NYC family Proximity
When starting to interview people in this topic, one question that really intrigued me was generation relationships living in the city. If families in the city are different since they all stay in or around Manhattan for their whole lives, or like many families I know today move all over the world. Do NY city folk produce city folk?
I was disappointed at first to see my ideal image in my head of grandma being down the block, and cousins up stairs isn’t too frequent since 2 out of my 3 interviewees do not have this luxury. However I did find even if extended family wasn’t five minutes away they were 30, located in Brooklyn or in New Jersey.
Although current family members were not up the stairs, city roots seem to be passed on from generation to generation. Either both or one of Emi and liv’s parents had grown up in the city as a kid.
Ross’ family is the first generation to move to the city. Both of his parents moved after college, and Ross has lived there for his whole life. He had cousins 5 blocks from him, what I originally pictured in my head when thinking of city families. However he did express this was not the norm. Lucky for him it seems as though it seems that other members of his family are going to join him. Recently his cousins from upstate are moving to the city.
Even though I did not find what I thought I would, an element of proximity still exists with families from the city I think. Both sides of Ross’s and Emi’s families are all located in New York or New Jersey. The furthest family is from the city in any of my interviewees cases is Philadelphia.
There definitely is a relationship between proximity to extended family and living in the city. Not many have relatives internationally or many states away. It is important to note however that this may be an American phenomenon and not only limited to NYC.
I was disappointed at first to see my ideal image in my head of grandma being down the block, and cousins up stairs isn’t too frequent since 2 out of my 3 interviewees do not have this luxury. However I did find even if extended family wasn’t five minutes away they were 30, located in Brooklyn or in New Jersey.
Although current family members were not up the stairs, city roots seem to be passed on from generation to generation. Either both or one of Emi and liv’s parents had grown up in the city as a kid.
Ross’ family is the first generation to move to the city. Both of his parents moved after college, and Ross has lived there for his whole life. He had cousins 5 blocks from him, what I originally pictured in my head when thinking of city families. However he did express this was not the norm. Lucky for him it seems as though it seems that other members of his family are going to join him. Recently his cousins from upstate are moving to the city.
Even though I did not find what I thought I would, an element of proximity still exists with families from the city I think. Both sides of Ross’s and Emi’s families are all located in New York or New Jersey. The furthest family is from the city in any of my interviewees cases is Philadelphia.
There definitely is a relationship between proximity to extended family and living in the city. Not many have relatives internationally or many states away. It is important to note however that this may be an American phenomenon and not only limited to NYC.