Rachel
Hailed him:SoHo
Hails from:Brooklyn
It can be overwhelming sometimes, with so much going on. It can make you nervous. There’s also crime, or at least those neighborhoods where you can’t walk by yourself at night without assholes saying stuff to you. Nothing has ever happened to me, and I’ve never had a problem driving my cab, but it’s still stressful when you’re trying to go home late. Of course, those are the only areas that affordable these days, and of course they’re the first places Bloomberg looks when he goes to cut social services.
Michol
Hailed him:Midtown
Hails from:California
There’s no space and everything is expensive. You can’t deny it unless you’re so rich that you can afford big apartments and don’t care about things being expensive. Even far away from Manhattan, the east sides of Brooklyn and Queens, it’s getting harder to find decently sized places for cheap. I had to sell a lot of stuff that I didn’t want to sell when I first moved here. Anywhere else I could’ve kept it, but here all I could afford was a studio, so pfft, out the window it went.
Raymond
Hailed him:Hell’s Kitchen
Hails from:Long Island
Finding an apartment. It’s insane, everything is either overpriced or way out in the boonies. It’s retarded the things you have to give up just to live here: no closets or storage, no laundry, a shitty view probably, and if you want decent space you probably have a commute like a motherfucker. Public transportation isn’t bad here, but it sucks to be that far away. (Is it worth it?) Of course! It’s fucking New York!
JACK
Hailed him: Tribeca
Hails from: Hong Kong
The worst thing about this city is you’re always broke! I am never having enough money. When did you come here? (Six years ago.) Yea, that’s about ten years too late. You should have come sixteen years ago. I feel I made more money back then! Before, everyone was working, and they couldn’t wait to spend money. And they couldn’t pay with credit cards, and it was cash cash cash. I don’t even use the bank. I never have. I hide my money in my pillows. But it’s never enough. Credit cards are not good for you, because of the interest. New York used to be a money place, but no more.
AHMED
Hailed him:LES
Hails from: Bangladesh
From my point of view the worst thing is the traffic. Though, I love driving in New York. I’m good at it! And I love the people, meeting all of them. Road rage doesn’t happen here as much, people are pretty patient. If I had to say a bad thing about living here, I think it is the loneliness. I see people cry all the time in my cab over people they are missing.
ROBIN
Hailed him: Bushwick
Hails from: South Africa
The worst thing about the city is that you get very desensitized. At first you want to talk to people, help them out if they are having a bad time. But the longer you live here, and the more people you meet, the less you want to help people who are not in a good position like you. You start ignoring everyone. That to me is very sad. And I don’t think you can avoid it. Maybe somebody can, but most people cannot.