New York!

Yes - for those who have mistakenly stumbled upon this blog - I'm out of a self-imposed blogging hiatus. It's in vogue, and I'm in great company - Nawaz Sharief and Benazir Bhutto. Of course, the fact that Nawaz Bhai was thrown out of his native land, and that Bhutto madam survived an assassination attempt does not deter me from my return.

And this is what I have done in the 461 days after my 'Orkut' post:

• Aug '06: Completed my internship (yes, it's time to stop reading this blog)


• Dec '06: Graduated with an MS in CS


• Jan '07: Visited India


• Feb '07: Moved to the NY (working)/NJ (living) area


• Jul '07: Family visits Uncle Sam's land

I would like to mention that getting my mom/dad/sis to the US was absolutely a dream come true. It was my proudest moment in life, period. And that's enough emotion for one post.

This post is not a New York tourist guide. It's an FAQ section - questions I'm asked virtually every other day about New York. It's about the stuff that you will not find in any of the 687 million results that Google returns for the term"New York".

Disclaimer stuff: When I say New York, I'm actually referring to Manhattan.

Do you like New York?

New York rocks. ROCKS. Did I mention, New York rocks?

Do you have a car?

I have a car - long pause - NOT! (Borat joke). I don't have a car, and I don't plan to buy one anytime soon. Public transportation in NY is terrific.

[Ah, so it is like Mumbai, India]

Yeah, except that the trains here have doors, and no seating on the roof (Sigh, I miss India..).

I think New York is a dirty place. How can you like living there?

Someone from Chennai asked me this question.

So cool man - working on Wall Street and all (and all what??). Full money only, no? Life set.

No man - all money goes in tax only. Life not set - only upset. No wall, no street.

But why man? You are living in New Jersey. Cost of living much cheaper there, no?

Definitely, man. If you live on the street, or share a room with 10 people.

Nothing beats California weather, and work culture. You should consider moving to the west coast.

Yes, yes, and about the move - let's see.

So you are earning in 6 figures, eh?

Actually, I do. My yearly gross income is $0xx,xxx.

There must be a lot of Indians in the NY/NJ area, right?

Infested is a much more apt term.

NY is so crowded - so many people..

I get this a lot from my 20-something friends, and I always wonder why they ask me this. All these 20-something friends in question are Indians. These guys/gals lived in a country of 1 billion people for 95% of their lives, and they crib about people numbers. No one is asking you guys to retire in New York, for crying out loud.

And finally, why does NY rock?

The sheer hustle and bustle.

The sheer diversity - where else will you find, in one train compartment, people from India (of course!), China (really?), Korea, Germany, the middle-east, Pakistan, Australia, England, and yeah, the US?

The highly criticized, yet amazingly co-ordinated subway system.

The liberty to jaywalk.

The never ending masses of concrete mammoths (a.k.a buildings)

Central Park..

That's enough poetic influenza. Also, I think I did mention - NY rocks! And for those of you jumping to conclusions already, I am not going to settle in New York, or in the United States. Why? That's another post altogether.

(Happy birthday to my little sister!)