# Why are people in New York City so unhappy (according to a reputable study)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 7, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947 "2014-11-07T02:30:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/61 "2014-11-10T05:11:15Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > What is NYC’s specialty these days if you don’t work on Wall Street? I’ve heard the theatre there is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/62 "2014-11-10T06:26:28Z")
What are the public schools like in New York? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/63 "2014-11-10T06:38:55Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > It is a meme, but that doesn’t make it accurate. All of the Friends (sans Phoebe, who didn’t live in Manhattan) had extremely high-paying jobs and/or rent-controlled apartments. And Seinfeld featured multiple episodes where Jerry’s bulging bank account was a plot point. These kinds of in-universe explanations exist for almost every “How can this character afford that apartment?” question. That covers Jerry. I seem to remember Kramer had some relatives putting him up or some inheritance. And George and Elaine mostly worked pretty high up in certain businesses, though I do believe they weren’t always employed. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/64 "2014-11-10T07:41:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I seem to remember Kramer had some relatives putting him up or some inheritance. That’s just your brain filling in the gaps. 🙂 The series never, **ever** explained how he managed to make a living. Sure, he would sometimes come into a windfall, like becoming an underwear model or winning some dough at the track, but how he made money on a regular basis was never addressed. And when someone asked him about it, the reply was simply, “Oh, I get by”. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/65 "2014-11-10T08:02:58Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Out of curiosity, where do you live? Because even by Hoboken standards, that’s a pretty good deal. I live in Flatbush (just south of Prospect Park) and bought a fixer-upper. The neighborhood is starting to gentrify. I think I got in at a good time. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/66 "2014-11-10T08:04:30Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Your location tag says Brooklyn. Have you neglected to change it since moving to Manhattan? Or is it that you \*swim \*across the East River? Maybe you fly? Or do you, perhaps, use a bridge and/or tunnel? Everybody knows that B&T includes Westchester but excludes Brooklyn. You don’t expect logic in hipsterism, do you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/67 "2014-11-10T08:11:04Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What are the public schools like in New York? They can vary a lot. NYC has several of the most renowned public prep schools (Bronx Science, Brooklyn Latin, etc.) that require entrance examinations to get in. Then there are regular schools which vary in quality by neighborhood, unsurprisingly highly correlated by income. There is a charter school system which has seen mixed results, and a large contingent of Catholic schools. The public school system is notorious for its bureaucracy and political/labor dysfunction. I wasn’t educated in the city (I was born there, but grew up in the suburbs, then moved back) so I don’t have any first-hand experienced. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/68 "2014-11-10T12:50:44Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That covers Jerry. I seem to remember Kramer had some relatives putting him up or some inheritance. And George and Elaine mostly worked pretty high up in certain businesses, though I do believe they weren’t always employed. Right, and when George was unemployed, he moved back in with his parents. When he was employed, he was a high-level executive for the Yankees or Kruegger or the toy company. It was also mentioned a few times (though mostly just implied) that Elaine came from money. > [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > That’s just your brain filling in the gaps. 🙂 The series never, **ever** explained how he managed to make a living. Sure, he would sometimes come into a windfall, like becoming an underwear model or winning some dough at the track, but how he made money on a regular basis was never addressed. And when someone asked him about it, the reply was simply, “Oh, I get by”. Kramer’s windfalls were his source of income. If you remember, they happen fairly regularly. And there’s his general moochiness. He didn’t pay for _anything_. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/69 "2014-11-10T12:51:27Z")
Archie Bunker (All in the Family)lived in a brownstone which I believe was located in the Bronx (you NYC experts will need to help out). According to the show he made $10 an hour working on the docks as a foreman back in the mid 70’s. How much would that cost today? The Jefferson’s, who owned a chain of dry cleaning stores, could afford a Park Avenue deluxe apartment with a maid. What would that cost? Also in the first “Superman” movie you have Lois Lane, who is a reporter, owns an apartment with a terrace. Would that be realistic even in 1980? