Submitted by Daria, Aug 11, 2007 02:27

I am a New Yorker, born and raised. I love NY more than anything but I recently moved to Georgia because of rent and comfort. In the Bronx, I paid nearly $1,000 for a roach and rat-infested box of an apartment. I had exterminators come and my husband and I spent a fortune on traps, foam and steel wool, to do everything in our power to fix the problems. We spent a fortune on food because we could not use our stove which had nothing but rat feces in it. Many of our neighbors moved out even before us because of the same problems; families with small children and newborn babies. I went to court about 7 different times to fight my landlord on nastiness in our apartment building that was not being fixed. As a matter of fact, both the super and the landlord would act stupid as if they did not know that the problems existed. Too many slum lords in NY seem to think that it okay to let people live like that because it is NY. I refused to put up with it anymore and as much as I did not want to leave NY, I refused to play myself and my husband by getting another apartment which would almost definatley have the same problems. I had recently graduated from college and finally obtained a good paying job where I thought that I would finally be able to live comfortably. I work hard for my money and when I came home at the end of the day, I wanted to relax and feel comfortable in my home/apartment, not have to clean up mess from rodents and waste money on ordering food every night, or on parking tickets because of alternate side of the street parking etc. I have been in Georgia for almost a month now and although I miss many aspect of NY, I am extremely comfortable in my new apartment which I am paying $250.00 a month less for. My apartment is twice as huge, with 2 huge bathrooms. I have all the amenities I could imagine; a beautiful pool, 24-7 fitness center, laundy on the premices, PARKING ! ! ! ! I feel so comfortable in my apartment I don't even stress leaving too much. I would never be able to afford this type of living in NY. It is my suggestion to all minorities to move the h*ck out of NY and better the quality of their lives. I contemplated for 3 years before moving because I just didn't want to leave NY and all of its diversity and convenience. I'm a New Yorker forever, it runs through my soul but I couldn't throw away anymore money. I want to start a family eventually and now I can finally start to save some money. Most importantly, I am living comfortably and loving it ! ! ! Only rich people live like this in NY. For real my brothers and sisters, open your minds. New York will always be there. Peace and Love from someone who thought they could never leave NY ! !

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