New York continues to be a top business city

@Uptowngirl: Interesting article. I wonder if NYC will continue to lose ground, or will they adjust and take the top again.

@uptowngirl But do you think that article really indicates that NY is emerging out of recession? Not sure.

I suppose it's all relative though. Not surprised to see Paris won out in the "intellectual capacity" though. Despite truly great universities, NYC doesn't strike me as a particularly "academic" city

@Uraniumfish I think the fact that even NYC figured in the list must somehow indicate that the city is emerging albeit slowly from the recession . This is not the first survey I have had a chance to look at recently even the Financial Times recently published a survey that NYC had regained its position as a top city for finance, a position that it lost out to London not long ago. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31521254-2d4e-11df-9c5b-00144feabdc0.html?catid=4&SID=google http://www.cnbc.com/id/35834395 Though the Economist also conducted its own survey on the livabilty of cities and in that survey New York ranked a miserable no 56 even lower than Detroit. Find that hard to believe bah! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/13/worlds-most-livable-citie_n_460497.html

@Uptowngirl: Everyone has an opinion about NYC and its economy. It is really hard to know the truth, except to see it for yourself. Many people are unemployed in this city, and businesses are shutting down and leaving. That is a fact. That we can see with our eyes. As for the exact info as stated in the articles, that is hard to prove. They just went by a survey. How extensive was that survey?

@hhusted very rarely do surveys mention their sample sizes. I do understand what you say but somehow I even then want to believe the surveys. I want to feel as if NYC is recovering and things are getting better. There has been too much gloom and doom and now I want NYC to bounce back.

@Uptowngirl: Yes. I want to see NYC bounce back to. It would really boost the economy if this city did bounce back. Hopefully, the surveys were right. We need something good to cheer us up. I heard today that new home sales fell last month after a few months of rising sales.

NYC not academic? This is where everyone goes when they say they want to make it as a writer! And, NYU and Columbia are both in the top 10 of universities in the country!

@JenMac: Yeah, NYC is supposed to be the place with some of the top ten universities in the world. You see people from all countries come here to attend universities and colleges.

Wait? Are we emerging from a recession?! I guess I'd better buy a condo or something, and quick...

@NeverSleeps Nah, we're not emerging. Or if we are, it's a mighty slow emergence. Word on the street is, real estate prices are gonna be low for at least 3 years more, maybe longer.

@Uraniumfish: I don't listen to propaganda that is found on the street. I read reports, summaries, and surveys. I get the scoop from the experts. Right now, the recession is over and most of the country is bouncing back. The only problem is that NYC is not bouncing back as fast as the rest of the country. That is a fact. I wish NYC would bounce back quickly, because many people depend on NYC's economy to be good for the overall economy to be good. I don't know why, but that seems to be the way it is.

"Word on the street" is not literally off the street, but a shorthand for a couple of insider sources I monitor. It is also shorthand for the unofficial point of view, as opposed to what is published for official consumption.

@uptowngirl In that article about the most livable cities, Vancouver is #1--bah! and double bah!

Some of the rent prices have already gone up; so, I wonder if they're going to continue rising and then plummet again when it's realized that there isn't anyone who can pay that.

I read an article recently about the "phantom stock" of homes that are currently in foreclosure but not yet on the market. Since they don't show up in the statistics yet, it's easy to read the numbers as making small gains recently. But, the point of the article was, that phantom stock will take a few years to impact the market. I'm no expert on these things, but I do wonder how all those foreclosed homes are going to be influencing the market in the next year or two or three. No one's really talking about that. On the other hand, I'm curious if hiring in the financial sector is picking up, anybody know? @uptowngirl I believe you said your husband works in finance, are the big firms hiring again?

@DBlack AsI mentioned in another post, a cousin of mine who had lost his job with Citi last year just got picked with by BofA this year but then another friend of mine who worked at Chase has been out of a job for over two years now.. I think the big banks are hiring in fits and starts and this morning's FT says they are all looking to hire in Asia and Australia. The focus is there for the moment- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d5aa0f98-3aa3-11df-b6d5-00144feabdc0.html

I hear Copenhagen is great to live in - one of the best Quality of Life cities in the world! I'll be there in July, hopefully...so I'll be able to compare

@ajadedidealist I have been to Copenhagen years ago and I remember it being fantastic with great architecture and design and extremely stylish stores. Do try and have the open sandwiches at the famous Copenhagen store Ida Davidsen..fantastic do hope they are still as good as I remember them to be.

Thanks for the info, @uptowngirl! I'm spending a summer doing a course at the University of Copenhagen on Kierkegaard, one of its most famous denizens! There are certainly aspects of Copenhagen I wish NYC would adopt - the amazing bike lane system, the free public pools and overall community feel....

@Ajadedidealist: Good luck and have fun.

Thank you, @hhusted. Also on the topic of recession here is some good news. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/business/economy/03jobs.html?hp. From NYC's old Gray Lady

@ajadedidealist Thanks for that link, we desperately need some good news on the job front

@Ajadedidealist: Yes. I read that consumer confidence is up for the first time in two years. Also the Labor Department actually recorded 130,000 jobs being added in March. What good news that is.

It still seems, though, that we are a long way away from an upswing.. . .or, maybe I'm just being a pessimist. Am I?

My mother just got a job after ten years of semi-searching (quit to have me, then decided to go back to work with increasing degrees of intensity). And she's an i-banker - one of the worst-hit industries. So there's hope!

@JenMac I think many people are too optimistic, given the reality of the situation, so I think a bit of pessimism is just about the right attitude to have. I hope jobs go up, of course, but I'd like the housing market to stay low for a while yet.

@ajadeidealist What's an i Banker?

@uptowngirl In order to read that article I had to sign up with FT but I'm glad I did now. Ten free articles a month is a decent deal. I'm not an avid reader, but once in a while it's good to look through FT

@ajadedidealist Ten years to find a job! My roommate was semi-searching for a job and it only took her about nine months. Then again I think she got more desperate as her money started to dwindle.

@DBlack I love the FT especially its weekend edition which is full of news about art, culture, travel,books and more..glad you are enjoying it as well. @Uraniumfish i-banker i.e. investment banker...am married to one myself.:) One of the most high risk, high burnout and high pressure careers which doesnt have much longevity unfortunately and not all of them make a gazillion dollars like the chappies at Goldman Sachs.

@uptowngirl So does your husband intend to retire when the burnout factor kicks in and do something else? What would be a good post- ibanking career?

@uraniumfish.he used to say that he would like to retire and go in live in a sunny resort and open a bar...that used to be his dream but nowadays I think most people have to continue to work well into their 70's..as for careers after i-banking many of them join a hedge fund or get into consultancy of some sort..

@Uptowngirl: I knew an i-banker. He worked 10 years but faced so much stress he was forced to resign. He became a computer sales person on a part time basis.

Stats are up for new jobs, which is good for everybody, but I hope real estate stays low for a while. I like the idea of housing becoming a little more affordable in this city.

Yep, investment banker. To be fair, her search was half-hearted for most of that time (she took a lot of time off to raise me) and has only been looking seriously for 3-4 years, but she has such specialized experience and was applying for such specialized jobs that it was a very difficult process