New York City, As I Remember
By: K. Nawab
Tags: NYC, Pandemic, New York City, Pandemic Diaries, New York

New York is the greatest city in the world, is something you hear often. However, this great city has been slowly dying over the last year due to the ongoing pandemic. Having said that, a city like New York, does not fade easily. It will get back it’s chaotic yet charming vibes back soon, I have faith in that. I had written an answer to a question on Quora.com, “What’s it like to live in New York City?” and I thought this would be a good time to revisit my fond memories.

I lived in NYC for 4 years (2012–2016) and then moved out for a better career opportunity. My life in the city felt amazing.

The city that never sleeps: Like they say, for a city that never sleeps, a lot can happen in one night! It does never sleep. I’ve stayed out till 3 am bar hopping with friends and then went to a diner (or breakfast?) at 4 am, still as busy as it can be. I have actually had food delivered at 2 am using seamless, the food delivery app. The city transit does not stop at all, and in some parts of the city it stays crowded. Plenty of 24 hours gyms and people will actually go there at very early or very late hours.

Restaurants: They say including bars, there are some 40,000 places in NYC that you could eat at! So basically you could eat each meal at a new place every time if you wanted to. The price range varies but some places, the quality may surprise you. I loved how in each neighborhood there was that small pop up place or tiny eatery where you could get the best certain recipe. Weekend brunches are big among New Yorkers and some places can have very long waits on Saturday/Sunday brunch times. A lot of those brunches are “boozy” and “bottomless”! Which is why, most weekend memories are just a blur (please don’t judge). Needless to say, you can get food from any part of the world.

Summers: Summers are best in NYC! Some days can be very humid but for the most part they’re great. A lot of companies actually let their employees work an hour or so extra daily but take Friday off so for some, every weekend is a long summer weekend. Central Park is so beautiful in the summer, everyone is out in the park or on the street. There is certain energy in the air and everyone is just in a happy place. On weekends, a lot of the people head to the beaches around the city to come back with a nice tan. If you want to go out of Manhattan but not too far, head to Brooklyn for a different sort of eccentric young crowd and good street food.

Rooftops are the best in the city, there are so many of them with amazing view but they can be very very crowded.

Winters: A lot of people worry about the winters in NYC but trust me, it’s nothing like winters anywhere else on the north east. You may see very few people on the street but walk into a bar and you feel as if winter never happened. My friends would have “hurricane party” whenever there was a storm warning which would basically be a sleep over with a lot of tv/movies and board games. The transit system runs most of the time during snow, unless it’s really really bad.

Daily life: I was doing my residency there so I was very busy but typically, if I got off work early, I would go for a run or a bike ride in the park, some days the gym. Then either eat in or go out for dinner with someone. Dinner was always followed by a walk and getting a dessert, either from one of the local bake shops or if nothing else, a brownie from Starbucks. Weekends were always busier than weekdays! Wake up, do laundry if you want to feel productive, go out for brunch with friends which would last for hours, with half the group buzzed from the bottomless mimosas, followed by a movie, more walking and then dinner, followed by crashing at whose ever place was the closest.

The bad parts: There were a few things that I would like to mention:

It took a while to establish a good circle of friends. My theory is that the locals know that most people are in transit so it takes them a while to let you in into their circle if you’re new to the city. But you will always find people who are new like you and very open to connect.

Rents truly are high, that applies to San Francisco as well I understand but I mean, I have seen studios for 3500–4000 USD per month in luxury buildings, which totally sounds crazy but at the same time, you can find a studio for 1300–1600 USD per month in neighborhoods like Harlem or Inwood.

Dating can be hard. There are so many options in NYC that ghosting is very common. People will just disappear on you. You do it to others and others do it to you. It’s almost understood and most people have experienced it so much that they don’t make an issue out of it. Then there are the tourists who are in the city for a few weeks but want to have a serious relationship with you… I mean, come on!

Traffic! Forget your car if you’re moving to Manhattan. It’s not just the expensive street parking and long term parking but it actually takes a lot longer to drive within Manhattan than to take the train.

Yes NYC is expensive, crowded and dirty, but there’s a reason no one wants to leave the city. I call it the curse of NYC, people will complain but then would never want to move out. I would definitely recommend living there to anyone be it for a few years, just for the experiences that you can get from living there.