There are a million ways to answer this question, and as unique as this place is, probably every single one of the 17.2 million people in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region has a different answer.
Let’s start with the statistics: It has the largest population of any city in the United States. Not only are there a lot of people here, but there a lot of different kinds of people. I grew up in Detroit (one of the most segregated cities in the world – South Africa has nothing on that place) and I am still astonished by the mix of integrated diversity here. The population is mostly white (35.1 percent), but not far behind are Hispanics (27.4 percent), blacks (24 percent), and Asians (12.8 %). No other city in the country is so mixed.
Of course, then there’s the jobs: Whereas the rest of the country seems to focus their cities around one industry (i.e. the car), the Big Apple is exploding – aside from manufacturing – in every type of sector imaginable. The retail trade, financial services sector, and education/health are much larger than the national average.
The sprawling train system can take you anywhere. If the subway can’t take you there – just take the PATH, or a bus, or light-rail. Sure, when the Daily News used to send me to murders in Queens I would end up taking two hours getting to the scene of the crime. It can be really hard to get too much of that borough…but, it is still a lot better than most place I’ve been.
That brings me to another point: I’ve lived a lot of places.
So far, I lived in London for six months, Chicago for two years, San Francisco for nine months, Accra (Ghana) for two months, and now New York for a year and a half. Nothing touches this place.
Chicago thinks it’s a big-time metropolis. It’s not. If your city is all white Midwesterners, it’s not a real city. Well, not like the melting pot we have here.
Sure, London is amazing. The history, the beauty, the people, blah, blah, blah. But, there is only one tall building. How can you call yourself a city when the only thing you’re scrapping is the gum off the ground? If none of the buildings can be taller than Buckingham Palace than why bother trying to live there?
I love San Francisco. It is my favorite place to live. But, I realize it doesn’t have anything on New York in terms of jobs, culture, history, sports, etc.,etc. The one thing San Francisco has on New York though is green space.
New York City is really lacking in the nature department. Sure, Central Park, Pelham Bay Park, and Prospect Park are great. But, there is nothing like having a forest nearby or more than ten trees on a block.
Still, it is the people that make New York City the most amazing place on earth. So, if we need to knock down even more trees, so be it. If they tore down a large chunk of Central Park so that I could live in a cheap apartment for only $300 a month, I say treehuggers be damned.
