On New York City

Because of my recent Chicago visit, I find myself wondering whether or not to take the plunge, pick up my stuff and move there. Just go for it. Work there, live there. Do it. But I also find myself wondering what it is about this city that makes me feel like I just can't leave. Other than the obvious friends, family, a pretty strong comfort zone, the art scene, living 5 blocks from the Met, the East Village, the river parks, the restaurants, central park, Christmas in NY (oh who am I kidding the list goes on and on) just what is it that I would miss so terribly about this place:

• My over-priced apartment complete with a seriously leaky roof, a once-collapsed rotted leaky ceiling from leaky roof, bed bugs, windows that don't lock, a toilet that overflows maybe once a month and a lacking capable super?
• $10-12 daily lunches?
• A seven dollar box of cereal? For that matter: spending $60 on two bags of groceries?
  
• The three homeless people who rotate living on my front stoop?
• An hour and a half subway ride to the nearest beach?
• Having no control over the heat in the winter, which never comes on before it gets too cold and I have to revert to electric heaters, 3 extra blankets and sleeping in socks?
• Riding the most crowded subway line in the entire city; only having one subway line for the entire east side?
• Tourist season and trying to get to my office during the months of Nov-Feb?
• How the subway basically stops running when it's: raining, snowing, too hot or too cold?
• Standing, waiting for that subway when it's 90˚ outside and roughly oh I don't know, 115˚ on the platform?
• Subway fare hikes whenever the hell the MTA feels like it?
• My commute? But let's be serious, there's no need to re-hash that again.
• Bridge & Tunnel people. Any bar in the east 50s. Any holiday where drinking is required i.e. St Patrick's Day and the combination of any or all of the above?
• Cabbies nearly running me over on a daily basis? That one time I literally almost got hit by the M15?
  
• People in general being overtly rude, the stigma that just because this is NY you can be rude?
• Con Ed?
  
• Winter overstaying it's welcome, the lacking of a true spring and fall or that it's basically only ever three weather conditions in NYC: fucking hot, fucking cold or fucking rainy?
  

Something tells me that coming up with a list of thing I would honestly miss is going to take much much longer. Stay Tuned.