NYC : The Ticketmaster of American Cities
I thought I'd like nyc more than I actually did. Overall it was just like Chicago, only concentrated 100 times more in a small space, and with lots of media coverage to give the city an impression of being famous.
When I'd go to esteemed theaters and other establishments for which new york is well known, I'd encounter some of the rudest behavior that didn't make sense a lot of the time. And when I'd point out how they weren't making sense, the answer I always got back was "this is new york", as if that excuses treating people badly.
I also don't dig the 'everyone scrounging for resources' thing. In modern america, it's odd to be in a place where there aren't enough resources to go around : good theater tickets, parking, apartments, manners, etc. So NYC seems like a great place to be if you're rich and/or famous. Otherwise you're just asking to be treated like dirt, and you're supposed to take it with a smile.
The best explanation that thooble and I could come up for why people like this city is that there are people who take living in NYC as being part of their identity. It makes them cooler or shows they've 'made it' (even though they're living in a crappy roach-infested apartment in brooklyn, work a horrible temp job and don't have enough money to save for retirement). Or they work in one of the very few professions that require you actually live in NYC.
In summation, NYC reminded me of the simpsons episode where Mr. Burns and Smithers are sitting in the crowd at Hullablooza:
Burns: [chuckles] And to think, Smithers: you laughed when I bought TicketMaster. "Nobody's going to pay a 100% service charge."
Smithers: Well, it's a policy that ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, sir.
-- Burns attends Hullabalooza, "Homerpalooza"
When I'd go to esteemed theaters and other establishments for which new york is well known, I'd encounter some of the rudest behavior that didn't make sense a lot of the time. And when I'd point out how they weren't making sense, the answer I always got back was "this is new york", as if that excuses treating people badly.
I also don't dig the 'everyone scrounging for resources' thing. In modern america, it's odd to be in a place where there aren't enough resources to go around : good theater tickets, parking, apartments, manners, etc. So NYC seems like a great place to be if you're rich and/or famous. Otherwise you're just asking to be treated like dirt, and you're supposed to take it with a smile.
The best explanation that thooble and I could come up for why people like this city is that there are people who take living in NYC as being part of their identity. It makes them cooler or shows they've 'made it' (even though they're living in a crappy roach-infested apartment in brooklyn, work a horrible temp job and don't have enough money to save for retirement). Or they work in one of the very few professions that require you actually live in NYC.
In summation, NYC reminded me of the simpsons episode where Mr. Burns and Smithers are sitting in the crowd at Hullablooza:
Burns: [chuckles] And to think, Smithers: you laughed when I bought TicketMaster. "Nobody's going to pay a 100% service charge."
Smithers: Well, it's a policy that ensures a healthy mix of the rich and the ignorant, sir.
-- Burns attends Hullabalooza, "Homerpalooza"