I live in Harlem. That probably sounds a little scary on the surface for those who live outside the New York City area. My neighborhood is what I’d call “fine”.

It’s nothing too special, but the neighbors tend to keep to themselves, with a wary eye for the gentrification process going on around them. My building is a typifying edifice of this process; it’s new (built less than five years ago), it’s big, and it’s full of graduate students and young professionals under 30. But most of all it’s cheap, and that’s why I chose to live here.

Now if you’re reading this from somewhere outside the metro area, you and I probably have different definitions of what cheap is. I live in an elaborated closet on the fourth floor. To bring in some equivalency, I have a group of friends who have a three bedroom house in Philadelphia, and I pay more in rent per month. If you’re looking to save money, this is probably not the place for you.

On the flip side, there is the infinite levels of opportunity that this city presents to you.

Remember, New York isn’t just Manhattan; it’s a city of five boroughs and about nine million people. It’s the cultural capital of the planet, and that’s a big part of why I came here.

When I was living in Philadelphia, my home city, I felt like I had reached the full potential of what I could do, not only professionally, but personally as well. I love my Philly friends; but going to the same bars over and over gets old. I’ve done every historical thing there is to do; the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall were cop-out field trips for me, not significant sites. I pushed for about half a year to get out, and when I got in to the City University of New York for my Master’s degree, I couldn’t turn it down. It was my ticket out, and you bet I took it. Philadelphia had gotten stale, and it was time for something new.

Sometimes I’m afraid that for the opposite reason, New York might be undergoing the same process.

There is an infinite amount of stuff to do in New York. I really need that for the way that I function. I like new challenges.

That’s part of the reason why I’m gunning for Ph.D. in my field. But sometimes the sheer amount of things going on can burn you out.

I sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of different plans my friends make up here, and I tend to lean to be obligated to each one. This is slightly ridiculous, but I’m afraid I’ll miss something if I don’t show up. I also get stir crazy in my apartment, so there’s that as well.

I’m very fortunate that so many of my friends live up here. I’ve almost always got someone to talk to or hang out with when I’m not doing school related or work related activities. I don’t know that I could live in a city alone. But this is where the strange part comes in.

I’m highly considering moving abroad for the next steps in my education.

I do a lot of work with the Irish community in New York for my master’s, mainly because I’m very familiar with it. But in my conversations with some Irish friends, the appeal to move is there. Why? I have no idea. But I think part of it has to do with New York.

This place is amazing. But it takes quite a lot out of you. Could I spend my twenties here? Sure. Could I raise a family here? Absolutely not. I think that for some people like me, New York City has an expiration date. I’m not sure when mine is. I’ll be here through at least the end of 2015. But we’ll see if the tug that brought me here in the first place is what leads me to leave it. The appeal of doing a graduate degree and starting a life in Ireland is appealing to me. Will I do it? No clue.

But the main lesson I give to people; New York isn’t what you see on TV. It’s a very real place. It’s wonderful in many, many, respects, and there’s nowhere else I’d have rather done my post-grad. But is it a forever place? That’s for you to decide. It’s slowly been wearing away at me, and I’m using my writing to fight back at it.