i see people leaving NYC, and i get it. the city IS pricey, and changing.

but some of us who were born here, who lived through blackouts and a recession, the Crack era, Giuliani and 9/11, love the city for more than the parties, restaurants, celebrities and fashion.

some of us see the city and love it in spite of any of those things. NYC is the longest commitment i’ve made to anything. and the reason the city feeds me, i now understand, is because i feed the city back. i support my neighborhood, i shop local, i embrace the parks and people.

i think a lot of folx treat NYC as a pit stop and not a home, and that’s when you miss the magic. and that’s fine. but if you were only looking to take and not share, not give back, then you’ll never be happy. not in NYC, not anywhere.

i get defensive when folx judge the city. because i can see it wasn’t what they expected; it wasn’t a SATC episode or they didn’t get the flashy editorial gig. granted some folx HAVE to leave. but there are those who are leaving because NYC didn’t give them what they wanted.