Complete and Creative

New York New York, Paris Paris

I have a confession: I’ve never been to New York (as of this posting).

Is that a big shocker?

Saint Chapel in Paris, a lot cooler than Notre Dame if you ask me. The most awesome stained glass you’ll ever see.

It seems to be among my friends who also like to travel. “What? You’ve been all over the world, but you’ve never been to New York?” Please verify the accuracy of the first part of the last sentence in the FAQ page.

Sure, New York is a world-famous city. Some foreigners might even think New York’s the capital of the United States of America, just as many outsiders might think Sydney is the capital of Australia, Istanbul is the capital of Turkey, and Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil.

Is it that big of a deal that I’ve never been to New York? It’s a fabulous city without a doubt and an obvious destination for anyone who likes to travel. Granted, many of my friends who have asked me incredulously why I still haven’t been to New York are people who are thoroughly in love with the Big Apple, fascinated by the fast-pace lifestyle, enamored with the cosmopolitan culture, and lured by the innumerable depictions of the sprawling metropolis in movies, TV shows, and books.

In spite of this or perhaps because of it, New York really is on the must-visit list of any self-respecting traveler.

I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Why is that? Besides my subconscious declination to go until I am a world-famous author (keep dreaming, Terry).

For one thing, New York is definitely on the beaten path, but that fact didn’t stop me from going to London and Tokyo. I prefer to visit places where I have friends so I don’t have to deal with finding lodging, but I’ve got friends in New York, and they’ve been there for a while, so I’ve got no excuse not to visit them.

New York is expensive. That’s a wonderful reason. So is London. So is Tokyo. It can be overwhelming navigating the massive subway system in New York. Again, London and Tokyo offer the same challenge.

New York is too crowded. I’ve survived train rides during rush hour in Tokyo and Seoul. People in New York are excessively blunt. Well, that beats the facade people in Los Angeles try so hard to maintain.

As you can see, I’ve really got no good reason not to have visited New York yet.

Except one.

It’s the same country. I know this is a lame excuse. Stupid. Even superficial. But I’m sure anyone can empathize with the feeling that anything close to home just isn’t that exciting. The traveling spirit yearns to traverse great distances to faraway places. Sure, the mileage between Los Angeles and New York is about equal to the kilometers between one end of Europe to the other, but there’s a certain mystique about crossing national borders.

For example, let’s take two of my German friends. One’s never been to Paris; the other’s been there more times than she cares to count. If this matters to anyone, the one who’s never been is about ten years older than the one who has.

The former had no problem admitting to me that she’s never been to Paris. She only brought it up because I told her some of my friends make fun of me for being an American traveler who’s never been to New York. And the latter simply told me she thinks Paris is nothing special because she’s gone too many times. Try to tell that to someone who’s been looking forward to going to Paris for her honeymoon ever since childhood.

The destinations that top our personal lists of must-see places are deeply influenced by where we grew up. But part of growing up is to minimize that influence and expand beyond ourselves. So, it’s really time that I visited New York. After all, I have been to Paris.