I’m a 27yo F native New Yorker from Queens, and lately I can’t tell if the vibe of the city has actually changed or if it’s just me getting older. But something genuinely feels different. I’m not even talking about being stuck in nostalgia for high school, though; around 2016… those last few years before graduating felt like a peak culturally. The music, the social scene, random gatherings with strangers, the sense of community. It all felt alive and accessible in a way that’s hard to describe now.
Since the pandemic, the city feels flatter and more divided. Things that once felt spontaneous now feel curated, expensive, or closed off. A lot of spaces that used to feel communal now feel like they’re built around a certain aesthetic or lifestyle that isn’t really for the people who grew up here.
Economically, it also feels like everything has become more unattainable. The cost of living, social life, and even just existing in the city feel heavier than they used to. At the same time, the culture feels like it’s shifting to cater more to transplants and a kind of “Carrie Bradshaw” version of New York that doesn’t reflect how many of us actually grew up experiencing the city.
On top of that, the political and social climate feels much more polarized. Being moderate or nuanced about things sometimes feels like it automatically puts you into one extreme or the other, which makes conversations feel tense instead of open.
Maybe every generation feels like the city changes under their feet. But as someone who grew up here, it sometimes feels like the New York I knew, messy, communal, spontaneous, is slowly being replaced by something more curated, expensive, and disconnected from the people who built their lives here.
This shit is starting to feel especially isolating and depressing, and I hate it to feel like I hate home.
submitted by /u/lostchimkens
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