The topic for this post was a difficult one to write about. As a New Yorker I definitely take the city for granted. Things that amaze tourists I pass without a second glance and I think this is true for many native New Yorkers. This is why answering the question “How does New York excite you?” was so hard to answer initially. However thinking on it and looking up some inspiration, I would say reinvigorated my stagnant attitude to the city that I have called home for 26 years.
To start, I have a secret. Many people especially those who just meet me assume that I am a born and bred New Yorker. Bred definitely, however I was actually born in California. My mother is a typical “true” New Yorker. Born and raised in the Bronx. I however made a slightly earlier than expected entrance to the world and therefore am technically a Californian.
To the many New Yorkers this would automatically make me “not a real New Yorker” but believe me when I say I am just as much of a New Yorker as the next person who rushes past you on the sidewalk because you are walking to slowly. I have lived here for the majority of my life and honestly have the mentality that since I have made it here I can honestly make it anywhere.
Now to answer the question of how New York excites me, it does so in many ways. Never more so than when I have left for a duration of time and then return. The saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is not only true about people but for this great city as well. When I travel to other states or other countries and see the sprawling spaces, experience the laid back service and the small town mentality it makes me desperately yearn to be back home in the city that never sleeps.
Sure sprawling spaces my sound amazing when we are so overcrowded you cannot take a train without becoming intimately acquainted with at least three new people, but then you realize with all that space it takes at least twenty minutes to get anywhere and that’s driving. There is no walking to the corner deli at 4 AM because you have a desire for some junk food. There is no taking the train to a fun bar not having to worry about a designated driver because public transit will see you safely home.
People are always concerned that since we live our lives measured in New York minutes we are just moving faster to our graves. However when I go anywhere else I find service, whether it be at a restaurant or helped in a store to be extremely slow. The waitress takes there time there while here they focus (usually) on quick sufficient service to get you in and out and seat the next group. To New Yorkers anything else is basically torture and we can deal with “rude” service if it gets the job done quickly.
To anyone not from New York this seems insane and so these next passages will be a vignette on why those who do not live in New York should at least once in their lives because if they experienced it themselves they too would feel that excitement well up when entering the big apple.
I will not sugar coat it. Living in New York is hard. Think you can afford an apartment in Manhattan because you live in the city of whatever state you are from you are sorely mistaken. However you cannot let that deter you. The difficulty that is New York is what will give you the tough skin to let other hardships seem easy in comparison. “Man I don’t know how I’m going to afford this 5 bedroom house for $1,300 a month” suddenly seems silly when you have paid $1,400 a month for a studio apartment with a roommate. I may or may not be exaggerating.
Another beauty of New York is that no matter how alone in life you are, you are never truly alone. There are over eight million individuals in the city. You can walk down a city block and walk past more people than some towns have as a population. Having that proximity might not be the same as having close friends but people are basically herd animals and for the most part we feel comfortable in a group.
Furthermore as a New Yorker you become highly adaptive. You can feel comfortable in any situation. Whether it be on an aforementioned train with the same three people squished up against you to figuring out the best way to get to work while having to walk the least. We New Yorkers learn the best ways to do things and do not really buckle under pressure if our tried and true routines get broken. After all how many times have you had to find a new route home when the 7 train decided to stop running, or when the LIE was closed?
New York is also special because you can do nearly anything. You can catch the hottest show on Broadway like Hamilton (good luck), perhaps go to the zoo to see exotic animals, and hit a beach all in the same day. The night life offers bars, clubs, magic shows, and unlimited choices in food. The variety of available food is literally mind boggling. It would take 22.9 years to visit every restaurant in New York and that is eating out for breakfast lunch and dinner. Basically the options are endless.
Every single one of these reasons passes through my mind as I am traveling back into the only city that I have ever called home. When I see that skyline rather than feel anxiety as some do or overwhelmed by the sea of people they are about to wade into I feel a sense of comfort. The knowledge that though this may be a tough city, though it stops for no one or anything the people here take care of their own. It is this toughness that brings out the best in its citizens, the creativity from the artists and the bravery from those who protect us. The excitement that I feel when entering the city is a welcomed rush of pure adrenaline that preps me for anything and everything the city might throw at me and it lets me know I am ready for the challenge that is New York City.