There comes a time in the life of every New Yorker when they are forced to leave the city, whether for a short vacation or to move away for good. No matter the circumstance, you will find yourself missing certain things about the city, and here are the top five:
The Food
New York has the best bagels and some of the best pizza in the country, hands down. It could be something about the quality of the water, or some unique top-secret New York technique, but whatever it is, it's working.
Almost as amazing as the city's specialties is the vast and mouthwatering selection of cuisines and items you can find in any neighborhood at almost any time. Dumplings at 2:00 in the morning, burritos for breakfast, and sushi for lunch? Why not!
You may underestimate just how much you love bagels and ordering in (hello Seamless, the best thing since takeout itself) until you leave the city and experience a life of knock offs and having to actually leave your house in order to get food, but that only means it will all be that much more wonderful when you finally return.
The Pace
Not only is New York the city that never sleeps, it's the city that never slows down. New Yorkers are known for walking fast, but really what's not to like. You can be in and out of a shop for a quick errand in a flash, and while this may seem like a universal norm for New York natives, once you leave, you will soon find (to much dismay) that this is not the case in most other places.
The Subway
It's easy to hate the subway while you're living in the city. In fact, complaining about the MTA seems to be a favorite form of small talk among New Yorkers, and with good reason. Most of the time at least one line is down or partially functional. If you try to take the train any time late at night or on the weekend you can end up waiting forever. It's often crowded, and inevitably will be the most crowded when you've got a long ride and a ton of bags. All in all, it can be a total pain... Until you experience some other metro systems.
New York has one of the only 24 hour subway systems in the world. So even if you're waiting for what feels like forever for a train at the end of the night, at least it's still running. The trains may seem confusing and annoying but their routes actually make it pretty easy to get from one place to another with as few inconvenient transfers as possible. And to top it all off, we have a huge system of buses to complement the trains and make life even easier (even if they are some of the slowest buses ever).
The People
New Yorkers are a unique collection of people and the city is the perfect place for people watching. If for no other reason than the variety and the sense of urgency that seems to fill the many people of New York, it's an amazing crowd to run in and be a part of.
The Views
It can be hard to see everyday but the city is full of stunning views. From the top floor of any tall building you can see the spread of the whole city the surrounds you, and even on street level, it is amazing what you see every time you look up. Every New Yorker knows the best view of all is that of the skyline itself, especially as you head back home to the city at long last.
