New York City. Not a great place for driving; as overpopulation is manifested in its very streets as driving 3 miles can take a half an hour. Crowded restaurants. Crowded bars. Crowded streets. Crowded parks. Crowded transportation. Crowded apartments. Space is truly a commodity in this city that only the wealthiest of the wealthy can afford it. The streets are occasionally riddled with trash. In place of the occasional squirrel scampering up a tree, a rat bursts from one trash pile to another. Sunday is trash day for a city that encompasses 8.5 million consumers in its mere 30 square mile area. You tend to forget about the odder after “assimilating” to the culture here in New York City. Once you take a step outside the city, you remember what fresh air smells like. You can really understand what makes the people here ornery, agitated, and quick to judge. They have to be. Time here moves at a faster pace as you are expected to do more in the time that you do have: a paradox that only lives within the confines of my favorite city in the world: New York City.

Happiness is a weighted list of pros and cons. The cons above were quick and easy and really just take time to get used to (if you have the right personality). For me, as long as I have good friends, family, a job, great spots to go, and convenient transportation; I am content. I have all of those here in New York City and more. Now, it’s time for the pros. However, I don’t have nearly enough time right now to list all of my favorite attributes of this magical city. I will be posting periodically on my favorite spots, focusing on Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. This city has too many incredible places that it’s going to take quite a few blog posts for me to catch up on my list of pros. I hope you enjoy!