Learning to love New York

I have not always been a fan of New York. As a kid I would occasionally have sleep overs with a Friends obsessed friend, who would insist on marathons late into the night and assign everybody in her acquaintance a character based on their personality (I might have been the Mattress King? All I remember is that I was socially punished for my lack of enthusiasm). One of the main draws of the show, like many shows in the 90s, was New York. I never understood this. Even at 10, I knew that the New York these people lived in was as fantastical as Narnia. Living in an apartment building with all your friends? A coffee shop with enough space for you to lounge all afternoon, without a single glare from a barista?

Please.

All and all I really couldn’t understand the fascination- what is so great about New York? So after college I moved to Boston where 40% of the population is college kids and there is lots of green space and shitty transportation. Despite the insufferable bro culture and hanging out waiting for the T like one waits for Godot, it was a pretty good starter city. Lots of smart people. Nice pubs. No happy hour :(.

When I decided to go to grad school in New York it was a leap of faith for me. I was committing the rest of my 20s to living in this one place, and I wasn’t even sure I liked it that much! Where were the trees? Why does it smell like a toilet…. everywhere? What just went crunch under my foot?

BUT. I’ve been living here 10 months and I’m definitely coming around. It’s not what you see on TV (thank god) and it’s not a sum of the horrible, panicky articles on youth and cities and dating (thank god x2). There are parks. There’s great coffee and live music and theater. You can go to an actually pretty good comedy show for 10 bucks. But most of all, there are a lot of interesting people and a lot of interesting histories here. So putting that LONG preamble behind me here are some of the ways I’ve been getting myself excited about my new life in New York:

1. 6 dollar dates: I’ve been trying to take myself on one 6 dollar date in a different neighborhood every week*. This normally ends up being just a coffee shop in a new neighborhood or finding a park and an adjacent bodega, but it’s a way for me to get out and about the city and acquaint myself with the different neighborhoods. Once I realized midtown is not Manhattan, and Manhattan is not New York, things started looking a bit better here.
2. Learning about New York history: I’ve found that one foolproof way to inspire excitement in myself is to set aside some time to learn about the history of a place. I started doing this a long time ago for upcoming vacations (I currently have three books on Icelandic history and mythology on my shelf!) and New York has such a rich history… so why not spend some time focusing on that? I’ve mainly been listening to the Bowery Boys, although I also have a number of books on my reading list including New York Burning, Osofsky’s Harlem, and Jane Jacob’s the Death and Life of Great American Cities. I’m currently looking for an accessible book on New York architecture (not just about the making of the skyline!) if anyone has any suggestions.
3. Just walking: the New York activity that has spawned a thousand think pieces. And it’s easy to see why — there’s no better way to get a feel of the huge crush of humanity around you and all the city’s cultures intermingling. There are some people who take this much more seriously than me — but I have been enjoying my share of urban trekking!

What about you guys? What are some ways you get excited about new life happenings?

*Not including metro swipes, boo.