🗽 I miss New York City...
004 - Sharing some notes on NYC
Hey friends! 👋🏻
I hope everyone’s having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend, eating lots of good food, and spending quality time with loved ones!
Today’s newsletter is a special one for me. It happens to be my birthday and I’m missing New York City a little more today than I usually do.
Ever since I moved to the Bay Area (about five months ago), I’ve been having thoughts pop up in my head about NYC – especially the things I miss and why I hope to move back next year.
I’m going to try and turn just a few of those thoughts into short, little notes below. They’ll be written in no particular order so you can follow along with my stream of consciousness!
Some notes on New York City…
New York City is where I learned to become an adult. I moved when I was 17 and didn’t have any family or friends there. It was the first time I was truly alone, so I had to learn how to make my own decisions and take responsibility for them. I learned that people can be kind and generous but also selfish and cruel at times. It’s where I learned that there are truly so many different kinds of people in this world.
I’ll never forget the first time I went to Times Square. I remember looking up at the giant screens lighting up the night sky and thinking that I must be in a set of a film because it was only something I had seen in movies and TV shows growing up. That feeling never really went away in the 5 years that I lived there.
As someone who never learned how to drive, I really miss how convenient NYC was. Getting around was never a problem whether I was taking the subway, the bus, or even just walking. As I now live in the suburbs of San Francisco, I have to take the Caltrain if I want to go into the city and I end up spending so much time commuting back and forth.
There’s also a certain liveliness and energy in NYC. I could honestly spend hours walking around. There’s just something extremely special about walking down a couple of blocks and being exposed to all these different cultures, ethnicities, and languages. I don’t get that same feeling or atmosphere here in the Bay Area.
NYC is the dream city for street photographers. The city made me fall in love with street photography. I loved documenting these stories or moments unraveling around me. The best part is that no one really cares if you take photos of them on the street as most people walk quite fast and aren’t really paying attention.
I really like the unconventional green spaces in NYC. Forget about Central Park for a second, there’s a floating park on the water (Little Island) and an elevated park that weaves between buildings (The High Line). I think unconventional green spaces in big cities are so unique and that’s also why I’m a fan of Salesforce Park in San Francisco.
New York City is also home to some of the best museums in the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim.
But in many ways, the city itself is like a giant art museum. The different neighborhoods remind me of the different wings in a museum. Whenever I had a mental or creative block, I would always take a walk to feel inspired and have my creativity sparked again.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m still glad that I made the move to the Bay Area. I get the opportunity to experience what it’s like here on the West Coast, I get to work out of Meta’s headquarters and I can tell people that I’ve lived here. But I can still confidently say that New York City is the city best suited for me. Fingers crossed, I hope that I’ll be able to move back by next fall. 🤞🏻
✨ November Favorites
📚 Book - “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro
I’m finally getting around to reading “Klara and the Sun” by Kazuo Ishiguro. I’m only about halfway in, but it’s beautifully written as Ishiguro has an eloquent way with words. I love how it’s making me think about human nature and the world we live in. I recommend checking it out!
📺 TV Show - Elementary
I started watching “Elementary” recently in my downtime. It’s a modern take on the detective stories of Sherlock Holmes and guess what, it’s also based in NYC! I’m a sucker for procedural dramas with great storytelling and attention to detail. I’m only a couple of seasons in and there are seven seasons! I’ll have to see if it loses my interest in the coming seasons!
As always, thanks for reading!
Austin