Something I have noticed since coming to live in New York is a sense of community. I don’t mean neighborhoods and the appropriate cultures. At first the skyscrapers looming overhead are ominous, but once you get a few relationships developed with the local people, you become more of a ‘town’ than a big metropolitan center of the world. If you take people as they are, you can enjoy all that the city has to offer. The obstacles are still there: fast pace, streams of foot traffic, noises, sign pollution, etc., but you begin to assimilate and you don’t notice all of it like you once did. I wish I had come to NYC when I wanted to as a teenager to try my talent on Broadway or the Opera. But, I am glad for the time I have here.

Also, coming right after 9/11 with no friends, no family, no job and about $150 to my name added to the impact of the city. Since then, however, I’ve written How to Survive New York City for the Newcomer, Mother’s House Publishing, Colorado, to help the next guy make the transition.