I'm looking to move from South Jersey to NYC for the first time and and have been apartment hunting and spent a lot of time walking around neighborhoods like Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, Union Square, Kips Bay, etc just to get a feel of the different neighborhoods (on both weekdays and weekends). One thing that's surprised me is how often I run into people who seem mentally unwell or homeless and acting unpredictably.

Maybe I'm just sheltered, but every time I have to walk past someone who's yelling at nobody, pacing around, or acting erratically, I immediately get a little anxious. Most of them don't do anything, but I still find myself wondering if today's the day someone decides I'm the main character. I've come across a lot of these people, surprisingly, in a span of just one week.

For people who live in Manhattan, is this just something you get used to? Has it gotten noticeably worse over the past few years or is this pretty much how it's always been?

I'm trying to figure out how much this should factor into choosing a neighborhood versus accepting that it's just part of living in the city. Thanks.