New York City has long been thought of as the utopian environment for young people all across America. When most people think of New York, they think of bright lights, long avenues filled with designer stores, and above all else, the night life. Being the most populous city in the country, you would think that young people are migrating here by the masses. But that’s not the case at all.

According to AM New York, “The Brookings analysis of Census data for 2007-09 shows that the New York/Northern New Jersey area lost a net 29,292 of 25-34 year olds in that two-year span.”

Why the shift you ask? Well, as the country is facing one of its worst economic downturns in history, New York City, as you can imagine, is becoming an even more expensive place to live. If the word expensive doesn’t catch your attention, this finding in the New York Times from 2008 might just do the trick: “The average price of a Manhattan apartment in the first three months of this year was $1.7 million, up 33.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the real estate appraisal firm Miller Samuel Inc.”

Students at our own Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) seem to have a similar opinion of the disadvantages of the city outweighing the advantages.

“I do love the city, there’s always something new going on but I can definitely see the lifestyle getting old,” Greg Cronin, FCLC ’14, said. “The size of New York makes it harder to have an actual sense of community. I don’t think there’s a true definition of what a New Yorker is.”

Another factor that may be driving young people out of New York is the hardship of dating and starting a family in the city.

“I like living here because of all the opportunities presented, but I can see how it’s harder for young people to meet others because of the plethora of options available for a, say, average weekend in the city,” Aaron Kraut, FCLC ’14 said. “It’s just something that makes it more difficult to find an environment that you’re comfortable in.”

Cronin added, “It’s a great place to live in when you’re young, but unless you make a substantial amount of money, it’s going to be extremely tough for people that want to raise kids here.”

And many students are taking future jobs and salaries into consideration when thinking about whether or not they plan to stay in the city.

“I think that it is very much about the cost of housing in New York City. It costs much more to live in New York City than in other cities,” Clara Rodriquez, professor and associate chair of the department of sociology and anthropology at FCLC, said.

Kraut, who had similar feelings, said, “I would love to live in either New York or Chicago because I hope to become a lawyer, and the most prestigious firms are located in both of those cities. Whether this sort of sentiment is shared by my peers remains up for debate, as the cost of living in New York City increases and the job opportunities decrease.”

But all hope is not lost, as some students at FCLC still see themselves sticking around in New York City, even after college.

“I really like the city, it’s really international and being an international studies major myself, you can see why I like it so much. Everything is available here; it’s the most “melting pot” city in the “melting pot” country. It even caters to people with all levels of income, oh, and of course, Fordham’s here,” Ben Schaub FCLC ’14 said. “There are a lot of people that enjoy the city; many of them are new to the city so experiencing it all for the first time is definitely exciting.”

Much like the city they live in, the students of FCLC have many viewpoints. Some of them aren’t too fulfilled by the city while others couldn’t see themselves living anywhere else. But no matter what, being in New York City is an experience that isn’t available anywhere else; after all, it is the melting pot.