After spending a full week in New York City, life in Halifax feels just that much more limiting. I'm not saying that New York is instantly better than Halifax because it's bigger and therefore bigger is better. Definitely not. I do love Halifax but returning here and seeing just how small the buildings are, and how small the downtown area is was probably more of a culture shock than going to New York was.

In New York, there was always somewhere to go and something to do. I imagine living there would get rather expensive if you were the type to always want to do something. Considering every major (and minor) concert tour has a stop or two in NYC, not to mention broadway shows and other major events, suddenly going to the movies seems like a vast waste of time. I think if I lived there, I'd instill in me a never-the-same-place-twice rule. Even if I wanted to go to a chain like Starbucks, there's enough locations within a one mile radius that it would probably take a year for me to return to the same one twice.

On the subject of living in New York, I don't think it's something that I would want to do. At least not alone. I imagine that it would be difficult for me to move there by myself and meet people. While there, I felt the general attitude of the people there to be of indifference. I won't say they were *rude*. I actually don't remember any specific encounters with rude people. But there were few with people that were nice. It seems most people prefer to have a self-involved attitude or just simply were indifferent toward anyone else. Customer service doesn't seem to be a priority among the service industry. There just lacks a certain level of charm toward fellow people that I'm used to. I just imagine myself possibly feeling very lonely there. Lonely by indifference.

The city itself is very loud. Cars and horns and crowds. This wouldn't be something that would deter me though. Although the crowds can be frustrating if in a rush and line-ups are the norm, which is something I'd rather avoid. Unfortunately, my favourite part of NYC was Times Square. Go figure. The epitome of noise and crowdedness but I found it so fascinating. So many displays and logos. One of my biggest annoyances though, that also comes with the area of Midtown Manhattan was with all the people giving out flyers or trying to sell you something. As if the ads on the buildings and posters weren't enough, people are also walking advertisements. "Comedy show!" "Grand opening!" "Flashdancers!" Hand-outs of flyers for everything from McDonalds and Subway openings to business space for rent. People wearing signs. Flyers. Cards. Everywhere. Take. Take. Take. That was a bit much for me. I'll take the crowded sidewalks over that for sure.

Honk! It seems car horns are pointless in New York. A lot of side-streets had signs offering a $350 fine for cars caught honking. Refreshing. Frustrating was the endless honking on the main avenues and streets. If the light turns green and the first car hasn't already moved, there's already a horn sounding. But with so many horns, it eventually blends in as background noise and the only people it effects are the tourists like me. But maybe it adds to the charm that makes up New York?

Also interesting was how it seemed like the rules of traffic and cars vs. pedestrian seem to essentially be guidelines rather than rules. People wait for the light to change by standing a few feet from the sidewalk curb and cut through moving traffic to cross the street. Cars maneuver through pedestrians like kids on a waterslide. It amazed me how the two were both at odds with each other but yet still so in sync. It's like they inconvenience each other but at the same time, they're indifferent to the existence of the other.

New York has a lot of must-see attractions. A lot of which we didn't get to see unfortunately. The Statue of Liberty was out this time. We made our way to Ground Zero but the timing was off. It was the end of the workday and the crowds got to be too overwhelming so we had to leave before being able to pay proper respects. Central Park was a go though. It was a nice spot. Lots of fields but it didn't feel very parky to me. Maybe it was the presence of the road that cut through that was busy with taxis that took away the peaceful feeling that I expected or maybe I'm just used to the idea of a full victorian garden like the Halifax Public Gardens or a more natural feel like Point Pleasant Park. But in a huge city like New York, Central Park would make for a wonderful getaway from city life if only just for an afternoon.

Broadway was a treat. Wicked was amazing. Everything I knew about the Wizard of Oz went up in smoke like the wicked witch of the west after making contact with the bucket of water. All I can say is: who knew? Really? Adam scored me a copy of the book for my reading pleasure, which is first on my list of books to read once I make reading room for it. Avenue Q was an off-broadway show which was also very fun. Hilarious and purposely cheesy but also slightly low-brow and, as the song goes, "(everyone's a little bit) racist sometimes!"

Most of the days we spent walking throughout midtown taking in various sights. Broadway, Madison Avenue, 6th Avenue, Greenwich, Times Square and everything in the area. Walking for over an hour in a single direction made me feel like I was walking in circles. Eventually, you realize you're seeing the same stores over again and when surrounded by skyscrapers and people and cars, it starts to look the same. The good side of this is that you don't have to travel far to hit up any store you want. The bad thing... record stores don't exist in NYC.

I did enjoy the city though. Come Friday night, the last night in the city, I realized that I was going to miss it there. I quickly grew attached to New York and everything it had to offer. But it was also nice to return to a city that's still behind the times when it comes to the ability to purchase music. Albeit a very small city but at least we still have HMVs!

(photos will be added to the travel section as soon as I format them for the website.)