There's no place like...

I can now fire off a reasonably substantial list of American towns and cities that I have visited: Boston, Chicago, St Louis, Washington, Roanoke (VA), Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Baltimore, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and then add in the Canadian city of Vancouver. And that is just on this trip. I probably have every right to add cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Diego, New Orleans and Miami from the previous family trip that we took to the US.

In short, I have seen a lot of what this country's city living has to offer.

For me Seattle and Vancouver both appeared to be the most livable cities. I could easily see myself buying a modest home in North Vancouver somewhere, nestled at the feet of the mountains, just a short drive away from one of the inlets, surrounded by the lush green forests that give Vancouver a lot of its character. Seattle could accommodate me with a cosy apartment somewhere around the downtown area, or somewhere around the harbour where I could happily ride a ferry to work each day, but still be close enough to everything that I can smell the coffee.

But there is no place that draws me like New York City. Not quite the hideous concrete jungle that is Los Angeles (and don't worry Alane, I'm not talking about the beautiful Chino Hills area, nor am I implying that the people of LA match the city's ugliness - quite the opposite), New York really only has snippets of aesthetic beauty. To get out of the city and into some greenery, you need a car and a full day. Living is expensive, the climate can be extreme and the people have a reputation for rudeness.

Perhaps ignore that last comment.

Nevertheless, I would love to wake up in the city that never sleeps. I have never felt more at home, relaxed and comfortable anywhere outside Sydney as I do in New York.

Perhaps what draws me is the honest dichotomy (an oxymoron?). I never thought I would say that about the financial capital of the world, where market traders regularly ruin lives daily, where business can be horribly cut-throat, where image can be everything. But there is something honest in there.

There is an acceptance that emanates from almost every New Yorker - this is what the city is, and we still love it. We make every pretension when it comes to our image - we are the best in the world, and will never be made to look otherwise. But we also make no pretensions with regards to the inner workings of this place - New York city can be an ugly beast, which is perfectly capable of swallowing people whole. Its a dog-eat-dog world out there, so if our dogs fight in Central Park and mine loses, that's the way of the world. C'est la vie, as a cousin's boyfriend so delicately put it.

But I will file suit against you. Because its a man-eat-man world in New York City.

And I love that.

At a time when I am near-obsessed with seeing the importance of acceptance in all facets of life, New York both embodies this spirit and crushes it.

And it accepts that this is exactly what New York is.