Jump to content

OT: Things I miss about NY


Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, HighPitch said:

Agree 100% with your spot on assessment of the european experience. Yes their quality of life is fine. Some things they have much better, others not so much but Americans work like dogs and are competitive and have a desire to achieve more. Europeans seem to accept their lot in life for the most part and simply dont hustle. Some if them like to brag about how great x and y is but those are usually the bitter ones than are jealous.

Also, we dont realize how well our country is run. Yes we have issues but for the most part any document you need, any inquiry, bills to be paid, issues with real estate... you name it.... its super fast, clear and done in the US. In other parts of the world you should see the sad sacks that work at the dmv or county facilities. Everything is a problem. Talk to 3 different officials and you will get 3 different answers.

seriously, you guys that havent lived elsewhere trust me the dmv lady that registered your boat and processed your drivers license does NOT exist in most other countries 

I love living here in Bavaria but there is one thing that surprised/disappointed me. It's still such a paper-based bureaucracy.  Filling out mountains of forms and providing original documents for everything: immigration, tax, any kind of registration, bank accounts, doctors, etc. I guess it was a stereotype but I had assumed Germany would be super digital and techno-advanced. Of course I came from Singapore where everything can be done on a smartphone.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The food. End of list ?

I’ll probably go back at some point to show my kids where we’re from, but I have no interest in moving back to Jersey. A lot of my family is gone and most of my friends have moved out of town. The food though? Yeah, that can’t be duplicated. Pizza is close but bagels and good Italian bakeries don’t exist in the south. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Moved to Colorado from LI a few years back

  • Miss the ocean
  • Miss the delis

Don't miss

  • Pizza. I eat a lot healthier these days, but I have at least a handful of really good options when in the mood for it. **Anyone visiting Denver, I suggest Blue Pan Pizza - and go for the Detroit style pizza variations on their menu.**
  • Having to drive everywhere on LI/Cost of living. I pay the same amount of money a month in an apartment to live downtown in Denver, walking distance to Coors, Mile High, bars, gyms, grocery stores and Restaurants as I did for an apartment I had in Farmingdale, NY.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have been living in Illinois for the past twenty years.  Love living out here, the Midwest is home now -- this is where my kids and grandchild are.  I don't ever intend to leave. 

I enjoy travelling back to NY.  Will probably make it in for a Jet game this year, plus a chance to catch up with firends and famiily.  Although over the years most friends and family have moved out -- just my wife's family is still in NY.  Mine is spread all over the country: FL, CO, WA, IL & IA.

I do miss a good corned beef or pastrami sandwich; the Chinese food sucks here and don't get me started on Chicago pizza.. I would be a Jet season ticket holder if I still lived in NY.  But there is something to be said for being a road fan.  I have met a ton of friends out here at Mets/Jets bars in and around the City.  But for the most part, living in a suburb of NY or Chicago is not really that much different.  Except our winters are colder out here.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Matt39 said:

Who needs the carbs anyways??

I do.  It is my reward for drinking 80 oz of water every day, walking the miles my doctor asked me to walk, taking all the freaking supplements my Doctor wife asks me to take and generally being 60 and able to do what ever i want to do  :)

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN said:

Thank God . It has gone to sh*t . It is not safe anywhere to walk the streets without being mugged , pissed on or tripping over garbage . 

What are you talking about

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN said:

Thank God . It has gone to sh*t . It is not safe anywhere to walk the streets without being mugged , pissed on or tripping over garbage . 

Awesome.  I loved living on the upper west side in the 70's and remember when Hell's Kitchen was a living hell and loved it before it became disneyland.  

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, GKnight83 said:

I do.  It is my reward for drinking 80 oz of water every day, walking the miles my doctor asked me to walk, taking all the freaking supplements my Doctor wife asks me to take and generally being 60 and able to do what ever i want to do  :)

Honestly if I’m craving anything that’s typically made crappily down here I’ve managed to make it better on my home e.g pizza,BEC..eggs shouldn’t be microwaved unless you’re at McDonald’s. 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN said:

Thank God . It has gone to sh*t . It is not safe anywhere to walk the streets without being mugged , pissed on or tripping over garbage . 

Yeah, but as the saying goes ... if you leave New York, you have to live in America. 

