“No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky.”
~ E.B. White

I have loved that quote since I decided I simply had to live in New York. It feels like it’s simultaneously a challenge and a promise of great opportunity.

So I loved stumbling onto this post on the blog “explore. dream.discover” — a snippet is below, along with a link:

Before moving to the city, I obsessively read about it. Throughout my research, people often referenced E.B. White’s essay, “Here is New York.” I didn’t get a chance to read it until after I’d already moved, and perhaps it was better that way. Much of what he says can only be understood by experiencing it. A former New Yorker, White wrote the essay on a visit in the summer of 1948. He recalled arriving in the city as a young writer, bolstered by … Read More

via explore. dream. discover.
In this post, a synopsis of White’s essay, there are great insights into what it’s like to live in New York, including this:

“The city is uncomfortable and inconvenient; but New Yorkers temperamentally do not crave comfort and convenience — if they did they would live elsewhere.”

Thanks to ZENyc, I recently discovered another excellent blog, Christa in New York. Christa wrote something a lot like White’s musing this summer:

Honestly, if you’re not interested in growth and change, I would recommend living someplace else. New York City is just too difficult a place to make your home unless you love to push yourself every day. I love New York City – I’m probably a lifer – but it is not for everyone and I understand why people choose to move. There’s no shame in that at all; it’s just a matter of priorities.

What’s life about? Is it comfort and ease? Is it growth and discovery? Relaxation or striving?
I struggle with this tension a lot — but I think life is definitely about being willing to be lucky.