Xiaomanyc Leaves New York After Paying 50% Of Earnings In Taxes: ‘Abusing Taxpayer Money’

By Floralyn Teodoro

Xiaomanyc is leaving New York City for good, and he explained the major reason behind this shocking move in a new vlog.

Last Friday, Arieh Smith, the polyglot influencer based in the Big Apple famously known online as Xiaomanyc or Xiaoma, announced to the YouTube community and his more than 6 million subscribers that he is leaving Manhattan -- his home for 20 years -- in a vlog titled "Why I'm Leaving New York City."

While he still considers "New York City as one of the greatest cities in the world," he said that the "NY city and state government has utterly abused [his] trust and money," so "it's time to leave."

According to Smith, he paid over 50% of his earnings from last year in taxes, but where it went was "questionable."

"What I got in return for spending that money in terms of public safety, infrastructure, et cetera, is very questionable," he said.

Regarding public safety in the city, the influencer said, "It has become frankly a terrifying environment within which to raise a family."

"Just a few weeks ago, I was pushing my 2-year-old son in a stroller down the block of our downtown New York City neighborhood, and there was a half-naked man on the block ahead of us screaming at the top of his lungs, violently punching the air... in broad daylight."

He continued, "I had to push my son across the street just to avoid this person, and I actually had to do this about once a month."

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He also cited an incident where his friend was sucker-punched in broad daylight while walking down the street.

While he thinks NYC is "quite a pleasant and normal place to live," especially for "single men," it's different for women and children.

"If you're a single guy, you might not particularly mind, but if you have young children or you're a woman, you know how it's simply not acceptable that stuff like that can happen anytime," he said.

"My wife was not willing to go out on the street with my son by herself. Frankly, that just makes me feel ashamed of the city I grew up now."

After raising his other concerns in the city, such as the subway, immigration and the like, he concluded that the money he paid in taxes "is being wasted."

"New York is simply abusing taxpayer money," he said.

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Xiaoma is a polyglot who has studied dozens of languages, such as English, near-native-level Chinese and other Chinese dialects.

He is a video producer who has been featured in and has collaborated with major Asian media news outlets, including SCMP, World Journal, China Media Group and Hubei Television, among many others.

Aside from being a YouTuber, he is an experienced software engineer and financial analyst.