New York! New York! It’s a city that has featured in countless movies and has also been the backdrop of numerous novels. Home to Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha as well as the location for “Central Park” where our favourite Friends hung out, it was with great excitement that we arrived in NYC.
We fully thought we would love it. We wanted to love it. But it was not love at first sight for NYC and us.
The NYC in reality was messy, grubby and extremely fast-paced. Having just come from DC where the people are friendly and we have frequent random conversations with complete strangers, NYC seemed a tad bit intimidating and unfriendly.
On the afternoon that we got in, I left W in the hotel room (who was nursing a cold) to go explore the famed 5th Avenue (which was literally only at our door-step). Ok, I was NOT being a bad unsympathetic wife. I just thought it was easier for him to get some rest if I was not moving around our smallish hotel room and entertaining him with my constant chatter. And of course, I had already spied Sak’s Fifth Avenue on 49th street.
And so I found myself striding on Fifth Avenue that Wednesday afternoon. The sun was on my face and the wind was in my hair. And I was looking forward to shopping mecca. Then I realized that the New Yorkers I encountered were all rather similar – quick-footed, impassive expressions, usually glued to their cell phones or fixated on their blackberrys. No one made eye contact with anyone and no one held the door open for the next person.
I soon felt that I was walking too slowly and that I was silly to wait for the traffic lights to change. The people around me kept walking regardless of the traffic signals.
We met an old friend, Karl for dinner that night. He had moved to NYC some 4 months ago from the Bay area. He admitted that the pace of life in NYC was much faster than where he was previously and that for starters he walks much faster now than when he was in SF.
I realised that NYC was a city of great contrasts. New Yorkers are constantly rushing around. Yet, they wait uncomplainingly for more than an hour for dinner on a weekday evening. Homeless people can be found on many street corners, sometimes just barely a stone’s throw away from fancy stores like Tiffany’s.
But as the days went by, I began to discover certain things that I did like about NYC. I discovered the charms of the West Village. Wandering down blocks of brownstones in the Village and being distracted by cafes and little shops was pretty fun. I also enjoyed seeing the Manhattan skyline at night from the Brooklyn promenade by the waterfront. Interestingly, Brooklyn Heights was the only place in NY that I saw children playing unattended. And to think that before I visited, I thought Brooklyn was a totally rough neighbourhood! Apparently it has gotten “gentrified” in recent years.
I also began to appreciate the energy of NYC. The city never seems to sleep and judging by the New Yorkers whom I encountered living and working there, it’s a place where anything is possible for anyone. It’s a city of immigrants where you are twice as likely to bump into someone not American (born and bred) than otherwise. It seemed to me that NYC was a tough town but with a lot of grit and some luck, one could really go places here.
I suppose that is why America has often been described as the land of possibilities and NYC has stood as a beacon of hope for many people.
Myself? As I write this on the train that takes me away from NYC and towards Boston, I have decided that while I am still not in love with NYC, I now have a certain respect for the city. When I headed for brekkie this morning, I found myself crossing the street with a certain insouciance, without pausing for the lights to change. Perhaps a little of NYC has rubbed off on me after all.
- M
We fully thought we would love it. We wanted to love it. But it was not love at first sight for NYC and us.
The NYC in reality was messy, grubby and extremely fast-paced. Having just come from DC where the people are friendly and we have frequent random conversations with complete strangers, NYC seemed a tad bit intimidating and unfriendly.
On the afternoon that we got in, I left W in the hotel room (who was nursing a cold) to go explore the famed 5th Avenue (which was literally only at our door-step). Ok, I was NOT being a bad unsympathetic wife. I just thought it was easier for him to get some rest if I was not moving around our smallish hotel room and entertaining him with my constant chatter. And of course, I had already spied Sak’s Fifth Avenue on 49th street.
And so I found myself striding on Fifth Avenue that Wednesday afternoon. The sun was on my face and the wind was in my hair. And I was looking forward to shopping mecca. Then I realized that the New Yorkers I encountered were all rather similar – quick-footed, impassive expressions, usually glued to their cell phones or fixated on their blackberrys. No one made eye contact with anyone and no one held the door open for the next person.
I soon felt that I was walking too slowly and that I was silly to wait for the traffic lights to change. The people around me kept walking regardless of the traffic signals.
We met an old friend, Karl for dinner that night. He had moved to NYC some 4 months ago from the Bay area. He admitted that the pace of life in NYC was much faster than where he was previously and that for starters he walks much faster now than when he was in SF.
I realised that NYC was a city of great contrasts. New Yorkers are constantly rushing around. Yet, they wait uncomplainingly for more than an hour for dinner on a weekday evening. Homeless people can be found on many street corners, sometimes just barely a stone’s throw away from fancy stores like Tiffany’s.
But as the days went by, I began to discover certain things that I did like about NYC. I discovered the charms of the West Village. Wandering down blocks of brownstones in the Village and being distracted by cafes and little shops was pretty fun. I also enjoyed seeing the Manhattan skyline at night from the Brooklyn promenade by the waterfront. Interestingly, Brooklyn Heights was the only place in NY that I saw children playing unattended. And to think that before I visited, I thought Brooklyn was a totally rough neighbourhood! Apparently it has gotten “gentrified” in recent years.
I also began to appreciate the energy of NYC. The city never seems to sleep and judging by the New Yorkers whom I encountered living and working there, it’s a place where anything is possible for anyone. It’s a city of immigrants where you are twice as likely to bump into someone not American (born and bred) than otherwise. It seemed to me that NYC was a tough town but with a lot of grit and some luck, one could really go places here.
I suppose that is why America has often been described as the land of possibilities and NYC has stood as a beacon of hope for many people.
Myself? As I write this on the train that takes me away from NYC and towards Boston, I have decided that while I am still not in love with NYC, I now have a certain respect for the city. When I headed for brekkie this morning, I found myself crossing the street with a certain insouciance, without pausing for the lights to change. Perhaps a little of NYC has rubbed off on me after all.
- M
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