"I know New York, I need New York, I know I need unique New York."

DC Reflections Redux

For whatever reason, I've been having a lot of blog love for Mr. Bad Apologies recently. And when I read his reflections and praise for our hometown of DC, I found myself mentally composing my own and how my journey to New York both paralleled and diverged from Mr. BA's.

DC will always occupy something in me and no, I'm not one of its detractors. When people ask me where I'm from I will happily state without a sneer: "Washington, DC, but now living in New York." So what do I miss? Certainly the free museums, the wide boulevards, the shady streets off Dupont Circle, the cleanliness, the architecture of Cleveland Park, and the lazy quasi-European air of some areas of Northwest.

But I've also come to realize something -- New York is my home and my joy and it wasn't until my annual trip back for the holidays that I realized this. The slow pangs of urban withdrawl had me craving 85 cent coffee, the blaring of horns, and the freedom of my subway pass. I missed New York like a lover and only felt calmed when I emerged from the Lincoln Tunnel. Except for London, I can't imagine living anywhere else.

Everything that I love about DC (not including the free museums) has an easy substitute in New York -- shady streets of Park Slope, cafe culture of the East and West Villages, and wide boulevards around Grand Army Plaza that smack of federalism. New York is a walkers paradise and heaven for this gourmand. As hackneyed as it is, I really do heart New York.

Will I ever come back to DC? I can easily say that if I do, it won't be for a long time. Maybe London will lure me away with infidelities, but it wouldn't be long before those slow pangs would have me craving Lombardi's pizza, a 24 hr subway system, and a trip to the coffee cart.