Now that I’ve been back home, I’ve had a little bit of time to reflect on our time in New York…and I’ve gotta tell ya…I. LOVE. NEW YORK. What an amazing place. And it’s not just the museums and Central Park and the subway and the Rangers games and Times Square and yadayadayada…. It’s the whole package. I never thought I would ever be able to say that, because I’ve never thought of myself as a city person, but I could live there and I think I’d enjoy it. OK, so there’s the whole cost of living thing, and my intense dislike of crowds. If we could crack that cost of living nut, we might just do it. It’s just that special.
The thing that struck me about New York is the sense of energy and emotion. If you stop wherever you happen to be, it’s as if the entire city is moving around you…and it in fact is. Everyone is going somewhere, at all times of the day or night. If you wonder what I’m talking about, just try navigating Times Square before the curtains go up on the Broadway shows at 8pm. What’s amazing is that, even with as many people are stuffed into the five boroughs, the city works. It might not always be pretty, but it works…and it’s a marvel to behold.
The day-to-day reality of living in New York would undoubtedly be far different than being a tourist. The lifestyle is almost the exact polar opposite of what we know now. There, space is at a premium; here we have nothing BUT space. There, it’s possible to live without a car, and many New Yorkers do so; here there’s no way you could reasonably survive without a car. There, the cost of housing is, to belabor the obvious, ridiculous.
The fact that there is so much going on is what I find so tremendously exciting. Between the shows, athletic events, restaurants, shopping, museums, park, etc., there are more things to do then there is time to do them in. It’s a delicious and exciting problem to have.
The reality check, of course, would be whether I could deal with the crowds, the cost of living, and the very different lifestyle. It would be interesting to give it a try, but it’s not going to happen on our current salaries. I like not having to eat Ramen 24/7 because all of our money is going for housing.
Perhaps someday when I’m rich (screw being famous), I’ll be able to afford that condo on Central Park West. Perhaps not. I do know that I’m going to be wondering for a good, long time about what it would be like to live in New York. Hey, a man can dream, can’t he??
