In the L Magazine's most recent "Money" issue, Adam Bonislawski makes the point that striving to become a middle-class New Yorker is a.) hard, and b.) perhaps not worth the effort, "like swimming the English Channel or climbing Everest without oxygen, or translating the Bible into LOLcats." Sounds familiar!

"To come to New York intending to make great gobs of money on Wall Street is one thing. To come to New York intending to eke out a quiet existence in some more moderately remunerative field (say, journalism) is quite another.

The former makes perfectly good sense. Getting rich is a proud area tradition dating back at least to the days of Peter Minuit. The latter, however, is a nakedly bizarre pursuit requiring something in the way of explanation. Being middle class in today's New York is like swimming the English Channel or climbing Everest without oxygen, or translating the Bible into LOLcats. Sure, it can be done, but is it really worth the effort? A city where the average apartment runs around $800,000 is not a place for those of modest means. In other words, shouldn't you just move to Austin already?"

We're just hoping that with recent Wall Street busts and freakouts, things may soon be swinging in the other direction; that is, in the favor of the middlish-creative classes. Pride always cometh before the fall!
The Anxiety of the Middle Class New Yorker [L Magazine] Related: NYC Class Index