The mid-west has character. And the West coast, charisma. New York City, though ‚Äì she has personality and her individuality is with the people. I used to hear all the time about how America has no culture – obviously the voices of the ignorant, because if you’ve ever been to NYC, you’ll know that the variety people here bring a cultural flavor not even a pot luck at the county fair could touch.
Nearly twenty years ago, I trekked to NYC for the first time. My dad and I were on a trip headed back to New Jersey from Buffalo and decided to stop off for some site-seeing in the Big Apple. It was enamoring. All the concrete and steel was a goldmine to the fourteen-year-old skate punk that I was. And the cops didn’t even care that I was poppin’ grinds on their planters and rails. Certainly, couldn’t get away with that in Tempe.
It was cool and fun as my dad and I hiked around the valleys and canyons of skyscrapers and overpriced co-ops. Yep, all was well as we jaunted out to Ellis Isle to see the Statue of Liberty and a little genealogy until we returned to our car… well, where our car was supposed to be. Someone stole my dad’s brand-new car.
Man, talk about frustrations: brand new car stolen; I was supposed to return to Arizona the next day; everything I owned and cared about (music, clothes, and my skateboard – no one said I was deep teenager) was in the trunk of that car… and with my dad’s wallet! No money, no ID, we were hosed.
It is pretty silly to hold a grudge against a whole dang metropolis because two of her inhabitants pulled a dumb stunt, but that was my first experience here, and I hadn’t forgiven her for nearly two decades. I had no desire to be a part of this city until now.
We haven’t enjoyed the same attention as our West Coast Web cousins, but now there is a resurgence here. Tech is going through a re-birth and the buzz is starting to hum. I’m seeing “Silicon Alley 2.0” and I’m not sure that’s a good name, kinda trite. Personally, I like Silicon Alley: Resurgence… but then, they’re both kinda corny. Corny sells, though. Maybe it’ll be something completely different. It’s coming soon, though. I can feel it.
In the coming months, NYC is hosting some wild Webish shindigs:
Social gatherings of the geekhood:
And a host of entrepreneurial extravaganzas:
(There’s actually a few sites in particular here that need an extra call-out.) NYC entrepreneurial must reads:
Oh, and get some smarts:
Smart Experience
And that’s just a smidgen.
I’ve been coming up here just about every weekday for the past 6 months and I have to say, I have met some many interesting people involved with technology, art and design. And how many different accents?? It’s awesome, she’s awesome. NYC and me, we’re starting over, it’s a whole new relationship.
That’s awesome; how exciting for you! I’d like to just pick up and move; I feel like I”m in a place in my life where totally starting over in a new place could really do me some good. Maybe if I Put IT Out There, the universe will listen up…
Heya, Yeah. It’s really cool. It’s amazing how we can go through half of our lives having an aversion to something we don’t even really know anything about.
I believe there is Someone even larger than the Universe who is definitely listening. ;-)