When you hit a certain age anywhere else starts to feel nicer than New York. You get tired of living inside what feels like a gigantic dirty car engine and want to see some grass.

nyc has probably been my favorite city in the US for… the entirety of my adult life

i have always loved the noise and chaos and energy of the city, how it’s so full of opportunity and excitement

but this last time i was there was the first time i felt an instant wave of anxiety hit me as soon as i stepped out of the subway in queens and honestly that feeling never quite left me the whole week i was there

even going for a run (typically a destresser for me) was a somewhat stress inducing event as i felt like i was running away from cars and loud noises the whole time and couldn’t rly get in the zone and cruise

i think it’s really hard to live a healthy life in nyc physically and mentally - maybe some can do it while they’re young but at a certain age (and esp with kids and pets) i think big sacrifices have to be made to make nyc your primary place of residence

experimenting @rehash // aka @ddwchen everywhere else // treegirl.substack.com // come hang /rehash /tobythecowdog

I survived 21 years in NYC. Left in 2020. Living 1hr away from midtown, is good enough for me now. Living next to mountains way cooler for this old man.