I Don't (Heart) New York

I've just gotten back from five days in New York City, and it's all Harry Potter's fault.


I'd better start again. My wife and her sister are very close, and both are fans of Daniel Radcliffe, the guy who plays Harry Potter in the movies. And so when young Daniel started performing in the Broadway play "Equus", her sister bought tickets for the two of them. As I understand it, there's a scene toward the end involving Mr. Radcliffe being stark nekkid, but the ladies assured me that had nothing whatsoever to do with their interest, and of course I believe everything they tell me. My sister-in-law ultimately saw the play three times in less than a week with a front row seat the third time, so she must have enjoyed it.

And so we ended up scheduling several days in NYC, doing various things. The ladies went to their play while I wandered Times Square (ultimately buying a cheap Talking Heads CD). We spent some time in Madame Tussaud's, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Mahayana Buddhist temple in Chinatown, and the Building Formerly Known as CBGB's (sadly, now a designer clothing store).

I've been to many major cities before, here in the U. S., in Europe, and in Brazil, and I must say that for good and for ill, NYC may be the ultimate city. I love that you can find virtually anything there, and hate the claustrophobic feel of the place. I love that virtually anything is within walking distance or within the reach of public transportation, and hate that choosing to drive would be a seriously white knuckle experience. I hate the cost of virtually everything there. Yes, I know that where I live has a relatively low cost of living and the reasons why costs in New York are so high, but it just feels fundamentally wrong to me that a $25 per person lunch is considered cheap there.

So much of the place feels excessively crowded and like one massive effort to part other people from as much cash as possible as quickly as possible. Every major city has their tourist traps, but New York City just feels like one gigantic tourist trap to me. On the other hand, it's a very exciting place, full of possibilities, and the sense of crowding is a matter of what you're accustomed to. It's been a great place to visit each time (if crazy expensive), and a lot of people love it, but frankly, you couldn't pay me enough to live there. I need a lot more greenery and a lot fewer people and buildings in my life.