How often do you leave New York City? Rarely, always, never?
If the answer is rarely or never, crossing over a bridge or driving through a tunnel can have some devastating effects.
Especially if you forget how people live their lives in the outside world. New Yorkers usually have a tough adjustment to life in other cities.
Here are 7 struggles New Yorkers experience when in other cities.
1. Slow walkers
We’re not going to alter our dog-eat-dog mentality just because we’re in Minnesota for three days. Sorry.
We’re still going to try and jam in six different activities into one day, which means we’re going to have to rush back and forth like crazed folks. Because that's exactly who we are.
[anad]
So when everyone is moseying along at a galactic, sluggish pace, it can get sort of frustrating. We don’t like having to dodge twelve people on the sidewalk just because we're what normal people call "speed walkers."
2. Slow people... in general
photog_maureen Daily Commute. NYC 2015 #maureenfernandezphotography #maureenfernandez #nyc #newyorkcity #pennstation #streetphotographer #documentaryphotography #streetphotography #everybodystreet #commute #walkthisway #Photography #tbt #photooftheday
Like we said, our mentality will not change just because we’ve taken the trek to another city. If you're running out for lunch solo, it’s because you have seven minutes, tops, to purchase and consume a sandwich.
So when your sandwich guy uses up three of those seven minutes by slowly-- one by one-- placing peppers on your sandwich, it can get kind of upsetting.
This also goes out to the people on line, in front of us. Can you get your dollars, quarters, and credit cards out of your wallets a little quicker please?
We weren't planning to wait behind you at the cash register all afternoon, ya know?
3. Cheaper prices
dobbinsthegreat Maybe they could offer the marinara sauce as an extra to keep the price a bit more competitive... #nycprices #grubhub #ues #3guys
Right now you’re probably like, why are cheaper prices on this list? Aren’t cheaper prices like, awesome?
And you know what, you’re right. When I go to brunch with my friend in Philadelphia and I’m completely prepared to spend $35, and then the check comes and I only owe $11, I am so momentarily over-excited.
But that initial excitement ebbs to anxiety pretty quickly. Then it immediately fades to existential queasiness, where a voice in the back of your head is like, "Why do you live in a city where you have to pay so much when you could live in this city where you don’t have to pay very much?"
And then you look around and you recall you're not in NYC, and you remember why you actually do live there.
Let's be serious, you’re not going to run your all-time favorite celebrity in Minnesota, now are you? Probably not.
4. Cars
So, you might ride in the occasional taxi or Uber (okay, okay, you may ride in these vehicles more than occasionally).
But the concept of owning your own car, which you can drive wherever you want, whenever you want, and which you have absolutely no trouble finding a parking spot for? This can be perplexing-- and a luxury seasoned New Yorkers are downright unprepared for.
This can get worse, based on a few circumstances.
[anad2]
One is if you’re expected to actually drive a car after a night of drinking-- which is never, never a good idea.
It’s also terrible when you can’t find a parking spot. It's horrible to drive around for ten minutes looking for a parking spot every time you go out to dinner.
Good thing New Yorkers never have to worry about that... know what we mean?
,5. Designated drivers
dansilov #newyork #nyc #newyorkstreets #newyorkatnight #citylights #manhattan #nyctraffic #traffic #nightlights #fifthavenue #latergram #leftovers #nofilter
Among that same aforementioned vein, having to choose someone to stay sober so you can make it home alive at the end of the night? What a disaster!
Luckily, Uber is gradually alleviating this problem for suburban partiers.
[anad]
But you've definitely been in situations where you could only drink two beers because you wanted to be able to leave whenever you wanted-- which is pretty terrible-- but definitely better than having to sleep on someone’s basement floor because they’re the ones who stayed sober enough to drive.
6. Nature
severinghaus Crazy colors along the West Pond. Glad I picked up a plant guide at the visitor center! #JamaicaBay #NYCNature
It’s sort of a misconception that you can’t find nature anywhere in NYC. Actually, that’s totally a misconception. Whoever said that should go to a city park; and trust us, there are tons of them.
But if it’s winter and all of NYC’s gardens are barren, and the trees are void of leaves, sometimes you just want to glimpse the stars. And from most spots in NYC, that’s just not happening.
Our streetlights and buildings are gorgeous, but our city gives off so much light that it blinds us to the light shining above us.
So when you’re a New Yorker and you’re in another city, and it’s a clear and night, and you gulp in a fresh breath of air and see the stars above whirling their light down at you, you kind of have one of those "Why do I live in NYC?" moments.
But then, you remember you live in NYC because it makes your life utterly and completely awesome, so there’s that.
7. Nothing to do
When the top notch activity is to go to the movies, New Yorkers in other cities are sort of like what is this?
You don’t have any movie stars or clubs or poetry readings or any of the other awesome stuff that we’re completely used to?
[anad2]
Your idea of fun is to eat at Chilli’s and then walk around Target to kill time before seeing a movie?
Well then... now we know why we pay so much more in rent than you.
Check out 10 Insanely Annoying Things That Make You Want to Leave NYC!
[Feature Image Courtesy Vid Fame]