Live from New York...
It's not me, at least not long term anytime soon
New York City is an intoxicating cocktail of overstimulation, a city that has no respite at any hour with something new at every corner. You probably knew that, but it’s entirely different to fully envelop yourself in it versus popping in for a visit.
I spent about 40 hours in the city at the beginning of November (which happened to coincide with the New York City Marathon), and it got me thinking about how I want to live and what I value in life. It busted a few of the thoughts on city life that I had going into the trip.
A word on Atlanta…
Some context though: I’ve spent most of my life living in my family home in the Atlanta suburbs, aside from a shortened stay in downtown Atlanta attending Georgia State University (thanks COVID). While at college, it felt like I’d outgrown the city in a way (especially as someone who didn’t drive in an extremely car-centric city). It was like I’d “completed” experiencing all that Atlanta had to offer (well at least all of the city easily accessible by public transit).
However, recent months have showed me a new side of the city too busy to hate as I picked up my wheels, found new neighborhoods to explore, and really started to embrace the city in the forest. We’ve got incredible nature where you can almost forget you’re in a major city and I’ve loved beginning to look beyond the major brands to find local gems for food, coffee, and shopping.
It’s been waiting for me
Aside from CNN being based in Atlanta, it’s hard to find a journalism or publishing job that isn’t based in New York. It sounds perfect, how could I (job offer willing) pass up the opportunity as a fresh college graduate to start a new chapter in the city where dreams are made. There were certainly a few starstruck moments walking from the iconic marquee of Good Morning America’s Times Square studio to the Today show plaza at Rockefeller Center to see sights that have been emblazoned on my television for years. It reminded me a ton of the memories I have of CNN Center, first taking the tour as a seven year old and popping back in 11 years later during my Georgia State orientation because I was desperate for a caramel macchiato.
At least compared to the southern hospitality I’m used to, there’s the perception that New Yorkers are stuck up and flat out rude. That couldn’t have been further from the truth in my experience. Maybe it was because of the marathon weekend or the seasonally really nice weather, but there was a real sense of togetherness in the city. People generally looked out for one another and aside from incessant car honking, things were very demure. It felt like you belonged no matter where you originally hail from.
Speaking of the marathon, I set out from Lower Manhattan on a quest to see as much of the city and the route as I could in eight years It was extremely ambitious but I’m very satisfied with the fruits of my labor (I’ll be sharing some of those in a future letter) across four boroughs. It’s hard not to feel immensely proud to be a human seeing and hearing endless waves of support with extremely creative signs (that could be a post in itself tbh) and cheers even hours after the first finishers received their bright orange parkas of victory.
This togetherness is even more stark when you think about how diverse New York is. According to US Census Bureau data, nearly half of New Yorkers speak a language other than English at home (Italian was the language I encountered most during my time in the city). It was almost a culture shock to encounter an authentic representation of the world’s culture around every corner whether it’s a random food truck, corner bodega, or upscale restaurant. It also created a paralysis of choice as the world was just my oyster in terms of food to eat and things to do. Forty hours was hardly enough time to even scratch the surface of everything the city has to offer.
To know me is to know that I am a sucker for a well-organized public transit system (I actually have merch from the Washington DC Metro system and I could write a love letter about the metros in Stockholm and Copenhagen). While it’s definitely confusing in places, the depth of the iconic NYC subway system is something to be admired particularly in the US. I was never more than a couple blocks from a staircase into the city’s underbelly, and trains ran frequently even at the odd hours I decided to call it quits for the night.
I truly think there’s much to learn about a city from looking at its subway system from the utilitarian Brutalist architecture of metros built from 1970s government funding a la Atlanta and Washington DC to the iconic Helvetica signage of New York and the works of art that are Stockholm’s metro stations. I saw so much life in those in between moments: residents hauling Trader Joe’s bags assumingely filled with the week’s essentials, students and business types making their way to school and work, and of course thousands of marathon runners and spectators.
It plays into the hype that New York has as a haven for street photography with so many characters that it’s hard not to find an intriguing subject to capture. My typically architectural-focused photography shifted to people in a way it usually can’t roaming through downtown Atlanta for example. Honestly, it felt like I unlocked a cheat code for street photography with the sheer amount of photos I was able to capture.
But I don’t know if I could enjoy living there long term?
And yet, here I am asking myself if it’s an option that I even want to pursue long term. Atlanta has spoiled me with being a city in the forest, particularly living in the suburbs tucked away with a mini forest for a backyard. Access to nature is surprisingly very important to me to just have a moment to step away from people for a bit and just exist as me. It’s why I was about to find myself at home in Stockholm, Lisbon, or Washington DC compared to a place like Copenhagen or New York.
That’s compounded by the fact that my refuge would realistically be a glorified shoebox while I’d still struggle to make ends meet in the city working an entry-level job in journalism or book publishing. I just can’t see myself working long hours to barely afford rent in a place that doesn’t give me much to show for it.
I think I could learn to love New York, but it would be a massive jump to go from living with my parents in the Atlanta suburbs to living on my own in the city that never sleeps even if the idea of it is an exhilarating challenge.
Recommendations
Lower Manhattan: If you’re looking for good California-inspired Mexican food (I had a really satisfying steak quesadilla and a deceivingly strong cocktail), Mezcali is a great option.
Lower Manhattan: Gild Hall is such a charming property that I can’t recommend highly enough. It’s an old tenement building that’s been renovated to provide a super lux home base for my time in the city. Honestly, the saddest part about leaving NYC was leaving my corner room behind.
Theater District, Manhattan: Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived! I’m not the biggest Broadway person, but I saw Six based on my friend Rosie’s recommendation based on my pop music obsession and it didn’t disappoint. The songs are great as you’d expect, but I really loved the wise cracks between songs.
Sunset Park, Brooklyn: City League Coffee Roasters makes a mean flat white, and at least when I was there on marathon Sunday there was a pretty good sister duo selling homemade flatbreads that made for a perfectly balanced breakfast. It’s a good sized space with plenty of seating for planning out your next adventure as well.
Headlines
You might’ve noticed a new profile picture on this account and my other profiles! I had the chance to do a personal photo shoot at the photography studio I work at and I’m stunned with the results. It’s hard to be perceived in front of the camera as someone whose home is usually on the other side, but I’m very pleased with the way I was captured across these images.
Maybe it’s just years of journalism training or the diagnosed depression, but it’s easy for me to take a pessimistic view on society particularly seeing the waves of negative news headlines. Google’s Year in Search is a reminder that not all is bad in the world and that humanity is pretty dang cool in some respects.
The movies are so back baby! I saw Gladiator 2 on Black Friday and Wicked on Monday, and it’s so nice to see movie theaters packed in a way I hadn’t seen them since the pandemic. I still need to see Moana 2 and Y2K, but those will have to wait a bit because…
I’m having a corneal cross-linking eye procedure done later today (If you’re reading this on release day) that’ll likely have me in bed for a good week as I recuperate to keep my vision from getting dramatically worse. Please send audiobook recommendations my way!