i (heart) ny

Since we will be living here indefinitely, it might be a good idea if I stop and think about all the reasons why New York City is one heck of a swell place to kick off my shoes and call home. So here, in absolutely no order whatsoever, is a sampling of what I like about life here.

• You couldn't ask for better public transportation. I mean, really. Yes, it's sad sometimes to not have a car to escape in, but in all honesty, if I had one, I wouldn't drive it much. The subway, bus, and train systems can get me just about anywhere I want or need to go.
  
• I love how close everything is. Need baking soda to finish making those cookies? The grocery store is a three minute walk away. Ran out of toothpaste? The drugstore is across the street.
• All the walking makes for great exercise. Without trying too hard, I actually feel like I'm in shape.
• The Brooklyn accent. Yes, it's definitely a trip to hear people really and truly, without mimicking the movies, say things like, "I'll cuwall ya late-uh."
  
• The overly animated hand gestures people (especially those of Italian decent) use when talking to a friend on the sidewalk. Seriously -- if you're not careful to keep your distance, you could get whacked.
• Generally speaking, people here are very nice. Maybe they're just naturally polite, or maybe it's because I'm usually toting around the most adorable baby in all of creation, but I've never had so many offers for help in lifting the stroller up and down subway stairs, or people willing to give up their seat for me on a crowded subway. Also, I've never had so many total strangers strike up wonderful conversations with me as if we'd been friends for years.
• You can find just about anything here. You more often than not have to dig (this is a city gloriously bereft of Walmarts), but if you're willing to search, you can find really neat things.
• While, yes, there are a lot of fun things to do that cost an arm and a leg, there are also loads of inexpensive or free (and very often family-friendly) things to do, too. Museums galore, historical sites, weekend activities in the park -- it's great.
• The people who built this city paid wonderful attention to detail. Every building -- even the slummy, run-down ones -- are splashed with architectural intricacies that make them unique and beautiful.
• Speaking of, the Manhattan skyline is beautifully surreal. On a sunny day highlighting a backdrop of clear blue sky; on a foggy day with skyscraping buildings peeking over the clouds; at night all lit up. I am convinced that if you searched the world over, you wouldn't find a city that truly compared.
• There will always be someplace new to explore.
• The cultural diversity here is incredibly enlightening. And it's fascinating to walk only a few blocks and hear at least seven different languages being spoken.

I could go on, but I think this gives you a good idea of how fascinating and fun it is to live here. It's a completely different way of life than I've ever lived before, and it was a pain to have to essentially re-learn everything (like grocery shopping, laundry, getting around, etc) I thought I already knew how to do. But I've jumped over that hurdle for the most part and now I really feel like I can enjoy life as a Brooklynite.

But let's be honest with ourselves: Living in the city is not always peaches and cream.

• Some days you seem to completely bypass the nice people and instead run into jerks who shove you around on the sidewalk and have the gall to tell you you're not raising your baby right.
• It's dirty. Every time I venture into Manhattan, I come home feeling like I need an extra shower.
• Garbage day stinks to high heaven.
• Sometimes you just don't have the energy for crowded subways and long waits for transfers. And it's no fun getting stuck in the rain.
  
• It's noisy. Car horns blaring, jackhammers rattling, drunk teenagers, whose vocabulary consists of 547 different variations of the F word, engaging in shouting matches is enough to give anyone an occasional headache.

I'm going to stop this list here because if I think about it too hard, living in New York City turns sour and unappealing, when in fact it's really not as bad as you might think. And it's like I've told people before: if I, with my Western, suburban, shy and unassertive personality, can live here and enjoy it, ANYONE can.