New York City. Subways, bridges, skyscrapers and people in a hurry. As a person who grew up in the city, I feel like I know it so well. And yet, having lived in other states for the past ten years, I feel a bit of culture shock whenever I visit. Was it always this dirty? Why are those apartments so depressing? I know there is a lot of wealth here and yet why do people like this environment? It’s a mystery to me.
As a native New Yorker, you just get used to the loud noises, the sound of the trains, the crowds at certain times of day, the smells, the long walks to everywhere, the endless rows of buildings you navigate between. After a while you what you do notice are the events, the fancy lobbies of buildings, the themed restaurants, and parties you might get invited to. For the most part everyone is striving to get ahead, to make ends meet, to survive, and act like everything is great. But underlying all of this is a palpable hollowness.
It’s every person for themselves. No one cares about anyone else. I know so many older people living in NY who could very well die in their apartments and it would be days before anyone finds them. They have friends, but people who care enough to check in everyday? Very few have that. The environment and culture of the place doesn’t really lend itself to those behaviors. The city is for advancing a career and networking, but its horrible for family life.
As a visitor, I can and have enjoyed staying in a NYC hotel with a view, taking a cab somewhere, riding the Roosevelt Island tram, riding the elevators on express mode, and getting cheap food from the ubiquitous delis. Every part of the city holds memories of things I done and places I’ve been to over the years. It’s fun for a few days, but if I had to choose between the screeching, rumbling, gray streets with their ominously tall towers or palm trees and quiet suburbs, you know the palm trees are going to win any day of the week.
I’m so glad I’m not trapped living in NYC. Florida is great. It’s beautiful year round, has a relaxed vibe where you can actually breathe, and manmade cubes do not dominate every single available space. The evenings usually feature a nice breeze off the water with clear skies (and, of course, a few bugs) but the peacefulness is far more to my liking. So yeah, it’s nice to visit NYC, but there are lots of other places to live. I just happen to be lucky I ended up in great sub-tropical place. Don’t get me wrong. I like being a tourist, but honestly, living outside of the city is so much better.
