I've lived in Manhattan since 2004. Before that I lived in Rockland County, NY, which is very close to the city. Spent many weekends (and skipped school days) coming into the city to skateboard.
There is nowhere else in the United States that I would want to live. I really need to be surrounded by that 24 hour element. I need to be able to get sushi at 5am, or any cuisine delivered within 30 minutes. I love being able to walk out my front door, and be within 10 minutes walk of the greatest *anything* in the country. I can have what probably is the greatest pizza, greatest burger, greatest french food in the country whenever I want it. Why settle for less when you can have the best?
Amazing museums that people travel across the world to see, every movie before almost anyone else. Fresh markets, great bars and clubs. And I get to be a DJ for a living and make good money doing it! Yet my neighbor still has the feeling of being a real neighborhood. I know my neighbors and the local store owners. And I have a Vespa so I never have to take the subway and save a ton of money on cabs.
Some people prefer peace and quiet. After I moved into Manhattan, my mom got remarried and moved to Burlington Vermont. Oh my god I want to kill myself when I am there. Nothing going on, bad food, no stimulation. My poor mother (even though it's her choice to live there) makes me bring her bagels from my local bakery and bread from Balthazar every time I come visit. She's a born and raised New Yorker, I don't know how she manages up there.
BUT, there is another city that I love almost as much.
Paris.
I'm here right now for 3 months. I really, really love Paris. As of a year ago I had never been here, but now this is my 4th time here since last July!
It's obviously totally different from NY. I love the architecture, how all of the buildings are so low (especially compared to NYC), and how there seems to be a vast history within every street. I became pretty obsessed with it since my first visit last July. Before I came here for the summer, I had a french tutor who taught me for 2 hours a day, every other day for 8 weeks to prepare me.
The food here is amazing, I can't even go into detail. I found a boulangerie down the street that makes the best sesame baguette I've ever tried in my life. I bought 3 of them today for €0.50 each and ate them for breakfast lunch and dinner.
The shopping is incredible, of course. Right now the dollar is getting weaker against the euro... every day I see it falling. And after all the presales this week, I really need to watch my money so I can survive for the next 2 months. It's a very expensive city. It's much more difficult to find a good cheap meal here, compared to NY.
My French is improving pretty steadily, but my group of friends that I've made here mainly consists of english-speakers, so it's a bit harder to learn.
What's really amazing is how close I am to so many other amazing European cities. Antwerp is 2 hours by train. I'm going to Amsterdam in 2 weeks. I have a trip planned to Vienna, Rome, Berlin and Copenhagen in July. I'm going to a friends beach house in Biarritz this upcoming weekend. It's amazing living here, but you really need to have a good chunk of money saved up (like I thought I did...) if you plan on coming here for any significant period of time.
I do miss New York a lot though. As soon as I return, I am going straight to Katz's for a huge NYC meal.
There is nowhere else in the United States that I would want to live. I really need to be surrounded by that 24 hour element. I need to be able to get sushi at 5am, or any cuisine delivered within 30 minutes. I love being able to walk out my front door, and be within 10 minutes walk of the greatest *anything* in the country. I can have what probably is the greatest pizza, greatest burger, greatest french food in the country whenever I want it. Why settle for less when you can have the best?
Amazing museums that people travel across the world to see, every movie before almost anyone else. Fresh markets, great bars and clubs. And I get to be a DJ for a living and make good money doing it! Yet my neighbor still has the feeling of being a real neighborhood. I know my neighbors and the local store owners. And I have a Vespa so I never have to take the subway and save a ton of money on cabs.
Some people prefer peace and quiet. After I moved into Manhattan, my mom got remarried and moved to Burlington Vermont. Oh my god I want to kill myself when I am there. Nothing going on, bad food, no stimulation. My poor mother (even though it's her choice to live there) makes me bring her bagels from my local bakery and bread from Balthazar every time I come visit. She's a born and raised New Yorker, I don't know how she manages up there.
BUT, there is another city that I love almost as much.
Paris.
I'm here right now for 3 months. I really, really love Paris. As of a year ago I had never been here, but now this is my 4th time here since last July!
It's obviously totally different from NY. I love the architecture, how all of the buildings are so low (especially compared to NYC), and how there seems to be a vast history within every street. I became pretty obsessed with it since my first visit last July. Before I came here for the summer, I had a french tutor who taught me for 2 hours a day, every other day for 8 weeks to prepare me.
The food here is amazing, I can't even go into detail. I found a boulangerie down the street that makes the best sesame baguette I've ever tried in my life. I bought 3 of them today for €0.50 each and ate them for breakfast lunch and dinner.
The shopping is incredible, of course. Right now the dollar is getting weaker against the euro... every day I see it falling. And after all the presales this week, I really need to watch my money so I can survive for the next 2 months. It's a very expensive city. It's much more difficult to find a good cheap meal here, compared to NY.
My French is improving pretty steadily, but my group of friends that I've made here mainly consists of english-speakers, so it's a bit harder to learn.
What's really amazing is how close I am to so many other amazing European cities. Antwerp is 2 hours by train. I'm going to Amsterdam in 2 weeks. I have a trip planned to Vienna, Rome, Berlin and Copenhagen in July. I'm going to a friends beach house in Biarritz this upcoming weekend. It's amazing living here, but you really need to have a good chunk of money saved up (like I thought I did...) if you plan on coming here for any significant period of time.
I do miss New York a lot though. As soon as I return, I am going straight to Katz's for a huge NYC meal.
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