6 Things New Yorkers Love To Hate About NYC

Katherine Ripley • December 2, 2015

There’s something a little bit masochistic about living in NYC. It’s a struggle, and yet we enjoy it. Here are the six things that New Yorkers love to hate about the city:

1. The subway

Compared to other cities, the public transit system in NYC is pretty phenomenal. But whenever the subway makes us late for work or a party or a date, we love to complain about how much it sucks.

2. The weather

Any kind of weather extreme—heat, cold, rain, snow, humidity—is somehow made worse by the fact that we live in New York. And we just love to stew in it.

3. The cost of living

The more angry we are about our ridiculously high rent, the better we can cope with the fact that our apartments are shitty. But seriously, New York City always has been and always will be an expensive place to live. If you don’t like it, you can move to Jersey any time.

4. The crowds

New Yorkers are experts at being able to find places that are not that crowded, so when we do encounter crowds, especially when we’re not prepared for them, we tend to seethe with anger.

5. Tourists

Our rage over crowds is amplified if the crowd is mostly made up of slow-walking tourists. They don’t understand how to cross the street or how to use the subway and you would think they’ve never seen a squirrel before.

6. The competition

Competition for jobs, for apartments, for taxis. We hate that it’s a struggle to get hired, but there’s also a greater sense of triumph when you know that you beat out the 200 other people who wanted that position.

Cover photo credit: Doris Hausen/Flickr