Pantheon

New York City is one of those few places that someone can know rather intimately without ever having to go for a visit. It's a place of legend that is the setting for many movies, TV shows, novels, etc. With enough savvy, you could map all these places together in your head. That excited me about moving here. I would be able to walk where my heroes had walked. I could be in the same places as men and women of fame and accomplishment.

But then when you actually get here, you see how normal everything is. Gray's Papaya is just a regular hot dog stand, CBGB's is a dive bar where the punk bands play, and NYU is like any other urban college. They are fundamentally no different than any place else in the country. The only thing that accelerates these places into the pop culture is the vast amount of people in the city. They spread these legends of greatness by word of mouth. Artists use their mediums to spread their love of a certain place to the masses. The best and the brightest come here to compete for attention at these hallowed halls.

It's just the same as it is back home.

Not to say that the city is without it's stunning attractions. The Metropolitan Museum is a massive collection of ancient history, fine art, and culture from all over the world. Central Park is one of the biggest landscaping efforts in the world and is bigger than some cities here in the US. Battery Park City was artificially created to make Manhattan even bigger and even more full of skyscrapers.

Things like that will always amaze me. However, just because something's in New York, that don't mean it's the best in the world.