Can cities be soulmates? Do some cities draw people to them more than others? What is it about the aura of NY that makes people live here? I have found a few reasons why I like NY and the biggest reason has to do with how much I missed the city when I was away. I came here for a consulting client back in 2006, stayed here for a year, and went back to my old traveling routine.
Here is what I had to say then:
"Manhattan is a place of extremes - rich and homeless - high skyscrapers and underground subways - expensive pets and fat rats - it is a city beyond comparison. I also learned that among the crowds lies loneliness and in the foot of luxury lies homelessness. To get to the highest of the highs in the city that defines power, people sometimes forget to smile. For now, I know that I can always go back to this city and still won’t mind living there. In the hustle and bustle of a restaurant you can sometimes spot a smile; once in while a cabbie will talk about his life story, and maybe you can spot a celebrity or two. I loved to see the faces of tourists who came from far and wide as they gazed at the billboards in times square for the first time and scrambled their way through the crowds. I loved walking in the quaint streets of West Village and then crisscrossing my way to Chinatown to see a different crowd, smell a different aroma, and hear a new tune. I loved walking past the classy abodes near Central Park hearing the hoofs of the horses and the sound of the different languages that floated in the air. I will miss waking up to see the distant statue of liberty from the apartment and a proud flag flying next to it near a ghostly void created six years ago. I will miss an occasional dove perching on a church and a cabbie speeding by splashing a puddle from a pothole onto an unassuming onlooker. More than everything, I will miss the city that defines and sets the standard for the whole world to follow."
After I wrote this, a new job drew me back to the city. So, here I am, a year later, back to the most interesting city in the world.
Here is what I had to say then:
"Manhattan is a place of extremes - rich and homeless - high skyscrapers and underground subways - expensive pets and fat rats - it is a city beyond comparison. I also learned that among the crowds lies loneliness and in the foot of luxury lies homelessness. To get to the highest of the highs in the city that defines power, people sometimes forget to smile. For now, I know that I can always go back to this city and still won’t mind living there. In the hustle and bustle of a restaurant you can sometimes spot a smile; once in while a cabbie will talk about his life story, and maybe you can spot a celebrity or two. I loved to see the faces of tourists who came from far and wide as they gazed at the billboards in times square for the first time and scrambled their way through the crowds. I loved walking in the quaint streets of West Village and then crisscrossing my way to Chinatown to see a different crowd, smell a different aroma, and hear a new tune. I loved walking past the classy abodes near Central Park hearing the hoofs of the horses and the sound of the different languages that floated in the air. I will miss waking up to see the distant statue of liberty from the apartment and a proud flag flying next to it near a ghostly void created six years ago. I will miss an occasional dove perching on a church and a cabbie speeding by splashing a puddle from a pothole onto an unassuming onlooker. More than everything, I will miss the city that defines and sets the standard for the whole world to follow."
After I wrote this, a new job drew me back to the city. So, here I am, a year later, back to the most interesting city in the world.
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