New York
I'll be honest. I don't really like New York City. I've always felt that, though fascinating, there is a certain disconnect between the natural world and the East Coast in general, NYC in specific. Yes, I know there are parks and great natural areas in the east, but the area was the first area to be settled in the USA. Drive around much of the East Coast and you see the same thing: an old, crowded, dirty place that reeks of tiredness.Yes, NYC is always in a state of renewal and yes, it's not really that old of a place when it comes to the surface and it's not really tired (in fact, its state of perpetual motion is something else entirely) but it is crowded and dirty and the biggest natural spot you can find, Central Park, is horribly crowded. Try finding a bit of solitude there.
There's other things to hate about NYC. The high cost of living, the shitty living conditions for people making a blue collar wage, the prevalence of the most monied of the upperclass and the aspiring idiots that want to be them (for a good example of this, watch "The Apprentice" on NBC and then proceed to laugh at how everyone makes fools of themselves while slitting each other's throats). I also detest the common New Yorker's attitude that NYC is the center of the universe. It isn't. Get over it already.
There's even stuff to hate within the restaurant scene there. Way too much money chasing way too many trends that eventually get overhyped and crumble under their own weight; trends for trends' sake, which usually emerge in NYC. I mean, come on, was foam ever a good idea for garnishing food? Ugh. (About the only exception to this trend is the use of ultra-scientific thinking to produce cool food tricks ... it appeals to my inner geek).
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I hate NYC. Nice to visit, but why the hell would I want to live there?
Because it's NYC. For all there is to hate about it, the simple fact of the matter is that the population density and the sheer amount of money in the city make it a great place to start the next phase of my career - becoming a restauranteur. I don't mean that in the traditional way of being someone who owns and runs restaurants. Instead, I mean it in the sense of someone that coordinates the development and launch of restaurants. I love the idea of managing the process of creation of a restaurant idea to opening ... it's fascinating to see the ideas come together and I know I could be a success at it (when I am ready to do it - I still need more practical experience in how a restaurant works, and, more importantly, how to deal with people).
So the simple fact of the matter is there's a lot of people that want to open restaurants that are in NYC. I want to open restaurants. Therefore, one of the best places I can be is NYC.
Can I swallow my pride and live in NYC? Perhaps that's the next big step ... after learning how to deal with people.
3 Comments:
Sorry - you just don't understand. Go open a restaurant somewhere else. You'll thank me some day.
Don't understand what exactly? If it's in regard to my dislike of NYC, yeah, I don't see the appeal ... I think it's quite obvious that I'm not that kind of person that loves NYC ... but there are things about NYC that I do enjoy that outclass anything offered by anywhere else. You get that with such a large concentration of people and money. One of those opportunities is the type of work I see in my future. All of this really just is a struggle between personal preferences vs professional desires. I would love to be in an environment where you didn't have to have meat and potatoes on the menu. NYC is one of those places. About the only other place in the US where that much money seems to be chasing that many interesting ideas is Las Vegas.
Keep thinking and moving forward Marty. Our future destinations are never final. So there is nothing to worry about. Saying, "you just don't understand" is an oversimplified statement. You have to work, work and then work some more to begin to understand on wether or not your in the right place making the right decisions. If things don't work out, well, we've all had our ass kicked in a fight befoe (and if not you should definately try it)and you know when its time to put the fists down and walk away. You can always try again later, maybe...in GOOD ol' God forsaken San Antonio where one of the future great chefs of the world resides. I think you know him.
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