Every New Yorker who’s been living there their whole life has felt the desire to leave at least once. I’ve felt it countless times. It’s dirty, terrible transit, too crowded, and has coffee that’s way too expensive. Whenever I see tourists taking photos of the tall skyscrapers acting as four tight walls enclosing the crowd, I can’t help but think: What is the appeal?
I grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a short 30 minute train ride from Manhattan. There are very little similarities in the way those who are living in Manhattan and those who live in Brooklyn live their lives. Rather than the bling of 5th ave or the bustling streets of Times Square, I lived near the main street that always smelled of freshly baked Chinese buns in the mornings and the loud Cantonese arguments at shop stands. I had always been comfortable in Brooklyn and rarely explored Manhattan–until now.
During college breaks, when I returned home to New York City, I found myself in the city more than ever; I guess after months of the suburban hilly areas of Ithaca, I came back appreciating the city life I took advantage of before. I found myself taking photos of tall, modern buildings that had strange slants and the bright billboards in Times Square that never sleeps. From East Village to Chinatown to Greenwich Village, I traveled around most of Manhattan as a tourist.
A trip with friends one day started from walking to the train station in Brooklyn, paying the $2.90 to get on the musty and stuffy train car for 20-30 minutes depending on where in Manhattan, then walking through the maze of train stations to finally get out into the streets. I got off the train at 34th Street Herald Square and stopped to listen to the live band playing in the station. These street bands often performed there, along with carts with snacks from gummies to homemade churros. I was headed to my favorite place in Manhattan, before I started exploring, KoreaTown. Even though I’d been there many times, I rarely ate at most restaurants because of the high prices. When I look at the prices of food and any activity in Manhattan, I think back to what the appeal is about the city. Everything is overpriced, yet people still indulge in the experience. For this hangout, I went to a gopchang (BBQ cow intestines) restaurant for the first time. The only thing new about the hangout was a new restaurant, yet it felt like I was in an unknown place again. I walked into the wrong restaurant twice because there were so many gopchang places (it didn’t help that both restaurants were on the same floor of different buildings a block from each other). The food was delicious, though. As we sat on the fourth floor of a ten-story building in KoreaTown, eating beef intestines, we talked about our college lives and how different our campuses were from Manhattan.
New York City is the best place to feel like both a local and a tourist at the same time. You know the secrets, the hole-in-the-wall restaurants that sell amazing food for cheaper prices, and the places that are the best to sightsee. But sometimes, even when you know the best spots and the best deals, it just feels good to splurge. You know that the small bowl of ramen for $23 is outrageous but you get it anyway because it is from a famous chain restaurant started in Japan that recently opened in Times Square. And the $7 taco you could finish in 2 bites was heavenly (although my wallet didn’t agree).
I have an overall love-hate relationship with New York City. Some days, I laugh at myself for chasing thrills in the city, like the night my friends and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn, just two days before I left for college, despite a Citizen alert about an armed pedestrian on the bridge. The bridge was still packed with people who, despite spotting police officers, kept walking, because in New York City, the experience always wins. New York City has always been strange to me because I did not resonate as much with the city as I did with my Cantonese-speaking community in Brooklyn; but slowly, the shouts from the shop stands in Brooklyn merged with the loud voices of performers in Manhattan, but the fresh bakery smells in Brooklyn stayed there because nothing could make Manhattan smell good. Still, New York City is a difficult place to call home and a strange place to enjoy as a tourist.
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