New York state of mind

New York was the first US city I’ve visited. It was May 2006 and I was going to visit my dear friend Luca who moved there a few years before. Since then, I’ve been in New York City for a fair amount of times, enough to be one of my favorite destinations and my favorite in the US (closely followed by San Francisco, but don’t say it out loud).

Problem is, I still don’t quite know what New York City stands for. It’s definitively not what I was expecting. But I might well quote Madonna here and say that New York is a state of mind. The one I’m in right now, after recently spending there 8 great days for the Social Media Week.

With great power comes great responsibility

One of New York’s most famous citizen is Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. I’m sure his city views are quite different from what we humans are used to, but he knows exactly that New York is not only offering exciting, glamorous, juicy and multicultural opportunities it’s also carefully selecting the worthy.

In particular, if you hate New York City, I’m sorry to say, but that’s a strong sign that you just don’t deserve being part of it. A classical expression of cognitive dissonance. On the other side, if you unconditionally love New York City, you might be just too rich to be unbiased. So there we go. You can only love and hate New York City at the same time. In other words, do like New Yorkers do.

Get carried away

You can have New York City your way, perfectly tailored to your needs. Of course, you’re going to need a reasonable credit card limit. But whatever you’re into, there are some places and experiences you cannot miss. These are my 3 (+1) favorites, those I will probably never get tired of.

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Opened in 2009, this park is one of the newest must see landmarks, especially at sunset when the Meatpacking District turns into New York City’s arguably funnest area.

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I don’t really have to explain why you can’t miss MoMa and PS1, do I? Your life won’t probably be the same anymore after you’ve been at least once to these galleries. PS1 is in Queens, but don’t worry, it’s really easy to reach and you’ll get a breathtaking view of Manhattan as a bonus.

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During my last visit in New York City, my friend Gabe introduced me to great food places in Manhattan. I loved all of them, but if I have to pick up one, then Kanoyama would be my undisputed first choice. That sushi is sooo good! いただきます！！！

Update

Very conveniently, fuse.tv recently published a 100 Best Songs About NY playlist on Spotify.