Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
— from Wear Sunscreen
I’ve been daydreaming this morning — reading about the differences between New York and San Francisco, as well as some recent advice about moving to San Francisco.
Who knows if we’d ever move. But it strikes me that I live in the biggest city in the U.S. by population, with tons of diversity and culture, and I rarely take advantage of it. (I’ve mentioned this before, and I say it not to complain, but merely to state a fact.) Whatever apartment we moved into would inevitably become messy and we still wouldn’t clean the bathroom as much as we should and we’d stay in too often.
So even if we stay in New York, I could at least try to get out more, try more new things, and keep a cleaner bathroom.
Wherever you go, there you are. It’s simpler to change yourself than to change your location. But it’s definitely not easier.
When i travel for extended periods of time i always bring a copy of Maupin’s “Tales of The City”, which cures any homesickness and is like re-visiting a favorite painting in some distant museum. It also captures the SF mostly gone, close to its fatal soon-summation, best expressed in Madrigal soliloquy regarding what loomed over Atlantis.
It’s a great city.