LoveHowTo Blog
My Love Affair with New York
Sex and the City always played like a documentary to me. Except for the quality of the clothes and apartments, it rang true to my experience of a party-every-night, new-man-around-every-corner, good-friends-to-share-it-with town.I moved from the suburbs into New York to go to NYU in 1976 and stayed on in the city for 10 years after I graduated. I was one of those insufferable New Yorkers who truly couldn’t understand how anyone would want to live anywhere else.
But due to the demands of career and marriage, I haven’t lived in New York since the late ‘80s. I always figured I’d be back some day, when I could afford a decent place to live. Unfortunately, that bar has been continually raised beyond my desperate attempts to keep pace. At this point I’m thinking that by the time I’m so old the state of California wants to rescind my driver’s license, I’ll have saved enough to go back to a place where there’s no need to get behind the wheel.
In the meantime, I take my New York experiences when I can get them. And this week I got a big, wonderful dose. I went back for NYU’s Alumni Weekend and attended some great seminars as well as a lunch and a dinner. At lunch I was seated with Warren Adler, who wrote The War of the Roses. Ironically, less than a week later I was on a Today Show segment about divorce that used liberal doses of that movie’s clips.
I had Sunday brunch in the trendy meatpacking district. I saw the Mets annihilate the Yankees in the soon-to-be-demolished Yankee Stadium, right across the street from its new doppelganger. I saw Passing Strange (highly recommended), sat on a bench in Central Park and strolled through the elegant Frick for the first time. I had an amazing spa experience 35 floors up. I got to enjoy two New York-quality surprises: watching a Navy battleship go down the Hudson River, and seeing Nintendo launch Wii Fitness at Columbus Circle. Of course the food was great. It rained, it was sunny. It was a total New York experience.
The only problem with this kind of fulfillment is it leaves you wanting more. It reminds you of the smorgasbord that is The City That Is Not Yours. Like being with a lover you can’t really lay claim to, it gets you wondering, “What would it be like if we could be together all the time?” The negatives – traffic, high prices – are easily glossed over or justified by positives – public transportation! Endless choices in entertainment, dining and shopping!
But when you love something as much as I love New York, you have to believe that you’ll find a way to make it yours someday, that you will overcome the obstacles to be with the one that means so much to you. Luckily I’m a believer. I lived through the "Ford to City: Drop Dead" era, and even reveled in those difficult times. I know one thing for sure: I'll be back.
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