We do have a car here in NYC. We needed it for our business, but now just have it to check in on my mom and shuttle the kids back and forth to college. It is an expense that I question now that our business is closed, but it's nice to "have around." That said, I can't imagine car culture—it's so foreign to me. To that point, I haven't driven in 20 years! I need to get back to driving, but that's another story for a different day :)
I used to take public transit to work during my first year living in the Bay Area. It was a long commute between a train ride and a bus ride. I also read the most during that time. Now that I have avery short commute (very grateful for that), I do miss the hustle and bustle of seeing my fellow commuters and feeling a bit closer to the rhythm of the city.
We totally binged all seasons it over a course of a few months. I think I wanted to watch something that reminded me of “better” times haha and I can’t do a gilmore girls rewatch anymore.
I feel you, Jena. I live in Hong Kong , a vibrant city notorious for its busyness, and noise. It's 8am on Friday morning now. I can already hear the traffic on the main road.
This year I intentionally allow my mind wonder about for at least 30 mins a day, slow down, declutter. Quite often I do this sitting inside my favourite cafe and watch people passing by.
Stress is in the air at my city. Slowing down is like a shield, so I can live more present, connect deeply .
“Slowing down is like a shield.” Love that phrasing. Yes, it is. I live in Brooklyn within walking distance to a large city park and life is a little slower here than Manhattan, the buildings shorter so more visible sky. It makes all the difference for me.
I have the luxury of doing this slow down when I drop into NYC on the weekends -- still faster than my weekday life in rural Connecticut, though! -- and I got to do this last week on the Tube in London. There is so much humanity in these little interactions/moments that happen inside public transit, and they keep me going after a week listening to podcasts while working at the desk job.
Even though I live in Brooklyn, sometimes I feel this way when I venture into Manhattan. Returning back to my quiet Brooklyn life. 😅 Curious though, do you prefer the rural life to the city?
Haha, I can certainly understand the (relatively) quiet Brooklyn life, especially the further south you head along the borough! I mean, I've learned to make myself content with the rural life, especially with the job I have and being stuck here through 2020 and most of 2021 in the lockdowns. Having a gym open 24/7 and pretty empty at certain hours is the best. But I would love more options for dinner when I don't want to cook on a Friday night, more running options without having to hop in a car, and a bigger dating pool in a city (or even suburban) setting.
A very good question! I just wrote about attempting slow living in Sydney and I do think the environment can impact your nervous system but there are always ways to incorporate peace!
Am I breaking a rule by leaving a comment before fully reading your post? OK, hopefully not, just let this be my first comment and I will be back with something more substantive. I just have to say that the title of this piece is beautiful, and those Edward Gorrey envelopes are magnificent. I have this idea about hosting a monthly craft night that involves hand decorating postcards or cards or whatever, so we can send notes through the mail to people we want to connect with. To be continued!!!
Fun idea. Though is it weird that I am not really crafty?? You can be arty but not crafty?? Like I should have been THAT mom doing crafty things with my young children all the time, but I had to motivate myself to do the few crafty things I did with them?
I am definitely not crafty. I’m not even that arty. That’s part of why I want to do this. Just to do it, especially with other people I want to know better.
Here’s an example of my “art.” a friend and I were having a rant-y conversation about stickers on produce. Like, why do apples all have stickers on them now?? Sort of a kidding-not-kidding rant in which we laughed a lot and became totally absurd. Since then I’ve collected produce stickers on a piece of card stock which I’ll cut it to postcard size and send her. BEHOLD! MY ART! 😂
You've captured a feeling I loved most in my many years in New York. The brief times (as a student on a break, a young adult in between jobs, the pandemic) when I got to witness the city as an outsider. It feels like magic each time I have a street or park or store "to myself," knowing that these places exist only because of the work put in by so many others. It was one of my favorite feelings, and I'm surprised and grateful to encounter it here
We do have a car here in NYC. We needed it for our business, but now just have it to check in on my mom and shuttle the kids back and forth to college. It is an expense that I question now that our business is closed, but it's nice to "have around." That said, I can't imagine car culture—it's so foreign to me. To that point, I haven't driven in 20 years! I need to get back to driving, but that's another story for a different day :)
It’s weird when you slow down you realize how rushed we are, and that it is all our own doing. Life goes on.
Totally our own doing. But it's because we feel the need to keep up, I guess!
