Best of New York

Posted by Frieda on May 13, 2011 · 7 Comments 

Is this home? My newest new apartment

I mentioned in my last email that I’d been a bad blogger. So far, so not exciting, no? The internet is littered with the ghosts of blogs past, as their authors get bored or busy or acquired new jobs or boyfriends (or girlfriends). I promise that will not be me. I’ve decided instead that for the next two weeks I’ll write a blog every day. This isn’t just to reboot my blog, though, it’s also because I have a decision to make.

During the past year, I’ve been wondering on and off whether I should stay in New York or leave. I’m lucky enough to have dual citizenship, and my job is flexible. I’ve lived here for almost three years, sampling Brooklyn and Queens (and Manhattan, sort of — though I’ve never lived there). I spent three years in London too, and I love both cities, in entirely different ways.

But can I commit to the US, with its crazy politics, terrifying lack of job security/health insurance, and its brutal survival-of-the-fittest ideology, to which I feel viscerally opposed? At the same time, how easy would it be to return to London, and would I miss the creative vibe, the madness, and the gorgeous, real-summer heat of NYC?

Random weirdness in Bryant Park, earlier this spring

Now, I feel, it is crunch time. I have a return ticket booked to Dublin on June 30th, and on the 30th too, the lease on my current apartment runs out. So the question is, will I commit to New York, and sort out a new living situation? Or will I decide it’s time to head back to Europe? There is a third option, of not deciding at all, and just waiting to see which way the winds blow me, but taking such a floaty approach seems scary.

Over the next two weeks I’m going to write every day about something that’s brilliant about New York — whether it’s an old Chinese lady holding the subway door open so that a hipster guy could scoot in just in time; the super-friendliness (and occasional angriness) of people in general; or just the stunning views on my daily cycle  in Queens. This will be my Best of New York. And at the end, I’ll make my decision.

So far these are the pros of each place:

When Robert De Niro was filming Another Night in April, he camped right outside my house

New York                      

Sunny (in summer)

High creative energy levels

Career becoming established here

London

Close to home

Old friends there

Proper healthcare (at time of writing)

Home = ?

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Filed under Crazy, New York · Tagged with decisions, London, New York, transitions