What sort of job would I need to live there? Could I count on being mugged? What sort of people would I see walking around? What was in fashion? Was the city as proud of itself then as it is now?
I ask cause, these days, it seems like the only people allowed on the island make at least 200K. And from movies like, say, Crocodile Dundee, it seemed like something of a "regular guy" place back then.
Let me point you to the documentary NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, a remarkable piece of filmmaking that's easily accessible.
Now, in 1980, the Wall Street boom hadn't yet hit. You're still in the "dark days" of NYC. Crime is high, services are low, and the city is dirty in both a physical and metaphorical sense.