I have lived in New York City my entire life, for 18 years and 1 month to be exact. I enjoy living in New York City. The city is filled with many interesting people and many exciting opportunities. New York City is my home and I plan to stay in NYC for a while. The city is the only place I want to stay because all my friends and most of my family reside in NYC. I have known many people who have also grown up in the city and learn to despise it as well as feel trapped in the city. I realize that NYC has its flaws however this City is one of the best cities to exist. Joan Didion said she “was in love with the city”(pg.228) and I absolutely agree with her. I love living in New York City and I can’t imagine living somewhere else. I want to speak about my experiences in New York City, whether good or bad as well as proclaim why New York City is the best city to live in.

I grew up in uptown Manhattan in a small apartment on 151st Street. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment with an average-sized living room and a kitchen. We resided in a mostly Hispanic and Latino community because the apartments were affordable and we felt more comfortable living with our people. Also living in apartments located in downtown manhattan is a bit expensive for my family. Growing up in a small apartment was difficult but not a problem. In my community, the police department would close down certain blocks during the summer and many kids would just go outside and enjoy themselves. We would also go to Central Park to play in the grass and go to the Museum of Natural History as well as go to Toys R Us just to see the toys and the indoor ferris wheel. New York City was a great place to grow up. When I was a kid I always thought that my family was financially stable and that money was not a problem. There was one specific quote that Meghan Daum said which was “Although I never had the sense that we were poor, I now realize that we must have, at a certain time anyway, come pretty close to it.” I relate and agree to this quote because as soon as I learned about how New York City is an expensive place to live in, I realized that my parents must have struggled with their bills and financial problems. This was eye-opening and I learned that many other people must have also struggled to live in New York City but still manage to live a decent life. 

It is a fact that New York City is one of the most expensive places to live in. However, all the opportunities and future experiences that this city has to offer are definitely worth the money. New York City offers a lot of things such as parks, museums, schools, universities, job opportunities, small shops, hospitals, etc. I can’t imagine living in any other place other than NYC. My cousins live in New Jersey and I usually visit them during the summer. They live in a townhouse in a rural part of New Jersey. Their house is pretty big and they have plenty of space to play outside. Most places like shops, schools, and grocery stores are at least 10-15 minutes away by car. This part of New Jersey is only accessible by car. Yes, there are some busses but there is at least an hour’s wait. I can’t stand living in such a spread out area where it takes at least 25 minutes just to get a bacon egg and cheese, while in New York you can walk downstairs to the corner deli, order your sandwich and get back home in less than 10 minutes. Life in New York City is much more efficient. Transportations such as buses, taxis, and subways are much more accessible, while in New Jersey a car is the most efficient transportation. I enjoy taking public transportation and you never know what you may find in a subway car. 

The best part about  New York City is Central Park. Central Park is a gigantic plot of land that sits right in the middle of Manhattan. I have been to Central park plenty of times and it never gets old. There is also an ice rink located on 110th and Lenox. Imagine skating in an outdoor rink surrounded by a pond and huge trees. I have been going to this ice rink for about 9 years and it’s almost like a second home to me. There was one time when I was younger where my mom, sister, and two brothers were walking in Central Park heading towards the rink, my mom was carrying my sisters bag while my brothers and I carried our own bags. Hockey bags are pretty heavy and I was only a young child who wasn’t strong but still managed to carry my bag. As we were heading towards the rink I tripped on a rock and fell face-first on the concrete floor. All of a sudden people around me started helping me up and asked if I was ok. They offered to carry my bag to the entrance of the rink and honestly that was one of the nicest things a person can do. People from New York City are genuinely nice and that is one of the reasons I love New York City because of the people.

People in New York City come from different backgrounds and different heritages. I believe New York City is a pretty diverse city. In the city, there are many communities where many people of different races reside. For example, in uptown manhattan such as Harlem and Washington heights, many colored people reside there. Another example is Korea town and Chinatown. Also, there are many parades and festivals that happen in the city that serve to acknowledge different heritage and backgrounds. For example the Chinese Lunar New Year Parade, Saint Patrick’s Day, Persian Parade, Cinco de Mayo Parade, National Puerto Rican Day Parade, and much more. These celebrations bring people together. New York offers these different kinds of experiences for the people. 

The subway in New York is not only the most efficient way of transportation but also one of the places where you can find the most interesting people. There was one time where I was in a subway cart heading to Coney Island. I was on my phone playing mobile games, as we reached a stop a man came in and sat in the seat in front of me. The man pulled out a small animal that looked like a puppy but when I looked closer it was a hamster. The people around me were looking at the man and just staring at each other in confusion. This is a normal occurrence where many people bring random animals, furniture, and other random things in the subway. The New York City subway is an interesting place to meet interesting people. Many performers who dance on the subway as well as singers. I love the people in New York City.

I enjoy living in New York City and the many opportunities, experiences, and the people. However, I have had a few instances where some people are really rude and ignorant. Like every other city, there are some people who attack other people verbally and physically because of their skin color, job, living situation, and much more. I have personally had some experiences with those kinds of people. An experience I encountered with some rude people was when I was playing a hockey game in Central Park against another team. My team is made up of a mixture of races such as Hispanics, Muslims, Black, and White players. While the other team was mostly made up of White players. Throughout the game, the other team would laugh at us whenever we fell or made a mistake and they would start to say things such as “you suck” and “get off the ice.” Those people were being really rude throughout the game and my team was furious and angry but we kept our composure because we know better than to attack the other team. There will always be ignorant and rude people in the world and sometimes you just have to ignore them and move on. This isn’t just a problem in New York City but instead it’s a problem around the world.

I have lived in New York City for 18 years and I love this city. New York City is my home and I don’t think I will ever leave the city. There are many places to go with your friends and enjoy all the things the city has to offer. I might have a biassed opinion on New York City since I have lived in the city my entire life and I have been dependent on my parents and have yet to experience renting an apartment. I must admit that I am still a teenager who doesn’t have to worry much about paying debt, medical bills, rent, health insurance, etc. I am very fortunate to have a supporting family. However, New York City can still be affordable and this city is honestly the most astonishing of all cities. You can go downtown to find all the superstructures that reach up to the clouds and the broadway musicals and then head midtown to find Central Park and then head upper manhattan to visit all the communities and rich culture.

My goal is to inform you that New York City can bring upon many experiences and opportunities and it’s not as bad of a city as most outsiders say it is. My perspective on the city is of someone who has lived in uptown Manhattan for the past 18 years. When it came to college I had the opportunity to leave New York City but I chose to stay in the city because I know that I will become homesick and I will miss all the bacon egg and cheese as well as miss my subway interactions with different people, as well as miss playing with my hockey team. New York City is my home and I love living here.