the past four days i've had off from work has afforded me the opportunity to completely assess why i was leaving Boston for New York. my friends and acquaintances offered up their views on why one city was better than the other. most favored to move--at least with respect to who I am. some people that i worked with gave me puzzled looks, asked me "why are you moving from Boston?", as though it were heaven on Earth. Often, I wanted to answer, "Because Boston sucks!", but my response was usually, "Because I want to" or "It's time to move on".
i don't regret living in Boston at all. it helped me to realize the experience i want to have from living in a major city. i made some good friends and had a lot of good times. those are things which i can not forget. however, not being a student in Boston and not having a car decreased my ability to experience the diversity that i know is present there. a week ago--thanks to my co-worker Lisa, I saw Chinatown in Boston at night for the first time. We were out until almost four in the morning. Prior to that I didn't think it was possible to be out anywhere in Boston past 2am. It made me wonder what other hidden gems, like the Peach Tree existed in Boston. All these culturally diverse experiences exist, but they are tucked away in little neighborhoods and back alleys. I felt like I got short changed in Boston.
let's be real, New York City is the type of place that people dream about. Whether you're living in East Bumblefuck, USA--or somewhere outside of the states, you can only hope that you make it to NYC before you expire. Sure, it's not a place everyone wants to live in, but it is a place where you can always find something to do. It is a place where you don't have to seek out diversity. It will find you. You step off the subway and all you see is different little shops each run by someone who has come to NY from somewhere else. It is a place that anyone can come to, regardless of where they are from around the world, and come to know it as home and now it's mine too.
