If You Can Make It Here
Find out what Our group of game-changers loves most about living in New York.
When we asked our most inspiring Bumble users their favorite thing about living in New York, two responses rose to the top of a long list.
Above all, these game-changers and rule-breakers value the diversity of people and cultures they encounter among their 8.5 million fellow city-dwellers.
“Nowhere else in the world do so many people from different backgrounds, races, cultures, and beliefs peacefully coexist as they do in New York,” said wellness entrepreneur Sarrah Hallock. “If you choose to listen, you can learn something every day.”
Second to the melting-pot of the five boroughs came a decidedly more utilitarian benefit of New York City life: the 24-hour bodega (for out-of-towners, that’s the convenience-store-meets-deli found on almost every block).
These aren’t just places to grab a late-night chopped cheese, that mouthwatering Bronx delicacy. They’re beacons of community in our increasingly hectic lives, where we can count on conversation over a $1 coffee, encounters with neighbors we might not otherwise meet, and even a place to leave your spare key with a friendly proprietor.
“In New York, you have access to everything your heart desires, 24/7,” said Todd Wiseman Jr., a filmmaker.
As well as its round-the-clock convenience, this group can’t get enough of New York’s palpable energy — the feeling that, if you hustle hard, the city will open itself up to you.
“It’s magical, it really is,” said Tovah Avigail Weingarten, co-founder of a spiritual concierge platform. “It’s a city full of possibility and abundance.”
“Everything is inspiring — the people, the scale, the relentless drive to be better,” said Brian Selvarajah, a strategic planning director.
Here, some of our most inspiring New Yorkers tell of their favorite things about the city:
“You can be your true self and no one will bother you.” - Elyse Fox, mental health activist
“You can see and do anything, and also be totally alone without feeling alone.” - Alyssa Mastromonaco, author
“It gives you backbone. If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.” - Karen Mitchell, beauty franchise owner
“No one here is trying to put up a front. Everyone shows their true colors.” - Blair Imani, activist
“Somehow, it always feels new. Just when you think you’re done with it, New York impresses the hell out of you.” - Alison Roman, food writer
“I have two favorite things about living in New York: leaving, and coming back.” - Sofia D’Angelo, singer-songwriter
New York Minute
We asked our most inspiring Bumble users to tell us about their favorite New York moments. Some of their answers might have you reaching for a tissue. We hope, at least, their responses will get you thinking about what this city, or your own hometown, means to you.
“When I walk out of my bedroom every day and see the Empire State Building and One World Trade I realize, “Holy shit, I’m doing this.” — Charlee Atkins, fitness instructor
"My first snowy night in New York, I was a freshman at NYU, living in Washington Square Park. I remember thinking just how magical the world can be when we're paying attention." – Farryn Weiner, entrepreneur
“I love seeing tourists who traveled thousands of miles just to see this city —- and remembering we live in the capital of the world!” — Fitz Tepper, entrepreneur
“I held the hand of a pregnant woman on a stalled subway who was having labor pains. Everyone near the woman helped to calm her until the train got underway.” — Louise Howard, investment manager
“Hurricane Sandy was a horrible disaster. But out of that disaster, people came together to help each other. Kinda like when a rose grows from a crack in the concrete. From something very hard came something very beautiful.” —- Joshua Cooper, entrepreneur
Other favorites New York City moments listed by our most inspiring Bumble users include celebrations for Barack Obama’s historic Presidential win in 2008; the electric atmosphere after the Yankees’ World Series victory in 1996; the Women’s Marches of both 2017 and 2018; New York Fashion Week; and the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, heralding the arrival of the holiday season.