On Seeing A New City

I’m about to say something I never thought I would say:

I miss the Tube.

It isn’t that the Subway in NYC isn’t that much different conceptually, being crammed into an underground cigar tube with a bunch of strangers is much the same anywhere (except Paris. THE HORROR). But the signs are less easy to understand, there are fewer maps, and it’s slower and less efficient. Last night the train I was on stopped service for seemingly no reason, and the doors always take forever to close.  Also, everything is newer and therefore less pretty (not you, Greenpoint Ave station, I like your green tiles).

But it isn't New York's fault. See, I’ve figured out what is happening with me emotionally. It’s like I was seeing this guy named London and what we had together was real. We both loved history and ethnic food and cold, misty nights. But we were torn apart, star-crossed lovers, by our families (by this I mean our governments and their visa laws).

And now I’m seeing New York, who is like, the nicest guy. Everyone says he’s great, better than London even. I thought London was The One, but all these new voices say that NYC should be my main squeeze. I can't shake it; I’m still hung up on my last boyfriend, the one with the sexy accent.

Maybe New York is my rebound.

If you’ve only lived in one place your whole life this might be a difficult concept, but when you move to a new city, totally by yourself, it can truly feel like you are dating that city. You go to Yelp or Urbanspoon to figure out where New York is taking you for dinner that night. You ask the girls who have been seeing London for a while what their favourite dates are with their city. You sit alone at bars listening to the voices around you, tasting the neighborhoods, learning the ambient sounds. You get used to hosts/hostesses asking “Just you?” and you say yes, because it would sound insane if you said “Excuse me but Eugene, Oregon and I are on our second date, do you mind?”

So I’m not speaking totally metaphorically (or rationally) when I say I’m still getting over my last city. So far, all of the things I like about NYC are things that remind me of my lost London (woe). It doesn’t help that the area I’m staying is just like Dalston (the area to the north of where I lived in London [coincidentally, to the south of Greenpoint is Williamsburg, which is generally acknowledged to be the Shoreditch of New York]) except everyone is Polish instead of Turkish. 

Less kebabs here. Little upset about that.

Luckily, my new BFF Brooklyn has been taking me out for some delicious cocktails.