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New York:
Is it:
where the Friends live?
where Seinfeld lives? Oh my God George annoys me. Why do they take taxis everywhere?
Don't feel as though I have a lot in common with it, in fact, a lot of stuff about it feels cliched, hear a lot about it but don't feel a connection. Perhaps how Western Canada feels about Toronto. :P
However it is where John Mayer lives. I have more curiosity now about the city because of that. I guess that for an American, New York is the equivalent to Toronto: you sometimes go there for a job, for school, or if you are an artist, simply to be more connected, and same if you are seeking employment. Not necessarily because you love the city, or are even a city person, it's a necessity to achieve the other things you want to do. Just mingling with other like-minded people affords you connections, personal growth, etc.
I just heard the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" and as a member of the Irish diaspora, I think I have to maybe embrace New York, and not view it with distance.
Many people view old-school Ireland with fond sentimentality, and some view it as a place of poverty. The author of Angela's Ashes comes to mind. Some of my Irish relatives tried to settle in New York. New York is/was the dream of Irish people seeking a better life.
I tend very much on the sentimental side, I was raised in Canada, have a better life, I have never known the poverty my parents knew, I am looking back to Ireland for some roots. Seeing as how English is my first language, and the first language of both parents, I feel a bit rootless. So I am trying to learn Irish Gaelic, regarded by some as an impractical thing to do, with minimal success.
However I still have relatives there that I know well, so I have some current knowledge of life there. However none of it includes New York, and there is no more immigration than among my own siblings. Immigration for them is not because of poverty, more for getting ahead in an existing career.
I learned minimal pieces of info about Irish immigration to Montreal, I have not yet been to Grosse Ile, maybe to truly understand my roots a little better, I have to see Ireland as a place to leave, instead of a place to return to, to see why someone would want to get the hell out.
That might not be so true nowadays, the Celtic Tiger has died down a bit but they were lots of signs of prosperity and European Union intervention into farming practices etc. when I was in Ireland, it looks like a well-managed country. Instead of funding expensive social housing in the cities, they move people out into the country, supporting the local economies there & keeping towns alive. It is a modern European country, which means something a little more to me now that I have seen parts of Germany. :)
Is it:
where the Friends live?
where Seinfeld lives? Oh my God George annoys me. Why do they take taxis everywhere?
Don't feel as though I have a lot in common with it, in fact, a lot of stuff about it feels cliched, hear a lot about it but don't feel a connection. Perhaps how Western Canada feels about Toronto. :P
However it is where John Mayer lives. I have more curiosity now about the city because of that. I guess that for an American, New York is the equivalent to Toronto: you sometimes go there for a job, for school, or if you are an artist, simply to be more connected, and same if you are seeking employment. Not necessarily because you love the city, or are even a city person, it's a necessity to achieve the other things you want to do. Just mingling with other like-minded people affords you connections, personal growth, etc.
I just heard the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" and as a member of the Irish diaspora, I think I have to maybe embrace New York, and not view it with distance.
Many people view old-school Ireland with fond sentimentality, and some view it as a place of poverty. The author of Angela's Ashes comes to mind. Some of my Irish relatives tried to settle in New York. New York is/was the dream of Irish people seeking a better life.
I tend very much on the sentimental side, I was raised in Canada, have a better life, I have never known the poverty my parents knew, I am looking back to Ireland for some roots. Seeing as how English is my first language, and the first language of both parents, I feel a bit rootless. So I am trying to learn Irish Gaelic, regarded by some as an impractical thing to do, with minimal success.
However I still have relatives there that I know well, so I have some current knowledge of life there. However none of it includes New York, and there is no more immigration than among my own siblings. Immigration for them is not because of poverty, more for getting ahead in an existing career.
I learned minimal pieces of info about Irish immigration to Montreal, I have not yet been to Grosse Ile, maybe to truly understand my roots a little better, I have to see Ireland as a place to leave, instead of a place to return to, to see why someone would want to get the hell out.
That might not be so true nowadays, the Celtic Tiger has died down a bit but they were lots of signs of prosperity and European Union intervention into farming practices etc. when I was in Ireland, it looks like a well-managed country. Instead of funding expensive social housing in the cities, they move people out into the country, supporting the local economies there & keeping towns alive. It is a modern European country, which means something a little more to me now that I have seen parts of Germany. :)