But if you put her in New York City chances are she won’t like it.
Having spent the past four days in The Big Apple for BlogHer ‘10 I can assure you the above is true. At least for me. I really wanted to like New York City. If, for no other reason, on principle. It’s the finance and fashion hub of the US. It’s full of diversity; of hustle and bustle. It’s the city that never sleeps.
Unfortunately, while all of the above is true — and sounds so very romantic — I found much more to be true about the city as well. Allow me to offer a few alternative taglines.
New York City: Loud, Filthy, Over-Crowded.
New York City: Home of Diversity. *Disclaimer: We Never Said Those Diverse People Like Each Other. At All.
The Big Apple: We Had to Have a Nickname That Makes The City Sound Less Dead.
New York City: What Do You Mean The Grass in Central Park is Supposed to be Green?
New York City: Importing Oxygen, Exporting Carbon Dioxide. Since 1925.
New York City: Home of the Two-Speed Car; 45 miles per hour and Stop.
And My Personal Favorite
New York City: We Can Show You What Urine, Cigarette Smoke and Filth Smells Like All Rolled Into One!
I am so glad to be home; where plants are green, the air is clean, and people know that there is supposed to be a period of acceleration before their vehicles hit top speed.
All sarcasm, joking and below-the-belt sucker punches to NYC aside, I was truly very disappointed in the city. Perhaps I was expecting too much, what I found to be true was anything but what I had hoped, imagined, looked forward to. The city embodies everything that is wrong with this country and, while I have no problem facing those things, it’s hard to see them all at once; in your face, screaming to be noticed.
The filth and stench of the streets contrasted against the extravagance of the shiny marble of 5th avenue boutiques; the dirty, sweaty lower class working the streets contrasted with the cool and well-dressed upper class that shopped there.
The diversity of the population is so beautiful in a snapshot in time, still, unmoving; but fully conflicted in real time. A reminder that diversity must breed conflict, hatred, feuds before those things can be overcome with love, acceptance, understanding — and that the conflict here is far from being overcome even now in the year 2010.
The consumption, destruction; a turkey sandwich with more meat on it than my family of four eats in two weeks. A park that is supposed to be a sanctuary from the city that is just as dead as the concrete that surrounds it; brown, leaves hanging from trees looking too much like an over-worked, poverty-stricken mother of four, begging for a break lest life itself breaks her.
And perhaps, worst of all, no one seems to notice. They go on, driving fast, pushing their way through overcrowded sidewalks and eating giant sandwiches while the world crumbles, dies around them. And that? Makes me sad and angry and motivated and lost and unsure all at once.
Hog Farmer. Goose Wrangler. Sustenance Cultivator. Hobby Photographer. Women's Progress Advocator. Wife. Teacher. Mother. Freelance Writer. Unsophisticated Wine Connoisseur. Sister. Speaker. Friend. Butcher. Ruminator. Student. Reluctant Artist. Wannabe Quilter. Chocolate Addict. Gun Enthusiast. 
{ 4 comments }
Ouch.
Wow, that’s so different than what I noticed.
My favorite part of NYC is the rooftop gardens. It is, to me, a sign of eternal optimism, of people determined to make things green even in the middle of a concrete jungle.
I think that’s beautiful.
I love New York. It’s my favorite city. Every time I’m there, I think about all of the families, coming in through Ellis Island, and making their homes. The city amazes me every time.
I went in with the opposite perspective. I expected to hate it. I love Los Angeles and I love big cities, but the closeness and dirtiness that I perceived (without having been there) made me really think I would hate it.
I fell in love with it. The vibrancy, the fact that it doesn’t close down at 5 PM, the ability to find a gyro, piece of pizza, or hot dog at any given hour anywhere in the city, the feeling of a flow of life just streaming through the city. It just screamed connections and dynamic experiences. I spent time in an open air garden patio with luscious plants and fresh air. I walked down the street, taking in each sight, smell and sound as something different.
I don’t have a problem with the Midwest, other than the tendency to be pondering and sometimes archaic. The open spaces are beautiful, and as long as you know the limitations of your activities there, it’s great to visit.
I guess I just appreciate both areas for what they are.
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