If the American dream still exists, it lives in Queens. A center of immigrants and a place where there is more diversity than anywhere else on the planet, it is an ideal home for young professionals and families. The borough offers unique opportunities for career growth, as well as overall development, recreation and entertainment. You will need many years to explore the richness of this part of NYC. While retaining all the characteristics of living in a metropolis, Queens is also an idyllic place with many natural locations, green lawns and ponds. There are many reasons to move to the borough. Read about five of them on i-queens.
Diverse population
The Lenape (Delaware), an Indigenous Indian people, were the first to settle in Newtown (the territory of modern Queens) in the 1600s. They were engaged in hunting, fishing and farming. The Lenape did not have their own language and spoke in dialects. In 1683, the British annexed Newtown, adding it to the province of New York. Then they organized Queens County here, which was named in honor of Catherine of Braganza, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, the wife of King Charles II.
In 1898, NYC was consolidated when five boroughs merged. One of them is Queens, which is also a county of the state of New York. In 1909, the Queensboro Bridge was opened, which contributed to the development of Queens. In the 1940s and 1950s, whole families began to settle here, attracted by the suburban lifestyle of Queens. It cannot be called noisy, but at the same time it is close to such crowded places as Manhattan or Brooklyn. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was another wave of immigration. At that time, Asian and Latin American people came here en masse.
In the 21st century, Queens is inhabited by representatives of different cultures, peoples and nationalities. They speak more than 130 languages and come from more than 120 countries. Most of them are natives of the Dominican Republic, China, Jamaica and India. There are also many immigrants from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Bangladesh, Tibet and Japan. Given this ethnic diversity, the borough is a comfortable place to live, where all races and backgrounds are welcome and where everyone feels at home.
Wide selection of dishes
It is difficult to imagine the culturally rich Queens without its gastronomic delights. The borough is famous for its wide range of culinary offerings. In particular, the Astoria neighborhood offers gourmet Greek dishes, Jackson Heights has South Asian cuisine and Flushing provides authentic Chinese food. Queens’ Chinatown is rich not only in delicacies from China but also in Korean and Japanese specialties. By the way, it is much larger than Manhattan’s Chinatown.
Fans of Italian ice cream should visit The Lemon Ice King of Corona in Corona. You may have seen this place in the popular sitcom, The King of Queens. Connoisseurs of Czech and Slovak beer gather at the Astoria restaurant Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden. It is housed in one of the oldest buildings in Astoria and survived the Prohibition era.
The restaurant donates a portion of its profits to educational programs for children and adults of Czech and Slovak descent. Juicy and appetizing hamburgers are served at Bareburger restaurants in several Queens neighborhoods, such as Long Island City, Forest Hills and Astoria. If you want to try seafood, then head to Jackson Heights.
Affordable housing
New York is one of the most expensive cities to live in the US. However, compared to Manhattan and Brooklyn, Queens has more affordable real estate options. This applies to both residential and commercial space. Here, you won’t have to worry about paying your entire salary to rent an apartment. It is also beneficial for entrepreneurs to open a business in the borough, as the savings on renting offices, warehouses, etc. make it possible to invest more in the development of products and services.
Queens residents pay three different types of income tax. The federal and state taxes are comparable to other regions of the US, but the difference is the additional tax for New Yorkers. It ranges from 3 to 3.8% of gross income and applies even if a person does not work in the city. Most often, Queens residents choose to work in administration, sales and management. The leading industries in the borough are healthcare, retail and hospitality.
Favorable location
Queens is the easternmost and largest borough in NYC. It is bordered by the East River to the north, Jamaica Bay to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. Geographically, Queens, like Brooklyn, is part of Long Island. The borough has good transportation links. Two of the three main airports in the New York metropolitan area are here, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia.
Queens has a well-developed public transportation system consisting of subways, buses, trains and ferries. More than 75% of local residents do not work in the borough. Easy access to Manhattan, White Plains and Westchester allows Queens residents to find many job opportunities.
The geographically favorable location also provides a large number of options for living in Queens. If you want to live above the East River and enjoy the view of Manhattan every day, you should choose Long Island City or Astoria. If you want to spend time with your children or pets among the hills and green lawns, then choose Bayside or Jamaica Estates. Importantly, Queens has a much lower crime rate than Brooklyn or the Bronx.
Old-school atmosphere
Unlike Manhattan and Brooklyn, Queens has managed to preserve the charm of previous centuries. The borough has an old-school atmosphere, meaning that its traditionalist residents do many things the way they did in the past. This can be seen in everything – architecture, fashion trends, interiors of cafes and restaurants, etc. It feels like a warm and cozy home in the middle of a bustling metropolis.
In terms of architecture, it is not uncommon to see buildings with completely different facades located next to each other in a borough. For example, one building is brick, and the next one is covered with vinyl cladding. Different buildings coexisting in the same space demonstrate the cultural and architectural diversity of Queens.
They are famous for their decorative fences, exquisite doors and bright colors. Here, everyone has opportunities for self-expression without chasing trends or the needs of the mass market. Borough maintains strong ties to people’s heritage, creating an old-school atmosphere.
Street art, such as music, dance, painting, sculpture, etc., is thriving in Queens. For example, although hip-hop originated in the 1970s in the Bronx, Queens had a significant impact on the development of this genre. In the 1980s, the local band Run-D.M.C. showed the first ever hip-hop video, and Eric B. & Rakim released the famous hip-hop album Paid in Full. In addition, in various locations of the borough you will find manifestations of street art, for example, numerous walls and fences of Queens are decorated with graffiti.