have any enemies in life you have never stood up for anything" - Winston Churchill | "It's a testament to the sheer belligerence of the profession that people would rather argue about the 'risk-adjusted returns' of using inferior tooth cleaning methods." - kellycriterion
 
Most Helpful

Stand well away from the tracks, even at 9am - hang out with your back against the wall if possible

Would definitely avoid the subway after ~10pm as it will be totally desolate except for homeless people, and definitely avoid when you're drunk. Gramercy is not an expensive uber especially if you can split with friends, not worth running into a bad situation in the subway. 

No bad areas in Gramercy really, but just generally be smart. Walking around at 2-3am, especially alone, is just looking for trouble, so don't try to walk home from the LES or something silly.

You will encounter boatloads of mentally ill people, if you have a bad feeling about someone just switch subway cars at the next stop or go to the other side of the street. Never talk to/confront them, just avoid. 

NYC is a pretty safe area but crime is up after covid. Just use common sense and don't go looking for trouble and you'll be fine.

Array
 

As someone that has recently moved to NYC I absolutely refuse to use the subway. 

At minimum it is fucking disgusting, filled with piss and homeless / mentally ill people that'll bother you to the ends of the earth and back. As others have said, I'll either walk or spend the money on an Uber. I highly recommend an electric scooter / skateboard / one wheel / etc. When I'm going out to hang out with friends or grab dinner I'll take mine. Usually not to the restaurant or bar itself, but to a buddy's place that's close(ish), drop it off, and walk / Uber with them.

The amount of solo $35+ Ubers it has saved me is well worth it. Also a shit ton of fun to ride around on nice days / through central park / use for errands if you're into it.

 

That’s interesting, I use the subway all the time. So much quicker to get around the city, and while it isn’t a pristine ride, I think it’s an exaggeration to describe it the way you did. Would I prefer if our subway system was more like Tokyo? Yes, that would be great, but I still find it extremely useful and is my preferred mode of transportation. 

You will almost always get from point A to point B quicker on the subway. 

 

If you get lost, make sure you don't LOOK lost; always walk like you know where you are going and how to get there. Go into a coffee shop or a convenience store or something if you need to check directions on Google maps. Never be walking with your phone in hand.

Never give money to anyone; if someone is asking for subway fare because they lost their wallet or whatever they tell you, just always say you don't have cash and keep moving.

Always keep a hand on your purse/bag/backpack/whatever and a tight grip on your phone if you use it on the subway; act as if someone will grab your stuff and zip out the subway car.

Explore and have a good time in your free time! Lots of great parks and places to eat in NYC. Mercado Little Spain in Hudson Yards is great. As long as you're sensible, you'll be fine; NY is not as scary as people sometimes make it out to be.

 
onmywayup

Uber/lyft/yellow cab when drunk
Yellowcab can save you quite a bit during peak times

disagree. My only visit to the tombs involved a yellow cab.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

Hard disagree with anyone saying that the subway is unsafe at night. Maybe if you're a 100lb woman.

Just relax. Use a bit of common sense when going out, sure, but don't worry about it too much. Probably the worst that could happen is you get mugged. Whatever.

Although they've gone up quite a bit in the past year or two, violent crime rates in NYC are still very low. Much better compared to pretty much any other major American city. You just hear about crime a lot because 1. it's the biggest city in America, therefore there's a lot of crime on an absolute basis and 2. because everyone likes generating clickbait

 

No idea what the fuck is going on in this thread. Manhattan is generally safe with the exception of parts of Harlem. The city is full of homeless people/crackheads but as long as you don't make eye contact, it's not a huge issue. 

Biggest piece of advice I'd give you is to try new things and explore - it's really easy to get caught up in a bubble here and end up going to the same 3 bars with the same 5 people. Other pieces of advice in no particular order: 

  • Brooklyn Electronic Spots (Nowadays/Elsewhere) are infinitely better than Manhattan clubs.
  • Meetups actually work pretty well here if you're trying to meet people (at least I found they were quite good to meet people when I moved here). 
  • A lot of Museums typically have a day a week where entry is pay what you want if you want to skip the $25 entry (Guggenheim is Saturday after 5pm I think)
  • An Uber is often *not* the quickest way to get from A to B (at least in Manhattan). Consult Maps/Citymapper before ordering one to avoid spending 45 mins burning money sitting in traffic. 
  • L'Industrie's Pizza is amazing. I'm not going to waste time arguing over the best pizza in NYC, but it's got to be pretty close.   
  • Citibike is a great way to get around during the warmer months and a membership gets you a discount on Lyft (or at least it used to). 
  • NYC has arguably the best nightlife/theatre scene in the world. Check out a show or two (if that's your thing). Most Broadway Shows lotteries you can enter for free that get you cheap tickets. 
  • The NYPD are generally useless, but avoid messing with them. They can make your life very unpleasant if you get in their way.

In terms of safety (assuming you're a male?), it's pretty hard to accidentally end up somewhere that is legitimately sketchy. Avoid non-touristy parts of the Bronx (Yankee Stadium/Bronx Zoo etc. are fine), East Harlem and South-East BK (Brownsville/East New York). Although I'm not particuarly concerned about safety, I generally try and avoid the Penn Station / Port Authority Bus Terminal area as it's crackhead city around there. 

PM me if you want to grab a beer when you get here. 

 

it's actually Methadone, not crack.  There's a huge clinic just west of 8th Ave in the mid 30s the times did an article 5 years ago about "the worst McDonalds in America" talking about it.  No judging, there are some people actually trying to get better using it, but half are just looking for the next high.

Also: The metropolitan Museum of Art is "Pay what you will" (AKA $0.02) if you're able to prove NY residency. I'm NJ, but my SO lives in Bushwick. (remember when that wasn't a place you'd ever visit?) it's cool at the main museum, but to be really cool you go up to the Cloisters.

Also: as someone who has ridden the subway regularly since the Giuliani administration (I'm a city kid) it's fine.

The only difference between Asset Management and Investment Research is assets. I generally see somebody I know on TV on Bloomberg/CNBC etc. once or twice a week. This sounds cool, until I remind myself that I see somebody I know on ESPN five days a week.
 

NYC has changed a lot since 2018, crime is up like 60% YoY in 2022 and the subways are especially bad lately. Don't get me wrong, if you don't engage you are almost always fine... your average tourist who comes for a week is in no danger, and your typical IB worker isn't about to get stabbed on Park Ave either. but there are definitely a lot of crazies out there and have been some high-profile random incidents in the last 2-3 months (female pushed onto subway tracks, female followed into her downtown apartment and stabbed to death, man attacking like 8 Asian women in an hour in a fancy area, subway shooting).

If you're from a city you likely have some street smarts already, but someone moving to NYC from the midwest or a suburb will eventually run into crazy people and has to learn the above tips over time. 

Array
 
eloquence

there and have been some high-profile random incidents in the last 2-3 months (female pushed onto subway tracks, female followed into her downtown apartment and stabbed to death, man attacking like 8 Asian women in an hour in a fancy area, subway shooting).

In other words, absolutely nothing is different than in 2018 except that you read about a crime recently and decided that one incident was evidence that the city is more dangerous to your average person than it was.

 

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