NY State of Mind

I miss New York City.

True, I've never lived there, and I've only actually visited approximately four times, but it can be true love after four dates, right?

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not cheating on the Twin Cities.  I enjoy living here, and I certainly can't imagine living anywhere else.

But I'm lusting after New York.

I love the energy of the city.  I love the hum of the people, the traffic, the life.  I love the chocolate croissants, the tiny corner grocery stores, the multitude of authentic and delicious restaurants, the busy shoppers, the loungers in Central Park, the iced coffees.

I love the public transportation and that you can walk or ride to just about anywhere and/or anything in the city.

And I love that my awesome sister lives there.  (I will neither confirm nor deny that this is one of the biggest reasons I love New York.)

Of course, I do not love everything about it.  Even though I know plenty of people do it, I can not imagine sending my children to school in New York.  Not because the school system is bad, but because it is so competitive.

I do not love the crazy traffic of the city.  I would NEVER drive there, or even try to ride a bike around.

I do not love the lack of wide open spaces (not that the immediate Twin City area has a lot of those, but I was raised an Iowa girl, and what would life be like without the occasional farm or corn field?).

Ah, but these things can be overlooked for NYC.  We're still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship.  And to tell you truth, will probably always be.

Aside from my sister (sniff), our family is here.  We grew up here.  We like it here.

But even though I'm happy where we are, that doesn't mean I can't fantasize, right?  And maybe I'll just have to go out and visit my sister a little more often too.