I’ve been here a little longer now and beginning to settle
in. I’m navigating my way around the city better and due to the project work
I’m doing here in terms of the workshops, studio work, visiting galleries and
meeting autistic artists - I’m getting to see quite a bit of the city. Which,
when I’m not getting lost – is lovely!
So. I’m in New York; this great, amazing city - part of
America, this *mighty* land - yet it doesn’t feel so ‘great’ at times… and this
is something that’s been gnawing away at me each day since arriving. It comes
to me in bursts. Little things that continually get me thinking that living
standards aren’t so fantastic here. I mean this at a personal level by the way,
for your average American - or businesses and large corporation - the story is
very different. And these are my comparisons to the UK/Western Europe.
Firstly, people don’t seem to have as many rights here. I
mean their private healthcare system lends itself to its very own blog post,
but I’m also referring to consumer rights and employment law. Their maternity
pay and leave is minimal, and holidays aren’t easy to come by. I thought the UK
had a minute number of public holidays! And you can totally forget about
minimum pay here. And other basic rights: if you’re fired, you’re fired. And even
though you’re paying private healthcare insurance, not everything is covered. For
instance, you still have to pay for a mammogram (in the hundreds) or to give birth
(in the thousands). How does that figure…?
In terms of consumer law, there’s a real lack of price
transparency, and I’m noticing this a lot when I do my grocery shopping. You have
to be really careful not to get ripped off! There are a lot of small, local,
grocery stores. And often goods aren’t labelled in price. And where they are,
you still have to check that it’s being priced through correctly at the till.
It’s also really normal for my local greengrocer to change its prices on almost
a daily basis – as it is for me to be charged $2.50 for a pepper, instead of
the $1.50. And yes, that is the price for one
pepper! Food is considerably more expensive here – and this is taking into
account the not-so-favourable exchange rate. But you want to hear the worst of
it? It goes off really quickly! Apparently, food standards overall are
considerably lower than in Europe and in terms of the lack of price
transparency – this is excused by saying that you weren’t ‘forced’ to buy the
product and that you always had a choice in the matter. And no, you can
certainly not get a refund easily(!)
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Yes, the infamous $1.50 pepper, which I was initially
charged $2.50 for
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Another aspect, is the fact that it’s really uncommon to
have a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer (or at least adequate outdoor
space to dry your clothes) in your apartment. Now, I’m not against going to a
launderette in any way – my last art project was all about washing, after all!
But by not having these utilities, and with food shopping being that much more
difficult – it takes up a lot of your time. Time away from leisure and
relaxation. And surely that’s a sign in itself of lower living standards? It’s
odd, it feels like we’re back in the 90s or thereabouts; a real drop that I
just didn’t anticipate.
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With no dishwasher, the washing up gloves are always at the ready!
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And yes, the food portions are notoriously huge. But why
though? And why in New York, a more progressive state? And why so, more
importantly, when people can’t and don’t finish them?! It makes you continue to
pick at your plate when you’re far past the point of being full, and then you
end up carrying a doggy-bag around with you for the rest of the evening.
Smaller portions (healthier and more manageable) while charging slightly less
(better for the consumer and the business wouldn’t lose out) being the solution?
It’s an interesting one and will continue to plague me for the rest of my time
here, I’m sure!
So, these have been my latest nit-picks as I continue to get
to grips with the city! It’s a busy time, and I’ll speak more about the work
that I’ve been doing in my next blog posts – I just didn’t want these initial impressions
to become the norm, and for me to then forget about them!
Do stay in touch on social media too by the way through my
handle @mahliaamatina – I’m posting most days on what I’m up to and continued
observations on this fascinating city!
Thanks for reading 😊
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