MacGougan at Large

Notes from NYC - 6

Miscellaneous Notes on New Yorkers

In most of the US, wearing black means you’re going to a funeral. In NYC, wearing black means you’re going outside. 

New Yorkers all look like they’re in a hurry, but someone will always stop and help if you need directions.

New Yorkers have an unfair reputation for being unfriendly. I think this might arise from the fact that they aren’t in cars. Being in a car gives you a kind of anonymity, not unlike having an alias on an internet platform. In other cities, people complain about the crazy driving without necessarily concluding that the locals are unfriendly. Hello? Somebody’s driving those cars. 

Real estate is a big deal in the city. Space is tight. Living in the city might help you to be more social, but it also pretty much guarantees that you’ll start coveting somebody else’s bigger and fancier residence.

New Yorkers might know how to cook, but many of them don’t bother. Any kind of food you can think of can be delivered to your door faster and tastier than you could ever make it yourself. 

Your basic New Yorker walks maybe twice as many steps every day as the average American. For about half of the New Yorkers, this still isn’t good enough, so they get dogs.