My Curvilinear Relationship with NYC

I can imagine myself living in lots of big cities -- Chicago, Philly, London -- but New York is not one of them. I still haven't managed to feel comfortable in NYC, even though I like to take advantage of the great things going on in the city. It's all just a little too much for me -- too big, too crowded, too dirty, too everything. This last foray into the city for the sociology meetings epitomized the curvilinear nature of my feelings about the city. Plotting my affection for the city with time, the graph would look like an upside down U.

I start out hating it. Getting off the train at Penn Station my senses are immediately overloaded -- the sounds, sights, smells, and even feels of the city are too much and I have to fight the urge to return to the relative comfort of Amtrak (yeah, how scary is that thought?). After a day of acclimation I start to embrace all of the things that I love about big cities -- 24-hour everything, a vibrant night life, being able to walk just about everywhere, mass transit, cultural diversity. After a couple of days that excitement gets old and I am once again feeling claustrophobic, particularly when it's 90 degrees and I just don't want anyone near me.

Overall, it was a good trip, but I came back appreciating Albany more than ever.