Manhattan losing its edge to neighbors?

Here’s the bad news – you can no longer afford to live in Manhattan, NY, unless $2000/mo. for a one-bedroom is normal rent for you.

Here’s the good news – you probably don’t want to live in Manhattan anyway – its surrounding boroughs of Brooklyn, Williamsburg and Greenpoint are where it’s at.

What’s the deal? Well, Manhattan has 7 million jobs and 1.5 million residents – a ratio any city economic development official would die for. Unfortunately, that also means there are statistically four people competing for every one opportunity to be a resident, so of course rents will rise astronomically. Silicon Valley has a similar dilemma.

The point is not to be fooled into thinking you’re uncool just because you’re not living on the island itself. Quite the contrary, the creative, entrepreneurial energy is around it, not necessarily on it, according to author, journalist, DJ, and entertainment guru Tony Fletcher:

“Don’t get me wrong. New York is too great a city for its cultural energy to dissipate entirely. It will rebound; in so many ways, it already has. But I know I’m not alone when I state that at this moment in time, you don’t trawl round Manhattan at night and get the feeling that anything of genuine excitement is happening. And while you might put that down to post-terror-trauma, a quick jaunt round the outer boroughs suggests that the newly settled neighborhoods are flourishing in their place. The edge has moved on. Which means, sadly, that the ‘cultural ground zero’ may remain just an awkwardly-phrased metaphor.”

Photos of 5th Avenue Street Fair in Brooklyn, courtesy of Tony’s iJamming! blog.

What’s your opinion of New York City? Speak your mind below…

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