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/70 "2014-11-10T15:02:20Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > Seriously. (That’s another NYC meme that’s rooted in truth; everyone wants to know where everyone lives and whether they got a good deal. That _When Harry Met Sally_ monologue about combining the obituaries with the real estate section is funny because it’s true…) LOL. It does seem like the first thing anyone asks me is “where do you live”. It’s also funny because when I say “Hoboken”, New Yorkers think it’s like out in Morristown, NJ an hour away because it’s “Jersey”. [As opposed to something like this.](http://thumbs.trulia-cdn.com/pictures/thumbs_6/ps.55/1/8/3/f/picture-uh=74d89ea59e8295ee8c3a57ca8a642d5-ps=183f5419f7a7990ae92e63e19fba-1100-Maxwell-Ln-233-Hoboken-NJ-07030.jpg) > [@Shagnasty](#): > > As a side note friend, you consider yourself a liberal and I consider myself a conservative even though we seem to have almost the extract same views on almost all issues. I would love to figure out some time why people apply different labels to themselves even if they are essentially the same. I really consider myself an “independent”. I hate the whole bi-partisan Red / Blue things as it just encourages simple folk to try and one-up the other side. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > It is a meme, but that doesn’t make it accurate. All of the Friends (sans Phoebe, who didn’t live in Manhattan) had extremely high-paying jobs and/or rent-controlled apartments. And Seinfeld featured multiple episodes where Jerry’s bulging bank account was a plot point. These kinds of in-universe explanations exist for almost every “How can this character afford that apartment?” question. IIRC: Joey - Actor (inconsistent) Chandler - Transpondster something, later marketing / advertising Ross - Museum / Academic Phoebe - Folk singer Monica - Not sure, later chef/restaurateur Rachel - Coffee shop waitress, later exec for Ralph Lauren In fact, I remember an episode where there was some conflict about going out to eat between the higher paid Friends (Chandler, Ross, Monica) and the lower paid ones (Phoebe, Rachel, Joey). The factual answer regarding Monica’s apartment was that it was an illegal rent-controlled sublet from her (deceased?) aunt or grandmother or something. IOW, they Monica was pretending to be the deceased relative and continued living in the apartment at rent-controlled prices. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/71 "2014-11-10T15:28:00Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What are the public schools like in New York? [Heavily](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/26/new-york-schools-segregated_n_5034455.html) [segregated](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/03/31/the-real-reasons-new-york-has-the-country-s-most-segregated-schools.html). ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/72 "2014-11-10T15:38:17Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Archie Bunker (All in the Family)lived in a brownstone which I believe was located in the Bronx (you NYC experts will need to help out). According to the show he made $10 an hour working on the docks as a foreman back in the mid 70’s. How much would that cost today? > > The Jefferson’s, who owned a chain of dry cleaning stores, could afford a Park Avenue deluxe apartment with a maid. What would that cost? > > Also in the first “Superman” movie you have Lois Lane, who is a reporter, owns an apartment with a terrace. Would that be realistic even in 1980? Current prices according to Zillow: Archie’s Bronx brownstone - currently $190 k to $450 k. The Jefferson’s Park Avenue deluxe apartment in the sky (Harlem) - $1.2 - $8 million Ms. Lane’s UWS condo (key word “terrace”) - probably at least $1.4 to $9 million or more. Phillip Drummond’s Park Avenue penthouse - around $20 million Monica’s East Village 2 BR - $1.5 to $2.5 million Carrie Bradshaw’s UWS alcove studio - $399 k to $750 k. Harold & Kumar’s Hoboken 2BR - $500k to $800 k ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/73 "2014-11-10T15:55:42Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Current prices according to Zillow: > Archie’s Bronx brownstone - currently $190 k to $450 k. > The Jefferson’s Park Avenue deluxe apartment in the sky (Harlem) - $1.2 - $8 million > Ms. Lane’s UWS condo (key word “terrace”) - probably at least $1.4 to $9 million or more. > Phillip Drummond’s Park Avenue penthouse - around $20 million > Monica’s East Village 2 BR - $1.5 to $2.5 million > Carrie Bradshaw’s UWS alcove studio - $399 k to $750 k. > Harold & Kumar’s Hoboken 2BR - $500k to $800 k Archie Bunker never lived in a brownstone or in the Bronx. He lived in a detached 2 story single family home in Queens. The address was fictional but it was probably Corona. The exterior facade is in Glendale. Today it would go for $500 -$600k. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/74 "2014-11-10T16:58:35Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > That’s just your brain filling in the gaps. 🙂 The series never, **ever** explained how he managed to make a living. Sure, he would sometimes come into a windfall, like becoming an underwear model or winning some dough at the track, but how he made money on a regular basis was never addressed. And when someone asked him about it, the reply was simply, “Oh, I get by”. Also, IIRC from a crossover episode, Kramer actually sublets his apartment from Paul Reiser’s character on _Mad About You_ for a favorable price as the latter is unwilling to fully divest himself of his bachelor pad after getting married. