Why would anyone want to live in New York City anyway?

Before leaving Virginia, there was a little goodbye party for me.  A few friends and acquaintances from the ward came by the house to chat one last time.  One of the girls brought up a conversation she had recently with her friends where they all agreed how awful it sounds to live in New York City.  She listed off a slew of reasons why New York City sounded like a hectic, crowded mess.  Then she paused and said, "We asked ourselves why anyone would want to live there.  So I figured I would ask you...since you're going."  haha Oh goody.

I see both sides of the story.  18 year-old me really hated New York.  I saw what this girl in my ward saw.  It was hot, humid, dirty, crowded, etc.  But there's something exciting about it to me now.  I love that it is such a melting pot, and you can overhear several languages in the duration of a day.  I love stumbling upon a musician in a subway stop or central park.  I love the delicious, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and cafes that are not a part of a chain...and only exist in that particular city.  I love riding the subway.  How bizarre is that?  I love being able to sit down next to a stranger during my travels.  I love that on the subway, I can read a book or people watch whereas, in a car it's more of sitting in traffic and worrying about a fellow driver crashing into me in inclement weather.  I love the broadways, the fashion, and the fast pace.  The history, monuments and museums.  I love that there's not a cookie cutter of who belongs there.  From the fancy gents in the Financial District to the "suffering for their art" musicians and artists.  You don't have to fit any certain mold, which I appreciate.

While I spent the majority of the summer being a stress case about living in New York, I get more and more excited every day.  But I still have my concerns.  Let me welcome you into a combo of practical and irrations fears I have of living in NYC:

• New York is an expensive little land.  Going into mass amounts of debt stresses me a fair bit.  On this occasion and many others, I have wished that I was friends with Oprah.  Surely she'd give me an opportunity to work for some money for school right? haha Embarrassing little train of thought.
• I'm a bit afraid that in my field work assignments, that I'll run into situations that will be way over my head.  I have always loved when people ask me for advice and stuff, but I'm sure there are some crazy circumstances that would have me stumped and probably red faced because I don't relate.  That will be fun and I will probably blog about it.  Stay tuned. haha
• I feel like my dating opportunities are going to be a whole new world.  One of my big fears here, is my chances of being Michael Scoffielded (having a huge crush on a gentleman who actually likes men) go way up.  I haven't had to deal with that type of heart break yet but...I feel like this is where it would happen to me. haha

I'm going to be fine and I'm actually super stoked.  But I figured I would record some of these random fears of mine to look back on when I'm actually there and experiencing everything first hand.  For one of my next posts, I can update you on dating stories.  Because...if you've been reading this blog for very long, I have some doozies to add to the list.  Love from Colorado,

Mal