New York is not an easy place to live. It’s expensive, it’s crowded, it’s noisy, it’s dirty.
But the fact that people are willing to tolerate the downsides speaks to the upsides. New York is amazing.
Living here can feel like living in a movie set because New York is in so many movies, TV shows and music videos. Even if you’ve never been, you can probably describe exactly what Rockefeller Center looks like and imagine the front steps of a brownstone.
What’s your favorite food? Better, what’s the most exotic food you’ve ever eaten? I’ll bet you we not only have it here, but it’s probably done exceptionally well and available for delivery at 2 a.m.
What musicians do you love? If they’re touring at all, New York is almost certainly in their plans. And because of the critical mass of talent here, incredible things can happen — like when I went to see Preservation Hall this week at their formal show at City Winery, then they went to sit in with their pal Danny Clinch, whose band was playing a little downstairs bar in midtown. No cover. Maybe 100 people in the whole place?
I could go on and on — or let the Village Voice do it. They have a blog post this week with the headline
50 Reasons to Be Pretty Damn Euphoric You Live in New York City. Among the highlights on this excellent read:

47. There is always someone crazier than you. ALWAYS.
41.We get the inside jokes. Because, actually, we made them up in the first place.
39. Sure, we work out next to Alec Baldwin, Padma Lakshmi, and Bridget Moynahan, and walk the streets with Willem Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Tina Fey, but, really, we’re kinda too busy with our own lives to notice.
26. Smart people are the norm, not the exception. (Which doesn’t mean they’re sane, but at least no one’s boring.)
24. When you fly back into the city after a vacation or business trip, no matter how long you’ve lived here, you get that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling.

So although we’ve talked a lot about New York maybe not being our forever home, John and I are both digging on being Brooklynites right now. It’s spectacular to live surrounded by so many creative, smart, engaged people and to be able to walk to just about anything I could ever want.
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And, as the Village Voice said:

37. Because it’s not enough to just love New York. New York needs to love you back, too. Hey, we have high standards.

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