According to Urban Dictionary, you know you’re a New Yorker when:

“You say “the city” and expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan.

You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.

The subway makes sense.

The most frequently used part of your car is the horn. 

You think Central Park is ‘nature.'”

Click here to view an entire list of what makes you a New Yorker.

I am most definitely NOT a New Yorker.  As my best friend would say, I don’t know how to cross a city street (because pushing the “walk” button doesn’t count).  I’m from San Diego, 8th largest city in the United States with an estimated 1.307 million residents.  So I should know about cities right?  WRONG!  I moved to Ventura, California when I was 7 and the population is barely crawling past 106,400 thousand people.

So when I went to “the city” in 2008, I was mind blown.

My aunt and uncle used to live in Chelsea, a neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan.  I took this picture out of their loft window:

It was weird to me, seeing all the big buildings and winding streets, beautiful, but strange.

We went in April, but it still felt like winter.  All the people were still decked out in their long black clothes and all the women wore tall black boots and (faux) fur hats.  It seemed as if they all carried the same cups of coffee in their right hands and their breaths mingled together, swirling and white  in the early spring air.  Such uncanny, unintentional synchronization was fascinating.

Where I live, people do all sorts of things.  One time I went to go see a movie with my dad and a guy with a toilet plunger ran down Main Street screaming and doing back flips off the sides of buildings.  So obviously, New York was a complete change of pace.

The height of the buildings alone impressed me.  We walked though Times Square and I looked up to see this:

Not only were the buildings tall, they were beautiful.  I had never seen such modern and sophisticated architecture (that I can remember).  I liked how I could see the reflection of buildings in other buildings.  Like this:

And some were unusual shapes.  Like this:

Well, needless to say, I fell in love with New York City.  Its beauty, its grace, its style, unforgettable.  I’ll continue my story later.  But I have to save a few photos and anecdotes for my next post(s).  Until, then, check out the links.  I promise they’re not just Wikipedia pages.  They’re cool.  See ya!