Why hundreds of thousands of people leave New York: stories of those who left

New York is one of the most expensive cities USA, and many residents are considering more budget options for a quiet and peaceful life. People are leaving mainly due to increased crime and rising prices. New York Post shared the stories of girls who exchanged this noisy and expensive metropolis for less aggressive and calmer cities.

According to new US Census data, in 2023 left the city about 78 people. This suggests the rate of decline in the metropolitan area's population has slowed since the pandemic, but it is the third year in a row that the numbers have declined.

“I think everyone has noticed that the city has changed a little over the last year in terms of safety and cleanliness,” said Samantha Pillsbury, 31, who moved to Los Angeles after nine years in New York.

Workaholic culture

“I'm a lonely woman. In my opinion, it has become less safe here, and that affects your whole life,” she said. Pillsbury plans to travel around Europe before settling down somewhere. She was one of tens of thousands of people who have fled New York in recent months.

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“As a result, I stopped loving this city so much,” the girl admitted. – In the last couple of years, my attitude towards the Big Apple has changed. I really started to combat the workaholic, work-obsessed culture.”

Pillsbury explained that her online work as a content creator and marketing consultant allows her to work from anywhere, so she has the opportunity to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

Feeling threatened by the rise in crime on the streets following the pandemic prompted her decision to leave last year.

“I think these factors are definitely pushing me to leave, maybe a little sooner,” she said.

No feeling of security

Pillsbury was far from alone among those who feel things have changed in the city they love. Stephanie Heinz, 37, first moved to New York 14 years ago to work in the fashion industry. The girl found a community here that cared for its members even in the chaos reigning on the streets.

“I really believed in all these clichés that if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. “I still believe in it,” she admitted. “I believed that this was a city that never sleeps.” This made me, a single woman, feel safer on the street late at night. And it gave me a certain freedom.”

But during the pandemic, she says, that feeling evaporated, and fears about safety led her first to move from an apartment in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood to a building with a doorman in NoMad, and then to leave the city altogether.

“I started carrying pepper spray with me. Several times I was physically attacked on the street,” the girl shared. “I felt how I was changing, how my energy was changing. It seemed to me that I was not participating in life at all, and in general I became nervous.

Even though she lived a block from the posh Ritz-Carlton hotel, Heinz said she regularly saw people defecating or using heroin steps from her apartment. The desire to leave New York was exacerbated by the fact that rents have increased dramatically since the pandemic. A single woman could not afford this, despite the fact that she rose to the position of vice president in the fashion world.

Turmoil and chaos

Heinz joined 58 New Yorkers who moved to Florida last year. According to a survey conducted by the Citizens Budget Commission, about half of New Yorkers plan to leave the city within the next five years. And only 000% said they were happy in the city.

When 30-year-old Sophie Alvey felt overwhelmed by the pace and mentality of New York, she quit her job as a lawyer and headed to Austin, Texas.

“Looking back, I feel like the general culture of Manhattan and New York was quite cold,” Alvey concluded. “This turned out to be not the place where I would like to continue the next chapter of my life.” It’s too hectic, it seems like everyone is trying to make money, trying to keep up with something, rather than just living.”

She decided that she did not want to be a lawyer, and there was no reason for her to stay in the city. Now the girl is renting an apartment in Austin, where she wants to open her own brand specializing in mindfulness.
“I can wake up and hear birds chirping or just a rooster from my apartment,” she emphasized.

Many people talk about wanting to see new places after being isolated during the pandemic. For many, the remote work they've since switched to leaves them with little reason to put up with the challenges of city life.

But everyone who left the city is still nostalgic for the old home - and is encouraging others to take their place.

“And while I think the city certainly has problems, it doesn't change the fact that it is an amazing city to live in and has a lot to offer people,” Pillsbury concluded.