“In Rome I am weighted down by a lack of momentum, the inertia of a spent civilization. In New York I feel plugged into a strong alternating current of hope and despair.”
Ted Morgan
What vibes do you get from New York City? I saw this editorial of Alexandra Elizabeth for Elle Canada October 2019 and got all the NYC vibes! My husband and I are both native New Yorkers and still visit whenever we can (though actually not as often since the kids came). My little lady associates New York with: Herald Square (she loves the flagship H&M and Sephora stores!), the museum of Natural History, and Peruvian food (we always stop by Pio Pio!). So she certainly associates New York with food and fun things to do. But I wonder what she will really think of my hometown as she gets older.
She has already told me that she will live in NYC when she gets older. But will that mean? I’m fascinated that my third culture kid will be going back to my hometown some day. What experience does she hope to have? I certainly think that she will enter as a young person full of hopes and dreams. She will also have that interesting experience of living in New York as a transplant, not a native like me.
But of course, as I grew up in New York, I also encountered people that weren’t just hopeful, doe-eyed residents. I learned about the pain and challenges growing up with disabilities as a new friend became separated from our class never to be seen in our remaining years at the school. I also learned of how many families had parents who worked multiple jobs and never saw their kids in an effort to lift their families out of tight financial straits. As I worked, I also encountered struggling actors who alternated between hope and despair in their attempts to make it big. Every city is full of people on both ends of the spectrum. But New York is just a little larger and a little scarier to some. I hope it will be kind to my family when we reintegrate our kids there someday.
Yes I also associate New York with food and fun things to do as well. Though I love it most for it’s unique energy and resilience. BTW the images just show as broken links.
oh my thanks for letting me know! Fixed now!