  • Upvote 1
  • Post of the Week 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, jgb said:

I love living here in Bavaria but there is one thing that surprised/disappointed me. It's still such a paper-based bureaucracy.  Filling out mountains of forms and providing original documents for everything: immigration, tax, any kind of registration, bank accounts, doctors, etc. I guess it was a stereotype but I had assumed Germany would be super digital and techno-advanced. Of course I came from Singapore where everything can be done on a smartphone.

So they actually stop you and aks for your papers with a German accent?   I thought that was Hogan's Heroes beating a stereotype to death.    

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Left NYC for a NJ suburb of NYC.  Found good enough pizza and deli.  Bagels have been a problem.

Happy so far.  I think about going further, but job wise, it's not really possible without my wife and I going back to just about zero.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, johnnysd said:

This part of the season sucks so hard, 4 more weeks of nothing and then we finally get something to folllow.

Was just thinking that I have actually lived in San Diego for 33 years now but I still miss some things in NY: Of course it has been so long ( I havent even been back since 2014) that maybe these things are no longer true

1. The people. California is not as friendly a place as NY. You rarely know your neighbors. People get easily offended. Everyone is very PC. I miss the warmth of NYers, couple with their in you face honesty and bluntness. I miss the fact that you could get in a literal shouting match with a family member or friend and then 10 mins later go get some pizza like it never happened.

2. Neighborhoods There was a feeling of family in the neighborhood you lived in. You knew all your neighbors, were supported by your neighbors and you were proud and even protective of your neighborhood (Rosedale for me) 

In California for the most part you just have a place to live. Not universally true but the neighborhoods that exist sort of like I remember NY are not many in number and mostly wealthier. Beach towns are just a different thing altogether.

3. Seasons (sort of) San Diego is basically the same 350 days a year. I do miss leaves turning, Christmas lights reflecting off of snow. Early April when the golf courses finally thawed out and had grass. Still I do not miss chipping ice or shoveling snow in even the tiniest bit

4. Food Pizza Just sort of sucks. There are a couple places now that have sort of NY pizza but not really. It's the water actually many pizzerias here use the exact recipes from NY but they just don't  really work. Bread sucks. I miss Veal Parmigiana heros. Miss White Castle though Vegas has them now so not as much as it once was

5. Going to Jets and Mets games. Actually only ever went to 2 Jets game but probably 100 Mets games. I don't even follow baseball anymore. I hear the Mets actually have a pretty good pitcher now. 

6. Miss the smell of the Atlantic Ocean. I know, weird but the Pacific Ocean is just different. And it smells different. In fact I miss the smell of NY so many smells

7/ Manhattan Nothing like that here in California.

So many other things. Not sure if anyone cares or this will be insta locked. Was just thinking of my parents (long gone) and wrote this

 

 

 

 

 

I left Long Island in 2014 but was going back and forth for some contracting work until last summer. Since that's over I sold the house there. Still miss some things but not very much. A good egg sandwich is about it. I get good pizza and bagels. People are much nicer down here in Melbourne, Fl.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, slats said:

Lived and worked on LI for basically my entire life then retired and moved to the Rivera Maya in Mexico last January at 55. It’s not for everyone, but for me it’s basically perfect. Cost of living is a third of that in NYC. I have a nicely appointed two bed two bath house two blocks from the Caribbean Sea with a rent less than half of what I paid for a similar sized apartment in Suffolk County. People are awesome. There’s a natural sense of humor here that’s just fantastic. A lot of poverty, but people are still out enjoying their lives. Pizza and bagels are things I miss and eat a ton of when I visit (just got back from a three week trip), but the food here is super fresh, cheap, and delicious. I live in a fishing village, I go to the restaurant and pick out a fish that was caught earlier today. A kilo of limes costs me the same as I’d pay for three of the things on sale at Stop & Shop. 
 
I absolutely hated winter, and permanent summer is so far definitely working for me. I’m still waiting for reading books on the beach with a couple cold beers to get old. No sign, yet. 

