I live and breathe this city, native New yorker, and I totally understand. All of my friends have left New York. I am a single mom living here and the energy, the grit, the sounds and smells of this city, like no place in this world; make it sooo hard to leave. It is our concrete jungle, but it is also home…

Hey NYCity Mama,
We have much in common. I live in your neighborhood, am intimate with your school and am from Madison, Wisconsin-husband is Dominican! I see your lovely boy in school often and would really like to meet you. I am principal of a “horrible school” in your neighborhood. You gots to visit us!

Oh, you already know how much I soooooo feel this post. I’ve had tons of “Why Do Even I Live Here?” days. The only thing that makes me stay is that I realize how much I truly “fit in” here. No other city — at least not in the US — suits me as well. That said, that knowledge doesn’t change the way I feel about New York. Does it make it harder to leave? Yes. Easier to make a living here? No.

Carolyn: I grew up in NYC and now I have a spacious house in the burbs….but it’s an unequal trade-off at best. My husband is from this area and given his job situation I made the move. The cavat is that I return to NYC regularly to get some “food and culture”. Now our son will be making his first major trip to NYC this summer.

Growing up I learned so much just walking down the streets of NYC. The ability to deal with other cultures have served me well professionally and as I travelled. Seeing homeless people, as undesireable as it seems, gives people a sense of the financial and emotional diversity of life.

I miss the Broadway shows, the museums and the hole-in-the-wall restaurants. I don’t go to the big box stores so FEDEX is my best friend. Hang in there, NYC is worth it. If you can make it there you can make it any where

My husband would be happier than anything to live in Manhattan forever. Most days I am fine with the idea, but there are plenty of days where I just want space to live in. I want Target and Kohl’s. I want to imagine my two month old playing in a yard. I want to not have to pay half the amount I pay for rent on childcare.
*shrug* All those days though are erased with the knowledge that we don’t have to decide now, and that no decision is forever.

I completely understand, although I did leave the city 7 years ago when I was pregnant with my 1st child. My husband and I are both from the suburbs and had a mutual understanding that we would indeed raise our kids in a house with a yard. We are only 15 miles away from the city in Westchester, and I do come into the city often. However, I admit that I do miss waking up to the sound of garbage trucks and hearing sirens in the middle of the night. I also miss my over-heated apartment and the homeless woman who greeted me on my way to work every morning. But there are things I don’t miss – like the same homeless woman bumping into me on purpose when I was visibly pregnant and being denied a seat on the bus and subway at the same time. I am glad that I live in close proximity to the city so that I can take advantage of what it has to offer, but I do get envious of people like you who can leave your apartment and roll right into the heart of it all.