It is a shame, 10 years ago I couldn't imagine living anywhere else in the world. I've been to some nice cities. At one point I moved close to Nashville and asked myself if I could be happy here for the rest of my life and I said yes, but after one year I grew extremely bored. I missed NYC. I missed the fact that I could taste the world through all the different ethnic restaurants. I missed being able to live without a car and walk and take the train anywhere. I loved the 24 hour energy and meeting all the great new people.
When people ask me what is so great about NYC I drag them to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and point to the Temple... yes... how many fregging cities in the world outside of Egypt have a real life Egyptian temple transported from Egypt stone by stone! Amazing really.
Then things changed. I realized that no matter now diverse NYC appears, I realized many of the people were the same and voice of opposition was frown upon. Sometimes I see glimmers and it gives me hope, especially among the young, but more often than not I am disappointed, but at the same time they are disappointed with me. My favorites quotes from women in NYC.
"Your conservative? but you seem so intelligent"
"You can't be conservative... your face.. it looks so...so liberal (I am Chinese)."
I love studying kung fu in NYC with my sifu Wong from China. He is a certified bad ass who moves with lightening speed, at a 130 lbs hits with more force than 250 lbs, has legs and arms made of iron and genuinely the best teacher in the world, and the most kind hearted. This is the real reason I have stayed for so long but I will commit coming to see him twice a month even if it is a four hour drive.
And then there is the family, I will set up something in NH and if the SHTF and they are not smart enough to come see me then god bless them and i wish them the best. The thing is even if things done get bad and everything gets better, I will still be self sufficient and learn things that will make me a great citizen and person, at least that is my goal.