Lucky SOB

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, RedBeardedSavage said:

Moved to Colorado from LI a few years back

  • Miss the ocean
  • Miss the delis

Don't miss

  • Pizza. I eat a lot healthier these days, but I have at least a handful of really good options when in the mood for it. **Anyone visiting Denver, I suggest Blue Pan Pizza - and go for the Detroit style pizza variations on their menu.**
  • Having to drive everywhere on LI/Cost of living. I pay the same amount of money a month in an apartment to live downtown in Denver, walking distance to Coors, Mile High, bars, gyms, grocery stores and Restaurants as I did for an apartment I had in Farmingdale, NY.

I lived in Colorado Springs for a year back in the late 80s before moving back to LI. Everything you say you miss is exactly what we missed when we were there. Although I'm Italian so unlike you we missed the pizza deeply :D

But that was a long time ago. I've heard things have changed quite a bit over there. Way more developed now.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I moved to Colorado about 12 years ago, and I love it out here.  But there are certainly things I miss about Jersey.

Family and Friends - Most of my family and friends still live back east.  I visit at least once a year for a few weeks, but it's not the same as having everyone a short drive away.

Food - You can find some quality food in Denver Metro, but venture outside this area, and it really goes downhill quickly.  There are a few good spots for pizza, bagels, and Chinese food, but for the most part, it's trash.  On the flip side, the Mexican food and meat (particularly beef) are great out here.

Oceans and Lakes - No ocean, no smell of salt in the air in Colorado.  There are some lakes, but few and far between compared to Jersey, and most of them do not allow swimming.

Rafting the Delaware River - The whitewater rafting is first class out here, but it's a short season, and it's not the same experience as cracking open a few beers and having a fun, relaxing day coasting down the river with family and friends.

Green Vegetation - The physical, outdoor activities of Colorado can't be beat.  But it's so brown out here relatively speaking.  It's always amazing to me how vibrantly green everything looks when I visit Jersey in the summer.

Live Sports - Always loved the excitement of being able to drop everything and go to a Jets or Devils game with friends last minute on a whim. I've been to a few Rockies and Avalanche games, but I'm still a NY/NJ sports fan through and through.

Atlantic City - Always loved the excitement of being able to drop everything and hit the casinos with friends last minute on a whim.  There are a couple of casino towns here, but it's not nearly the same experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Ghost said:

I prefer SD weather tho. I wouldn’t mind if the seasons were each 3 months but winter lasts about 4-6 months every year. 
 

I hate the cold. 

Yeah I didnt say I dont prefer San Diego but was just thinking about what I miss. I LOVE San Diego but getting so expensive to live here. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

OT: Things I miss about NY

Very little, if I'm being honest.  The older I get, and the longer I live not in NY, the less I hold NY in a positive light.  Especially the people, New Yorkers by and large as hardcore assholes compared to almost everywhere else I've ever lived or been.  

1. Food - Specifically and in Order:

Pizza (especially Sicilian).

Bagels

Legit Deli.

White Castle

Beyond that, I can do as good or better down here as anything up there.

2. The Jets on Local TV/Local Jets Coverage

Being an out-of-town Fan sucks, especially of a (sorry, but being honest) fringe team that gets little national media coverage most of my life.  I would LOVE to just plop on the couch, turn on channel 7 or whatever, and get local news on the Jets, the Jets-homer pregame, and Jets games themselves.  Of course, now as a die-hard Wash. Nationals fan, I'd have to give that up, and honestly, the Nats got me a Championship, the Jets haven't, lol.

3. Local Easy-Access Salt-Water Fishing:

As a kid I loved all the many bays and parks and bridges and other spots a kid could just go and fish the Salt.  I have plenty of freshwater options down here (way more than on Long Island hoenstly), but Salt is a 2-3 hour drive, and not as enjoyable as Long Island shore-based salt-water fishing was.

4. Beaches

A beach is always about 20 min or less from you on Long Island.  I'm 3 hours from any decent beach in the DC area.  So this one is obvious.

5. Um....Family?

Most of my extended family (cousins, Uncles, Aunts, etc.) on pone side of my family are still on Long Island. 

I should miss them, I guess?

That's about it really.  D.C. is great, has everything I'd want that NY Has (big concerts, museums, fancy restaurants, ethnic food, sports, etc.) with alot more/easier access to rural quiet and calm, with extensive suburbs filled with most anything you'd want or need.

 

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, GreenFish said:

Yea. Been to San Diego and the pizza there sucks. It was hard for me to grapple with how bad it was. Unbelievable. I love vacationing there though.

