the one thing wrong with new york

I’m reading The New York Times and see this in Metropolitan Diary:

Dear Diary:

While running in Central Park one morning I overheard this cellphone conversation: “I sure wish we had something like that in New York.”

I wondered what in the world they could possibly be talking about.

Anyone who lives here knows the city has everything.  I walk out my door and there it all is. But behind my door one crucial thing is missing: space.  

This week I also come across another article, illustrated best by the graphic below.

Okay, granted, I wouldn't want to live in Detroit, even if I could have a huge three-bedroom at minimal cost.  But I've lived in both Chicago and Portland, and they are really nice cities.  I could live well in either.

But I know me.  Every morning when I turned on The Today Show and saw all those people standing around Rockefeller Center I'd feel sad.  Or when I opened People Magazine and saw a photo of some celebrity exiting a hot new restaurant in the Meatpacking District I'd miss my old home.  I'd hate saying, I used to live there, even if while saying it I was living in a gorgeous apartment with city views.  

It would be great to have a car and be able to park it cheaply.  But how would I get around in a snowstorm?  And I hate driving in downpours, so maybe Portland wouldn't be such a great place to live after all. And besides, the ocean there is freezing.

And would I have to get used to cooking all the time?  My order-in or takeout options would be so limited.  I wouldn't have Agata half a block away, where any night I can pick up cooked pasta, or shrimp scampi, or Asian-infused chicken, or homemade pastries, or roasted brussel sprouts.  I'd have to learn how to cook these things.

I'm sure I'd spend less, as there would be fewer choices.  There's always the internet but some things you just need to touch before buying. 

I love the ocean so any city that is too far from one (even those with big lakes) is not a place where I could consider living.

Oh, and all my BAFTA screenings?  If I lived in LA they'd be many, but anywhere else they'd be none.  What would I do in the fall without screenings to go to?

I'd have to cancel my theater subscriptions and get used to community theater.  

And clothes would cost more because there wouldn't be any sample sales to go to.

I could probably adjust to not having great art around me, but it is comforting to know that some of the world's greatest museums are just a few blocks from my home.

Oh, and I love the seasons, so all those inexpensive southern states that rarely have a snowy winter or a crisp autumn would have to be eliminated from consideration.

And what would happen if late at night I got hungry; I couldn't just walk around the corner and get an ice cream.  Or a slice of pizza.  

And would people from out of town want to visit me?

And then there's Alexander. The chances of my son living outside LA or New York are probably not that great.  Not to mention the fact that my New York-Boston family isn't about to move.

So I can fantasize about a more luxurious living space outside New York, but I know I'd not be happy in it.

New York is, for better or worse, the city I love.

I leave my house today and walk.  First to Nike so they can show me why my Nike Band hasn't been working.  Then to Lululemon where they tell me they can fix the raincoat I bought two years ago and now has a broken zipper.  Then over to Bloomingdales for no reason but I'm near it. And finally to Whole Foods, my favorite grocery store that yes, I know, would be much more convenient to visit with a car.

Even still.  I can't imagine being happy living anywhere else.