Poll: Where would you live if you had to leave NYC?

By Alanna Schubach | July 6, 2016 - 9:59AM

Whether or not to become a lifer is a question many New Yorkers wrestle with—so many New Yorkers, in fact, that there are dueling essay collections on the subject.

Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving New York takes inspiration from Joan Didion's seminal farewell to the Big Apple, and features the stories of 28 ex-city dwellers who expound on their understandable reasons for departure (money, marriage, the weight of too many bad memories.) But then came Never Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakeable Love for New York, a compilation of equally legitimate—though often more intangible--reasons for remaining. As Roseanne Cash observes in her essay, the city gives as much as it takes. New York has more secrets than one could learn in a lifetime, she writes, and "the thrill of that shared knowledge, the swell of pride, and the sense of community with those who also know have become a part of my bloodstream."

So which side prevails for you? Are you already planning your escape to greener, cheaper pastures, or do you pride yourself on your ability to put up with almost anything for the singular thrill of calling yourself a New Yorker? And if you had to move (or already have), where would you go? Answer the questions in our poll below (be sure to scroll through the poll box to get all the questions), and check back in next week to find out whether New Yorkers could really see themselves living anywhere else.

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Alanna Schubach

Contributing writer

Contributing editor Alanna Schubach has over a decade of experience as a New York City-based freelance journalist.

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