Dear New York:

New York, after 4 years I have to say that it’s time to go on our separate ways. We may have the occasional weekend fling but our monogamous relationship is over.

I first met you 10 years ago when I wanted to see first hand what were you all about and see if you lived up to your reputation.  You charmed me from the beginning and from that moment I knew you and I were going to end up together in the future.   I wasn’t ready for you at the moment, so for the next few years I visited you to keep in touch and to know what was new with you.  Every time you surprised me with something new, kept me entertained, and left me wanting for more.

In 2007, after a few dates, I was ready to commit to you, and I did.  The beginning of our relationship wasn’t as smooth as I expected.  You received me with a cold slap and gave me a hard time finding a place where we could both be together.  Yet, you felt a small degree of compassion and opened your arms to offer me a rat filled, dark basement that I temporarily called home.  I was grateful still.

We took our relationship step by step.  You showed me your best qualities and your faults, and so did I.  You showed me how it is possible to have the best and the worst in the same place at the same time, and how to make them work.  You literally opened my eyes to a whole new world.

During those 4 years you saw me at my happiest, and you saw me heartbroken.  There were moments you made me feel like I truly belonged with you; like when I felt defeated or sad and felt the need to run to you for moral support, and when you surprised me with many of the things I like the most to cheer me up. You always had a way to show me why I fell in love with you in the first place and how to bring a smile to my face.

You showed me many late nights, amazing parties, crazy scares, how to date (and how not to), how to grow courage, how to be patient during the long subway wait times, and how to be independent.  The best I can say is that you were always unpredictable.

Some times you let me laugh at you; like when I saw how silly you behave during a hurricane and by seeing how easily scared you get, yet you always try to keep your tough face forward (In other words, you truly are a drama queen who pretends to be tough).  Other times you treated me bad, like when you left me stranded in Brooklyn for 4 days after a blizzard, when you had my boss lay me off because you were unwilling to cooperate, and when you scammed me when I rented my first apartment (In other words, sometimes you can be a bitch!).

I find it impressive how you manage to blend easily with different cultures. Without you, I wouldn’t have met the United Nations of people that I can call today my friends.

But now, all this I must leave behind.  You knew this moment was coming.  You saw me escape through your door every now and then to see and experience others for a week or two, or even just for a weekend.  I told you many times much I love you, yet how eager I am to see what’s beyond what you can offer.  Now, it’s time for me to go.  It’s time for us to break up.  But, this is not a goodbye; it is more of a we’ll see each other soon.

You know I’ll be back.  I still keep some of those promises we made, and I’ll come back to fulfill them.  But for now, I’m off to a new stage in my life.  A stage that will show me the world and make me fall in love with it.  Fall in love with life.

Norbert