I’m a New Yorker through and through. Born and raised here for the most part. Left for my middle school and high school years to a nearby suburb which I never happily acclimated to. I came back after college and stayed. I have a love/hate relationship with this place. It’s noisy, crowded, over-priced yet full of the most ambitious, passionate people, vibrant culture and astounding history. I really can’t imagine living anywhere else though I often complain about the weather and lack of nature. I think kvetching is part of my duty as a New Yorker though so I’m not doing much to quell it. I love these photos of New York in the old days. They make me think of this great essay from one of my favorite authors, E.B White:
There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something ….Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness, natives give it solidity and continuity, but the settlers give it passion.