Screwtape Chronicles

9 March 2008

My New Country, Part One

Posted by Ryan

“Ain’t going to the town, we’re going to the city…”

It’s been five weeks since I moved to New York. On the whole, they’ve been good weeks. Sure, I’ve spent some nights wondering what the hell I’ve gotten myself into, silently freaking out and thinking that perhaps this decision is the latest in a string of bad life decisions that I have recently made. That’s about par for the course, though. Mostly, things have gone well. I got a job, I’m slowly starting to meet people, I’m figuring out a routine, I’m beginning to learn the neighborhoods a little bit, and on and on. It’s been good.

Something’s been gnawing at the back of my mind from the moment I stepped off the train five weeks ago, though. Something has always felt off about this entire place. For the first couple weeks, I thought it was just me adjusting to the move. And I bet part of it is… but I knew then and know now that it is something more than that. I figured it out last night. Last night was weird in that I left the apartment to search for a DVD rental place and I ended up just walking down Bedford Ave for about forty five minutes (all the way from my place to the Bedford stop on the L train aka 2.5 miles). It was on this walk that I realized what’s been bothering me for the last five weeks: New York is not the country I grew up in.

Take, for example, how I enter my current (sublet) apartment. I have to walk through three locked doors just to get inside. And the third door has two pretty serious locks. For those doing the math at home, that means I have four keys to my place. On top of that, the first two doors both have two locks a piece (one key per two locks). Sometimes, then, I have to unlock six locks just to get inside. Say what you want about Texas, but you don’t need six locks to protect your home there.

My current neighborhood of residence, Bed-Stuy, is quite different than any place I have ever lived. I am in a pronounced minority here. I don’t have a problem with that, but I’ll also say that it’s a bit jarring when the only white face you see in your neighborhood is the one that looks back at you in the mirror. It’s also more than a little jarring when you realize that cops patrol the streets here around the clock (they are especially conspicuous at night). I won’t lie; I’ve heard gunshots in the distance at least once or twice since I moved in. Which isn’t to say that I don’t feel safe here, because I do feel safe enough. Constant police presence is a new feeling.

The whole idea of public transportation is completely different in New York. In Texas, everyone has a car. Public transportation is an afterthought, and if someone brings it up they are thought to be joking. People from Texas know what I mean, but if you’re not from Texas I’ll just say this: the Houston area road system is always under construction. Not because it needs repairs (although many roads do), but because new roads are always being built. Because instead of spending money on public transportation, Texas would rather spend it building roads. And that’s fine. That’s just not how it is here. Here most people are concerned about improving the train system.

I could go on and on about what’s different up here in New York (and I will in the weeks to come). Suffice to say, though, that it feels like living in new country. I did not grow up this way. I did not grow up in a liberal, fast paced, multicultural, massive metropolis. Which is what New York is. Everything is so different here that I don’t even know that I’d call it America. At least, I don’t know that I’d call the America that I know. Hence, it’s my new country.

NOTE: This is the first essay in an ongoing series about life in New York City. Stick around as I expound upon each of the topics touched briefly upon in this essay and explore many other topics… we’re just getting started here.

6 Comments currently posted. Trackback URL

Charles says:

I’m excited to find out about NYC, since I’ve never so much as entered the county. I’ve been to Buffalo though.

Charles says:

Frank says:

You are very perceptive. NYC is different. It is somewhat like being in a different country. I remember when I first moved to Texas (as I child) I was doing well just to understand what people were saying. Likewise with my yankee accent the reverse was true. It is not quite like that today since our society has become very mobile.

Alexandra says:

where is part 2?

Katherine says:

Hey there! I’ve just now returned to the land of available internet, so i’m catching up on all i missed. earlier today, my mom ran into the mother of one of my elementary school classmates, who apparently just moved to nyc. no place, no job, no plan - just hopped a plane with a couple of suitcases and some fruitless attempts at reassuring her mother. since then, she’s found a roommate, found a place, and is working for good housekeeping magazine, and loving every minute of the city. i felt a rush of smug, juvenile, but completely righteous triumph on behalf of her, and you, and everyone else i know who’s had the guts to do what you’re doing. so today’s a good day for me to tell you again how DAMN PROUD i am of you and how excited i am for the new life you’ve made yourself. i look forward to reading your next batch of … whatever your ballzy brilliant self comes out with next.