Why I love NYC #6: The People

Last week I was in New York for a business trip, and while I missed my kids and Joker and Colorado, I was continually reminded of how awesome NYC really is.  So to return to my series from last spring, let me riff for a minute on the people who live there.

New Yorkers get a really bad rap.  People think they're all obnoxious cabbies and pretentious hipsters in black.  And yeah, there are lots of both of those.  But generally speaking, New Yorkers are great.  They give you directions when you're lost.  They'll recommend a restaurant or a bar or a museum based on your criteria.

The people in my hotel were great, both staff and guests.  I stayed in a new place called the Yotel, a concept of tiny but well-conceived (and extremely white) rooms.  The clientele was primarily 20-something European tourists, which was a hoot - when I'm in another country, I love figuring out the day's agenda over coffee and breakfast, and watching other people do it was like the next best thing. 

My work meetings were great.  Our team is smart and capable.  Everyone was energetic and enthused, and had great propensity for both brainstorms and fun.  My external meetings helped me to think through and verbalize our value proposition and our sales pitch.  And everyone seemed so happy to see me back in town.

And of course, my friends are the greatest.  I saw a ton of people for drinks, dinner and/or lunch.  We ate great food (I gravitated to the ocean-dwelling variety given my new landlocked living), and drank great drinks (I gravitated to broad and generous consumption of all varieties given I didn't have to drive anywhere).  We laughed, we caught up, we did lots of cheers-ing.  It was awesome.