I just moved out of Washington Heights. A year ago, the crime was negligible. All of a sudden, in the past 6 months, women were getting assaulted on the streets. People were breaking into my building to steal jewelry. The police kept buzzing me at night because they knew I'd open the door for them to go after the people who had domestic violence problems. I had a very positive view of people before living in Washington Heights. When times got worse, I really saw some crummy behaviors out of the WaHI residents. To top that off, the community board decided to let a house of convicts infected with AIDS move in up the street from me. It was a "transitional home". The gang graffiti was going up all over the walls too. Last year, a guy I knew was killed by some thug from the housing projects who was trying to prove he was tough. I had enough and just moved to the UWS. I was trying to save money, but I just about had it with low income people. I make too much money to be bothered by these people and their low income problems. But you can't just "move away" from the problems in NYC, because we all rely on the same transit system and we all live in/around the housing projects. Charlie Rangel keeps pushing for "affordable housing" and all the worst elements infect every area where he's "tried to help." So I moved, but even that didn't help, because I saw a guy try to break into a car today in broad daylight. The cops did nothing and the guy just ran off after the car alarm went off. I've had it with the poor people in this city. Some of them just won't get jobs -- they still loiter around the same establishments day after day asking me for money. I've even been threatened in public and in stores. I really would feel better if I had a concealed carry permit. I ignore most of it, but I'm starting to lose my patience.
The best thing with Bio-diesel is you can generate your own fuel if gasoline supplies run dry. As for the expense factor, I'd probably go with a older Diesel Suburban giving you towing power and easy access to auto parts from Junk yards. car running on bio-d <object width="425" height="344"><param name=""movie"" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QEX1YFXYTdI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name=""allowFullScreen"" value="true"></param><param name=""allowscriptaccess"" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QEX1YFXYTdI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Don't mind most of the posters who keep on stating how NYC is going to be fine. Or how things are not going to be as bad as some are suggesting. There is a 8 month lead period before we'll know how bad things will get. However, I do know living in NYC in a couple of years will be like living in the center of Detroit. When the hordes break down the lobby door to begin robbing and raping, the 60 year old door man manning the front desk of your Park Avenue apartment won't be able to help you. Talk to any gun shop owner and they'll tell you they can't stock enough ammo. You're going to need it.
if it gets like that, hop a train and get out of dodge. paddle an aero bed across the hudson... whatever you gotta do buy an enduro and some kevlar. wear the tumi bag on your head are you ready though to trade the upper west side for a trailer? i would expect a little culture shock. there will be no shortage of guys happy to talk your ear off about the end of the world and show off weapons seems like a distinction needs to be drawn between changes that are gradual, and changes that are instantaneous. personally i'm more concerned about the instantaneous type, and it sounds like you're observing a more gradual change
further to that, poverty is a fact of life in cities which you obviously know. i hear you and sometimes it annoys me too that the cost of living is socialized and grandfathered via rent control. when you see it in manhattan though, you have to wonder and be a little amused that someone would attempt to scam in such a difficult environment. i know this prolly sounds terrible, but most of the time it's a lot more amusing than threatening if you have a marketable skill, move it to a less urban environment. not sure but i'm guessing you're somewhere in the finance industry. since the issue here seems gradual, you could research opportunities in less urban settings, Connecticut, Houston, burbs of Chi and NJ, San Fran etc
Some things to consider about trailers: you're gonna need a place with electric and water hook up. if you're worried about security, you should get a dog b/c somebody can break into a trailer with a dull spoon Maybe you should think about moving upstate. Get a rental or even buy a place. The commutes are not bad. Lots of people commute to NYC from as far as Albany. I live at the edge of the Catskill Mountains and have no intention of ever moving from here. Hiking, biking, x-country ski trails out my backdoor. Literally. Attached is a pic of my ski buddy and I on a nice trail..you can see part of my house in the background. On most days we can ski on this trail for a mile or two before we see anyone. But I grew up in NYC...and in the Dinken days got to see what you're seeing now. I got a taste of the country and I'm here for good.
To the OP: you'll get tired of living out of an RV inside a week. It's not at all like living in a half-decent house or apartment. If you're worried about the quality of your neighbors, living in a countryside trailer park may or may not be an improvement. Have you tried just finding a job in a different part of the country?
Huh?.....Less urban settings??? Are you talking about Houston, TX, the 4th largest city in America.....Chicago, Illinois, the 3rd largest city in America.....San Francisco, California, the 13th largest city in America??? Some of you are obviously not aware of the difference between a "trailer park" and an "RV Park". Big difference. Very wealthy people frequent RV parks. Not so in a "trailer park". Yeah, OP, watch out for many of those "trailer parks".
sorry yes that was unfair. rv and trailer are definitely not the same. i'm out of my element on that. a trailer is kind of permanent, and an rv community is a whole different thing i'm guessing. i should shut up. i know nothing about either really. to me it's nyc, vs just outside nyc. sounds like op should take a nice long trek me and my gf did. we actually drove 14,000 miles across the country before settling in that lovely place i described above lol. i dunno.. every place is different
Until you live in a 1br manhattan apartment, its hard to actually see the appeal of that trailer posted above. (I do!!) I left NYC a few months ago (got canned) and was fortunate enough to find a job in the upper midwest. 15% nominal pay cut (so like a 20-30% raise in real terms). Best of all the firm makes tangible things. The area is safe, people are far nicer, rent is about 1/3 for a very nice place in a trendy area. I have my own car. Lots of blond women with funny accents. It's great.