I thought living in NYC for a brief period of time would simply be scratching an itch. But stubborn, persistent NYC... it's really more like a mosquito bite. The more you scratch at it, the itchier it gets. Full blown bout of chicken pox for me, at this rate.
A few things I picked up on during my summer in the city –
New Yorkers are opportunistic. They don't wait around for things to happen. They make things happen. Oh, the subway car can't possibly fit another person? Says who? Oh, the pedestrian light is red? Nope, there's still half a second before a car could possibly crash into me - let's go. Do people flock to New York because of all the opportunities, or is New York a place of opportunities because opportunistic people flock here? Forever a chicken-and-egg question.
New Yorkers are unapologetic. My way or the highway, b*tches. And I ain't sorry about it.
New York is expensive. Who knew, right? SO expensive. I had sticker shock simply by buying drugstore shampoo. Let's not even get started on rent.
But it can be cheap too. $1 pizza. Make that HUGE $1 slices of pizza. $1 street vendor hot dogs. Lots of free concerts and festivals and picnicking in parks. Transportation overall is probably a lot cheaper, too, if you factor in gas prices and maintenance and parking. So on and so forth.
This place is so effing convenient. On my block there's a wash-n-fold laundry where you drop off your dirty clothes, and they'll literally wash, dry, fold, and deliver it right back to your doorstep. There's a deli, a grocery store, bars, restaurants, dry cleaners, tailors, what have you. SEAMLESS. Order dinner on your phone and the delivery man will walk up all three flights and hand it to you while you're still in pajamas.
hallelujah
New York is a walking city like no other walking city. I'm a walker at heart. Always have been, always will be. The highlight of my day every day was walking from work (51st and 5th Ave) to home (8th and the equivalent of negative 2 Ave). So many things to see, so many different routes to take.
my adorable East Village block
Surely, it's a glamorous city. To say that there are no Carrie Bradshaw moments would be a total lie. You will find yourself stumbling upon intricate movie sets, sometimes right at your front doorstep. You'll see girls in six inch heels flagging down yellow taxis, and fancy schmancy restaurants galore. It's glittering skyscrapers and bars that don't close till 4am. It's the latest and greatest, the hustle and the bustle, the nonstop energy, the beautiful people and places.
But it's also really not. Subway rats the size of kittens, the putrid garbage smell that lingers all summer long, the blast of air from the grates that send your skirts a'flying, the homeless who shout colorful obscenities, rush hour in the metro, ugh. After about 1 minute of living here, you too will want to shove the tourists out of the way (no way in hell you go near Times Square never ever ever) (and also, if you visit NYC, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOSSIP GIRL JUST DON'T EVER STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK WITH NO WARNING), and avoid eye contact with anything that breathes and walks on two legs, eliminate a great majority of colors in your wardrobe, and buy a pair of dorky but comfortable 'walking shoes' that will be dusty and disgusting in 0 seconds flat.
But it's all a part of that Big Apple charm, amirite?
