A New Yorker Not From New York

Abigail Ekue Photography

"I’ve learned I don’t care for people who say they’re from New York when they’re not. If you’ve lived here 13 years -- or even just eight years -- you can call yourself a New Yorker, but you can’t say you’re from New York."

That statement by David Blend in his post, "What I Learned Living in NYC for 13 Years" received an audible, "yes!" response from me.


I'm sensitive about some things. That is one of them. People who live here are New Yorkers. There's a reason we specify "Native New Yorker" and "New Yorker". Being from New York means something, considering our numbers are shrinking. I am from New York. I even have my own lawn! (well not really, but you get the idea)



What else did I agree with David on?


There really are a lot of Jews in New York. Including Black Jews. I wonder if he's visited or spent time in the Orthodox and/or Hasidic communities in Brooklyn. I've had immediate next door neighbors erect sukkahs (Crown Heights, I miss you!). I drove through Williamsburg on the night of Purim this past March -- a whole 'nother world.



Finance guys (the ones I've met) have had the propensity to be douchebags. They also envy and pity non-finance people. On the one hand they'd love it if they could be writers or photographers or actors or... work for a non-profit but on the other hand they can't fathom how we can buy a gallon of milk without dropping 3 and a quarter percent into a hedgefund.


Where do I start with the New Jersey and Long Island contingency? I've met some decent folk just like David Blend. They just happened to live in New Jersey or Long Island. They weren't from New Jersey or Long Island.


Eviction notice vs. getting evicted. Yerp. New York Tenant Rights are quite favorable.


From David Blend, "But the first thing I learned about New York was that it’s the least lonely place in the universe." I've heard from many people NYC is a lonely place. This Turkish man turned to Craigslist to ease his loneliness:

Hi everyone!
I am a Turkish man from Manhattan. We all know how hard it is to live in NYC. Living in NYC is terrible with loneliness. I want to make friendship and to talk a lady.
If you also feel alone please contact me.  

Maybe because I enjoy my own company, I don't confuse being alone with lonely. Maybe because I'm from here and used to the rhythm of the city, I don't feel lonely. Can it take a while to make friends, to find your tribe if you're new to New York? Sure. I think that's a given anywhere. I do love to make connections too - friends, professional, visitors and clients -- let's all "Share The Land".


So yeah, David, I agree with you, New York is not a lonely place.

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