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/75 "2014-11-10T17:31:59Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > New York real estate is very expensive compared to almost everywhere else, but believe it or not, articles in the **NYT real estate page** are not a representative sample of reality. [Bolding mine] Heh. When I first saw [this article](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/realestate/a-greenwich-village-apartment-for-a-creative-soul.html) I thought it was the Onion. I mean, a 22-year old artist with a giant self portrait hanging in his room, who wasn’t satisfied with [half of a] $2300/mo apartment in chinatown because “I had no feeling of familiarity in Chinatown. I was craving a neighborhood with cute coffee shops, where you have brunch with friends.” I was really expecting a punchline at the end of the article but it never came. They were totally serious about following this guy’s plight until he finally ended up in his $3700/mo place on Bleecker. Not enough :rolleyes: in the world. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/76 "2014-11-10T17:51:25Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Kramer’s windfalls were his source of income. If you remember, they happen fairly regularly. And there’s his general moochiness. He didn’t pay for _anything_. That’s what I was saying. I was responding to the assertion that Kramer had received an inheritance or that his means of living was somehow explained in another way. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/77 "2014-11-10T17:58:27Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Yes, those Liberals with their hateful, mean-spirit, intolerant agenda of tolerance, the environment, equal rights, and access to health care. :rolleyes: The cyberbullying I saw by some liberals ganging up on a person to bully wasn’t tolerant - someone suffering from a mental disorder, by the way - but oh well. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/78 "2014-11-10T18:12:00Z")
To the extent that the study in the OP is describing a real thing, I like the income inequality theory. The satisfaction that we derive from our home and other possessions is measured almost entirely in relative terms. Someone who owns the nicest tin-roof shack in his village is probably going to be very satisfied with his living situation; a guy with the smallest mansion at his country club will probably be somewhat ashamed. In New York, you’re packed in pretty tight with the rich, the super-rich, and the preposterously-rich, and there are so many things in the city that are highly visible but, realistically, off-limits to those who don’t have a lot of money. It can be easy to feel like you’re always going to be a nobody as long as you live here. > [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What are the public schools like in New York? Depends on the neighborhood; not great overall. The best bet for many an awful lot of people – those who make enough to spend more than $0 on schools but not enough to live in an upscale neighborhood – will be Catholic school. The Archdiocese has a large network of reasonably priced grade schools, and they do a good job. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/79 "2014-11-10T18:27:01Z")
> [@DooWahDiddy](#): > > That’s what I was saying. I was responding to the assertion that Kramer had received an inheritance or that his means of living was somehow explained in another way. Right, I was just saying that the windfalls actually happened with some regularity, so Kramer is likely actually living pretty high on the hog. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947/80 "2014-11-10T19:33:28Z")
I feel like the “unhappy New Yorker” is also a bit of a meme as well. New Yorkers all don’t wander around constantly bemoaning their relationships and career and other existential shit, obsess about the hottest fashion, music and hot spots and live in crappy apartments with drug-addled roommates who bring home a different hookup each night… Although it does seem like there are a heck of a lot of people like that. > [@arseNal](#): > > [Bolding mine] Heh. When I first saw [this article](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/realestate/a-greenwich-village-apartment-for-a-creative-soul.html) I thought it was the Onion. I mean, a 22-year old artist with a giant self portrait hanging in his room, who wasn’t satisfied with [half of a] $2300/mo apartment in chinatown because “I had no feeling of familiarity in Chinatown. I was craving a neighborhood with cute coffee shops, where you have brunch with friends.” I was really expecting a punchline at the end of the article but it never came. They were totally serious about following this guy’s plight until he finally ended up in his $3700/mo place on Bleecker. Not enough :rolleyes: in the world. Not really sure what the :rolleyes: is about (other than about the absurd self portrait). The whole point of living in NYC (as opposed to nearly anywhere else) is to have that feeling of being able to just walk out of your apartment and hang out in your local bar, coffee shop or antique book store or whatever. The trick is to do that without paying $4k a month in rent or live in a 6 story walkup. While Manhattan is very walkable and has great public transportation, people tend to stay around their neighborhood. When I lived in the East Village, my “neighborhood” tended to have an invisible barrier with it’s boundaries on 14th St, Avenue B, E Houston and Broadway. Going to someplace like the Upper East Side or Soho was considered “making a trip”. > [@Velocity](#): > > The cyberbullying I saw by some liberals ganging up on a person to bully wasn’t tolerant - someone suffering from a mental disorder, by the way - but oh well. :rolleyes: Just because they happen to be a conservative doesn’t necessarily mean they have a “mental disorder”.😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-people-in-new-york-city-so-unhappy-according-to-a-reputable-study/703947.md?page=5)