I enjoy looking at these old NYC photos

870,000 photos going back to 1858 and as late as 1988.

http://nycma.lunaimaging.com/luna/servlet/view/all/

Even categorized into people, exact street names, PS (public school), names of building, places, famous people, etc, etc including The World Trade Center.

I took a photo course in college taught by a great NYC photographer named Paul McDonough.

If you like photos of NYC from the 60s and 70s, you should check out his book, j7: http://www.umbragegallery.com/blog/titles/currently-available/paul-mcdonough-new-york-photographs-1968-1978

Thanks, Mr. Brown, I will definitely take a look.

In 1977, when my parents told us we were coming to America, they gave us a choice of New York or Los Angeles.

We said no to Los Angeles because of the earthquakes there.

We also said no to New York because everything we've seen on Italian TV about New York is crime, crime, crime.

So I don't know how, my father then picked Houston.

I think New York is a difficult city to live in.

Everything is so much more expensive than the rest of the country and I am sure the starting wage there is not much higher than the rest of the country.

The minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

I've seen apartments for rent on the internet in New York City starting at $1,300 for one bedroom for a place you wouldn't want to be caught dead at.

How can someone afford to pay for that dump making $7.25 per hour or even $10 per hour in New York City?

Paying for an apartment is the biggest pain in the ass when it comes to living in New York.

Upstate, you can rent one for about half as much, and with a lot more space.