I trust I should not betray such an opinion, even if I were so uncouth as to hold it. 
Sort of like cable TV. If you have 300 channels you have a better chance of finding something you like than if you have 40.
Oh, and what’s this bullshit about NYC getting hot? I was there in July and thoroughly comfortable.
There is no such thing as a “house or yard” in Manhattan (which is what people really mean 90% of the time when they are talking about NYC). Maybe you can have that way far out in Statan Island or Queens, but we are talking pretty far out there.
People who don’t live in Manhattan and were raised in the suburbs sometimes have trouble wrapping their mind around it. My friend and his wife out in Indiana were asking how much my rent was (2002) and I’m like $1800 a month. They were shocked and exclaimed that it was more than their mortgage (three bedroom house with a yard, central air next to a lake). When they asked how many rooms it was, I’m like “it’s a studio…so technically it’s ‘one’.”
It actually is hard to find a decent appartment in Manhattan unless you are a lawyer, investment banker, management consultant or media person unless you live three people in a converted two bedroom. That’s why a lot of people are moving to Harlem, Jersey City, Williamsburg Brooklyn or even Long Island City Queens.
Your concept of ‘space’ is a bit different in the City. In the suburbs, you have your house and yard that is more or less isolated to just you and your family. There are other points of interest around town that you drive to, but they are distinct and separate from your living area.
In Manhattan (or even Hoboken, NJ) you have your appartment which is your own personal private space, but you also have about a ten block square area that is your immediate neigborhood. Basically any place you can walk to within about 5-10 minutes. When I lived in the East Village, that area consisted of Union Square Park, a Virgin Megastore, two Barnes & Nobel, half a dozen Starbucks, a dozen bars, several nightclubs (Webster Hall and what used to be Spa), a NYSC gym, all manner of restaurants, the shops on St Marks Place, a Blockbuster video, clothing shops, as well as your more mundane amenities like grocery stores, dry cleaners, drug stores and whatnot.
By contrast, when I go to my parents house in Connecticut with their big yard and woods and everything, I’m litterally like a prisoner there unless I can get a ride. And I don’t even know where I would want to go to anyway.
Okay, point taken! I’m not trying to imply I never see rudeness… just that it doesn’t seem to come from a visceral place of hatred. Like when I see a guy flip another guy off I get the sense that it’s more of a cultural habit than any real ill-will. Because 5 seconds later everything is forgotten. New York is extremely good at moving forward. At lightning speed, mind you.
I have given it thought and I’m not sure I would be happy here for the rest of my life. I miss the Midwest, particularly my little liberal diversity bubble, Ann Arbor, Michigan. I would move back to Ann Arbor in a heartbeat if I had a degree and a guaranteed job. That is really where my home is. Where I will ultimately end up remains to be seen. First there are years of education.