My weekend tradition has been initiated.
If funds allow, and I haven't got much else happening, I head to Starbucks with a newspaper in the late morning, have coffee, a piece of their breakfast loaf, and read. It's pretty damn relaxing, and it accomplishes quite a few things. I get myself out of bed before 11, showered and dressed, fed and coffee'd and ready to actually accomplish stuff. Plus, I get to read the paper.
Sunday mornings mean the New York Times, although at a pretty high cost. While reading the NYT Magazine, I stumbled across the real estate pages. And learned what high cost meant.
Of course, they were advertising for the highest calibre of individuals, but I could not help but be slightly appalled. Prices were rather high, at $12 million (roughly) for penthouses, houses within condos, etc.
I, like every red-blooded boy in the world, have always been curious about New York. The big city, the flash and glamor, with promises of a time one can only experience in New York. The place where dreams are made, or broken, or as the Times magazine said today, "A place where people put it all on the line and bet on themselves."
There is, of course, the dream of making it big in New York. After all, if you hit the big times there, you've hit the big times everywhere. That's where the $12 million penthouses go.
But what about everyone else in New York? What about the millions of people who live there lives there, out of the spotlight and away from the mansions? Who are they, and how do they live?
I'm not turning bleeding-heart communist here, I'm just curious about the 'average' New York experience. I somehow doubt that everyone lives in 40,000 sq. ft. luxury, so if you don't why stay in New York?
Is it that pulse of the rich city? The chance that maybe, if you play your cards, things will turn out for the better? Or is the average New Yorker just an average city citizen, the same as if they were settled in any other American city?
Could it be that the rich and famous aren't really what New York is about? After all, they are so outnumbered by the unrich and unfamous that it seems hard to believe the overwhelming wealth of a few people can constitute the heart and soul of a city of millions.
Whatever the reason, the world is fascinated by this New York. Maybe it's just the island we all hedge our dreams on. Maybe it just exists in the collective imagination of ours.
One day I'll take a bite out of the big apple, but will it be from the million dollar mansions or the Bronx bus line?
4 comments:
Ah, New York, my city! Yes, it is a city of dreams, whether you have $12 mill for the penthouse, or live with a roommate 2 blocks away from the projects. Granted, it is probably just another city to those who were born here, but to those of use who finally got to move here, everyday is an adventure. Not to sound like some idealistic fool, but city life is fun if you take advantage of it. And New York is the most popular city in the world, so stop on by and live it up!
haha,Why would you spend so much money! Out here the average price of a house is like $200,000 for a two story
I am having a pretty good time here myself...like the anonymous poster said, pretty much every day is an adventure. I like to get lost in a new neighborhood at least once a week either before or after my classes. You would be shocked with all the little shops/rest./bars that you run across.
That being said, I don't think that I could live here for an extended period of time....in fact, more than likely I will be moving back to Toronto in the not to distant future! (aka after grad school)
To the average ("unrich" and "unfamous") guy like me, who stayed in NYC two summers, it's an awesome place! Everyone would get onto me about planning my days there, but I came to find out that I never had to plan anything if I didn't want -- I just had to find a street and walk down it, and something would come up.
Nothing Golden Stays
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