I used to take public transit to work during my first year living in the Bay Area. It was a long commute between a train ride and a bus ride. I also read the most during that time. Now that I have avery short commute (very grateful for that), I do miss the hustle and bustle of seeing my fellow commuters and feeling a bit closer to the rhythm of the city.
Catching up on reading was the best part of the commute.
Ooohh…I’ve been thinking about rewatching Lost. Glad to hear it holds up!
We totally binged all seasons it over a course of a few months. I think I wanted to watch something that reminded me of “better” times haha and I can’t do a gilmore girls rewatch anymore.
I’ve done several Gilmore Girls rewatches. :) I just finished a third rewatch of a Canadian show that I LOVE…Being Erica. There’s time travel!
thanks for the netflix recommend content, lost;
it gave me a reason to use my free netflix subscription courtesy of t-mobile <⭐️3
Midway through series gets kinda weird and mind bending, but I really love this series.
I feel you, Jena. I live in Hong Kong , a vibrant city notorious for its busyness, and noise. It's 8am on Friday morning now. I can already hear the traffic on the main road.
This year I intentionally allow my mind wonder about for at least 30 mins a day, slow down, declutter. Quite often I do this sitting inside my favourite cafe and watch people passing by.
Stress is in the air at my city. Slowing down is like a shield, so I can live more present, connect deeply .
“Slowing down is like a shield.” Love that phrasing. Yes, it is. I live in Brooklyn within walking distance to a large city park and life is a little slower here than Manhattan, the buildings shorter so more visible sky. It makes all the difference for me.
I have the luxury of doing this slow down when I drop into NYC on the weekends -- still faster than my weekday life in rural Connecticut, though! -- and I got to do this last week on the Tube in London. There is so much humanity in these little interactions/moments that happen inside public transit, and they keep me going after a week listening to podcasts while working at the desk job.
Even though I live in Brooklyn, sometimes I feel this way when I venture into Manhattan. Returning back to my quiet Brooklyn life. 😅 Curious though, do you prefer the rural life to the city?
Haha, I can certainly understand the (relatively) quiet Brooklyn life, especially the further south you head along the borough! I mean, I've learned to make myself content with the rural life, especially with the job I have and being stuck here through 2020 and most of 2021 in the lockdowns. Having a gym open 24/7 and pretty empty at certain hours is the best. But I would love more options for dinner when I don't want to cook on a Friday night, more running options without having to hop in a car, and a bigger dating pool in a city (or even suburban) setting.
Those are extremely good reasons to want something a little more!
Beautiful observations of our city. Thank you!
Thank you so much for reading 🫶
A very good question! I just wrote about attempting slow living in Sydney and I do think the environment can impact your nervous system but there are always ways to incorporate peace!
Maybe this is a very timely topic! And not surprising that so many of us are asking this. The world just seems to move faster than ever before.
Very true, we are living in chaos!
Here is the post if you fancied a read! https://open.substack.com/pub/sineadconnolly/p/what-if-slow-living-isnt-the-answer?r=tdxdn&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for sharing with me! And that beet dish is beautiful!
Thank you for reading!
Am I breaking a rule by leaving a comment before fully reading your post? OK, hopefully not, just let this be my first comment and I will be back with something more substantive. I just have to say that the title of this piece is beautiful, and those Edward Gorrey envelopes are magnificent. I have this idea about hosting a monthly craft night that involves hand decorating postcards or cards or whatever, so we can send notes through the mail to people we want to connect with. To be continued!!!
Fun idea. Though is it weird that I am not really crafty?? You can be arty but not crafty?? Like I should have been THAT mom doing crafty things with my young children all the time, but I had to motivate myself to do the few crafty things I did with them?
I am definitely not crafty. I’m not even that arty. That’s part of why I want to do this. Just to do it, especially with other people I want to know better.
Here’s an example of my “art.” a friend and I were having a rant-y conversation about stickers on produce. Like, why do apples all have stickers on them now?? Sort of a kidding-not-kidding rant in which we laughed a lot and became totally absurd. Since then I’ve collected produce stickers on a piece of card stock which I’ll cut it to postcard size and send her. BEHOLD! MY ART! 😂
Wait, I saw someone's sketchbook thread that featured fruit stickers recently!
You've captured a feeling I loved most in my many years in New York. The brief times (as a student on a break, a young adult in between jobs, the pandemic) when I got to witness the city as an outsider. It feels like magic each time I have a street or park or store "to myself," knowing that these places exist only because of the work put in by so many others. It was one of my favorite feelings, and I'm surprised and grateful to encounter it here