Why I Broke Up with New York

That said: “Cities, while they’re good for economic opportunity, are not good for community. I have felt, at times, especially during my first two years in NY, tremendous bouts of loneliness. It was really hard for me to meet people. In order to go hang out with friends tonight, I have to take a 40-minute subway ride. It’s bizarre how you can walk ... See more

When we orient so much of our lives around a certain kind of life — whatever version of that we thought we wanted — it can be startling to realize we may not actually want that anymore. It’s another life transition, another means of becoming ourselves.

I have always lived in the myth of New York more than in its reality. It is what enabled me to live there for so long, loving the idea of something more than the thing itself. But toward the end, in those weeks of walking and taking pictures, I came to know and love the thing itself. This was partly because I loved the work of documenting it. Even

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Eventually, with the restaurant about to close and reality setting in, I begin to pack my things. I put on my coat, stuff my journal and pen back into my messenger bag, and empty out my tray above the garbage can. The thoughts begin to cascade: the irony of this happening right now is so painfully clear, how could I have been so naive in this city,... See more