I live in the Austin metro area. We have great food. So not missing anything on that front.

What I miss is going to the barbershop. We have barbershops here but they don’t know what they’re doing. In NY, you can walk into any barbershop and expect a skilled practitioner.

We’ve learn to care for our own hair. My wife cuts my hair and I cut my son’s hair.

Ill be heading back in a couple of weeks. Have only been back once in the last 6 years. Aside from the barbershops, we love Central Texas.

Funny story. Like 25 years ago I ran a pool hall. There was a group that would come at night and play for hours. I would give them a discount on pool cause they also bought a ton of drinks and food.  One of the group owned a pizzeria imaganitively called NY Giant Pizza. Well he started bringing pizzas. They were OK. But it was free pizza. I commented once that it was good but not really like NY. He said, sort of angrily, that it was the exact recipe his brother used in Brooklyn, and the only difference was the water. This was pre 9-11 and I was going back for Christmas so when I came back I carried 5 gallons of water onto the plane and gave it to him. He made pizza with NY water and it was the only time I have had true NY pizza since I have been here,

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Warfish said:

Wait, wut?

Sie leben in Bayern?  Sind Sie Deutscher?

(Thanks Google Translate!)

Lol American all the way. Munich was on my bucket list along with Istanbul and Buenos Aires to live in one day so when I got the chance to transfer here from Singapore I grabbed it! My grandfather always said it looked like a lovely city when he flew over it a couple times in 1944 ? 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, jgb said:

Lol American all the way. Munich was on my bucket list along with Istanbul and Buenos Aires to live in one day so when I got the chance to transfer here from Singapore I grabbed it! My grandfather always said it looked like a lovely city when he flew over it a couple times in 1944 ? 

Spent two days in Munich, gotta be about 30 years ago.  We arrived on a Satruday night.  Not sure if it is still the same, but everything was closed on Sunday back then.  And Monday was some sort of a National Holiday, again, most of the CIty was closed.  For two days, about all we could do was hang out in the park (forget the name of the big City Park in Munich), eat German sausages and drink German beer.

I enjoyed those two days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Lith said:

Spent two days in Munich, gotta be about 30 years ago.  We arrived on a Satruday night.  Not sure if it is still the same, but everything was closed on Sunday back then.  And Monday was some sort of a National Holiday, again, most of the CIty was closed.  For two days, about all we could do was hang out in the park (forget the name of the big City Park in Munich), eat German sausages and drink German beer.

I enjoyed those two days.

Still closed on Sunday even grocery stores (by law). There are some exceptions if you know where to look. 

English Garden is undoubtedly the park you went to. It was designed by an American. Well, sorta. American-born but he choose the wrong side in the Revolutionary War and went to England after. Eventually become a military advisor to the King of Bavaria.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, jgb said:

I love living here in Bavaria but there is one thing that surprised/disappointed me. It's still such a paper-based bureaucracy.  Filling out mountains of forms and providing original documents for everything: immigration, tax, any kind of registration, bank accounts, doctors, etc. I guess it was a stereotype but I had assumed Germany would be super digital and techno-advanced. Of course I came from Singapore where everything can be done on a smartphone.

I just read that gErmany, strangely, uses paper currency more than any other eu country. They dont like plastic?!?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Food: I've found a few places in New England where you can get good pizza. Only one place where you can get legit Sicilian. Same with bagels. Trial and error has led me to acceptable options... So, I get by. The real thing I miss is NY delis. They don't toast parm subs here. They just throw a slice of cheese on it and wrap it up. The sauce melts it to the wrapper. It's tragic. They also don't make any good cold subs. They think tomatoes should be diced, not sliced. All of it... just tragic.

People: New Englanders are just as much a bunch of uppity a-holes as NYers. Worse accent is about it.

Traffic: Same sh*t.

The city: NYC is second to none. Boston has some "nice offerings", but I've been in suburbs across the country that can compete with it. Nothing competes with the NYC experience. Even the trash-line streets and stench of trash and garlic is incomparable. 

Oceans: I love the Pacific, but I'm and East Coast kid - I get the affinity for the Atlantic. It's where I learned to surf and make sure I don't step on hypodermic needles.

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...