19 Comments
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Madina Avezova's avatar

As someone who struggled with their first subway ride too, this brought back memories 😅 And the economics breakdown was just brilliant.

R. Genthos's avatar

Growing up in a town of 3000 people, I find big cities intimidating, but also validating when you get a feel for them and can navigate with ease.

I enjoyed this, you captured some of that bustle and explained it well

Shannon K Culpepper's avatar

Beautifully written and made me relive some of my own memories of moving from small town Iowa to Boston, especially the subway part lol.

Yueyue Wang's avatar

New York is such beautiful chaos, I visited the slums and it was eye-opening! Really makes you think about how living in a safe place is such a privilege.

myneisha's avatar

Thank you, I enjoyed reading this! I’ve always been interested in visiting NYC, perhaps one day? ☺️

Simran Sharma's avatar

I love how you captured the chaos, humor, and wonder of a first encounter with New York, while weaving in economic concepts so seamlessly. The way you connected agglomeration economies and network effects to the everyday buzz of the city made the theory feel alive.

Lillian Kennedy's avatar

this is so well written wow! Thank you for sharing, I love your style :)

Meditations On Permafrost's avatar

This is interesting. It’s a personal account but also a reflection on big city living and also the economic truths of living in somewhere like NYC. Thanks for sharing.

imi's avatar
Sep 27Edited

I really enjoyed reading this. The way you wove personal moments of awe and disorientation into the larger lens of economics was so engaging. The description of the subway chaos and Times Square’s energy made me feel like I was right there. I especially loved your grandmother’s comparison to Sector 17; it grounded the global in the personal so beautifully. This felt like a story, an essay, and a lesson all at once.

Not Exactly Ana's avatar

Such a great topic! Always dreamed of going to New York. Thank you this deep analysis.

Ivan's avatar

This was a great post! When I lived in New York, I had similar feelings about the economics of NYC and the US in general. Another thing I've noticed is that every major city I've visited operates in a similar way: Johannesburg, Dubai, Madrid, and even Boston. I think what's really interesting is how cities that have high economic activity from their financial districts always have a counterpart on the other side of the same country that operates through hubs- usually a tech hub or a trade free zone.

What are your thoughts on clusters? (my request for your next post)

Aanya Verma's avatar

Thank you so much for reading and sharing this - I love how you compared New York with other global cities. You’re right, financial districts often create a kind of “mirror effect” with other hubs in the same country whether it’s tech, trade, or something else.

Clusters are also a fascinating topic! They demonstrate how talent, resources, and opportunities amplify one another, leading to economic growth - much like Silicon Valley for tech or Wall Street for finance. I might just have to explore that in a future post :)

Sphere by Simran💌's avatar

Uff 😂❤️Love it 🫶🫶🫶

Tsetsy's avatar

As someone who lives in Europe with the huge dream of living in New York, inspired not only by Joe Goldberg, I am incredibly grateful for this post. It transported me to the streets of New York. I loved the honest description of the subway. Awesome writing.

Swonam Kieran's avatar

I was imagining everything that's written. Beautifully portrayed, vivid and engaging. ❤️

Kiera Jessica M's avatar

I love the way you write, it’s so easy to read. Like you sucked me in immediately and I didn’t stop reading. Keep up the great work 👏

Your description of New York is so accurate. I personally love the chaos 😍