Guys and dolls, I've been bitten by the Big Apple fever that every twenty-something experiences at least once in a lifetime. I don't know any other way to put it: I'm totally geeking out over New York City! Up until recently, I had only been as a child. All my memories of the big city were romanticized childhood ones, like adoring the glamorous Rockettes on stage at Radio City Music Hall or tilting my head way up high to take in the beautifully lit Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center surrounded by snow and my family. However now, as an adult, I've been twice in the back past month (I'm blogging from my friend's Upper East side apartment right now!) and all I have to say is this: New York City is freaking amazing.
The bright lights and big city are so much better when you're at an age to be a part of everything. The constant buzzing of things happening in the air feeds directly into my energy source and I feel like being out and about all the time. I'm a Toronto girl born and raised and so cities aren't a new thing for me; however after 24 years in a mid-sized place like Toronto, I feel like a whole new, bigger city where everything is unknown is just what I need to pump a little life into the rut of routine I've been in lately. I can see myself living here without a second thought, whereas every other city that I could almost see myself living in had a but moment. (Singapore: amazing design and layout but too hot. London: love the culture but miserable rain. You get the idea.) When I was leaving the last time I was here, it was the first time I felt sad to go home.
What is it that reels so many of us into the Big Apple and makes us never want to leave? Aside from the obvious being that NYC is a top tier city in business and fashion, there's the undeniable cool factor that, while other cities try, they just can't seem to emulate. (And trust me, no other city tries harder to be cool than my darling Toronto....I love it and all, but until we stop attempting to copy NYC, Miami, Paris and what have you, we won't ever create a sustainable identity of our own.) On a totally nerdy note, I personally get a kick out of how much the city gets featured in television and film...and like every twenty-something girl it's landmarks from Sex and the City that I squeal over most. (H&H? That's where Carrie bought the bullshit bagels! Tasty Delite? That's where Charlotte gets her diet dessert with Harry after dinner! Eeeeeee!) There's also the constant activity that such a large city can handle on an everyday level. When it's after 2 a.m. in my hometown, my cuisine options are either poutine, dirty Chinese food or street meat. Down here? Well let's just say I was out well past four on Saturday and enjoyed a leisurely sit-down meal of champagne, lobster and oysters. I speak for every foodie out there when between mouthfuls of buttery lobster I murmured, "Oh baby, I think I'm home!"
An admiration -- no make that adoration -- for the Big Apple is nothing we haven't heard a million times before. Plain and simple, this is the city where it happens. It being whatever we might be looking for in our lives. Whether it's a dream job, fame, love, artistic inspiring, or simply a foodie experience, Manhattan and its surrounding areas is where we find seemingly endless opportunities. (Or, seemingly endless trouble depending on what you're seeking...) In the very least, it's where we go in hopes of finding these opportunities and end up creating new experiences on the many paths there. You never know who you might bump into in a city of more than 7 million of the most ambitious and interesting people out there, and it's exciting to say the least. Sure, Toronto's got NYC beat since it's my hometown and where my family and most of my friends reside, but while I'm young, relatively care-free and mobile, I think I'll let my Big Apple fever run just a little bit longer. x
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