From the time I was a little kid, New York was always what I longed for, even when I didn’t know I was longing for it. Maybe it was my Dad’s family in ties in Brooklyn. Maybe it was growing up with the Yankees on the transistor radio all summer long. Maybe it was taking trips into the city during the summer and feeling the heat radiating off the sidewalks while I watched people laughing, dancing, and arguing in Washington Square Park. Maybe it was the trips to the Natural History museum with my mom. Who knows? Some people have cities in their blood. New York City is most definitely in mine.

When everyone else left New York during the pandemic, I saw my opportunity. We moved mid-pandemic and we’ve happily been New Yorkers ever since.