The Biggest Differences Between NYC and Suburbia (in list form)

-Laundry is harder. It requires traveling. And quarters. Quarters are round, shiny things that are like money, but harder to find and collect. Unless you DO NOT want change, in which case, they procreate like bunnies when you aren’t looking.

-You grocery shop more. You only buy what you can carry home for a few blocks. Even minimal groceries become annoyingly heavy in a few blocks. I buy a lot of cheese. I try not to buy heavy things. Like milk. Screw you, heavy liquids!

-Some stores and shops only accept cash. This was a new and scary concept for me. I rarely carry cash, so I stand there like an idiot, waving around a debit card like “Pretty please? Let me use my magical unicorn money-card? I promise I’ll be good. I just NEED SOCKSSSS!”

-Lots better food options. Want cheap but delicious thin crust pizza? There are 5 different places within 3 blocks of my apartment. Multiply that by 3 for deli sandwiches, NOT including Subway or fast food. Never want to eat at a chain restaurant again? Easy. This isn’t even including all those famous expensive fine-dining restaurants I’ve never been to.

-You don’t need a car here. That means I no longer pay car insurance, car payments, gas, my annual speeding ticket (lead-foot over here), oil changes and maintenance costs, AAA membership fees, or for car washes. No one asks me to help them move, pick them up from the airport, or drive their cousin’s mom’s boyfriend’s best friend back from jail. But, I do miss going 90 on the highway, radio up, windows down, with the wind blowing on a nice sunny day.

-On the flip side, there is public transportation. It’s got its good and bad qualities. During the day, there are trains every few minutes that go everywhere in the city. It’s cheap, it’s easy, it’s (mostly) clean. After midnight, the trains are fewer and more far between, but they’re still there. On the downside, if it’s snowing or raining, some of them are delayed or stop altogether. If someone is sick, they can be delayed or stop altogether. You are at the whim of the conductor and train schedules, and have no say over what time you actually get somewhere. I kind of like that. “I wasn’t late because I changed my shirt 17 times or stopped for a sandwich on the way, the TRAIN was delayed.” Perfect excuse. Every time. EVERYONE here knows how the trains are. EVERYONE has been delayed because some idiot didn’t take off his jacket and passed out momentarily from the heat. It happens, we accept the bad with the good. And the trains are super convenient.

I guess it’s kind of a toss up. There are conveniences you can’t deny, in both situations. There are a lot more neighborhood stores and restaurants in NYC because you are most likely walking everywhere. You get more room to spread out and more greenery and parks in suburbia. I’ve lived in both, and I’ve loved both. It just depends on what you want and where you want to be, I suppose. Right now, I am City Girl. :)