flâneur

NY and SF: A tale of two cities - by Robin Guo

robin-guo.com · 632 words · saved by 1 readers

I grew up in New York and spent 24 years riding to the same subway stations - 79th and Broadway on the 1 train - convincing friends to go on a late night bodega run from the library, and hunting for the best cuisine this city had to offer. While I live in LA now, SF has really emerged as the energy that I resonate with: a focus on intelligence, ambition, and technology. These are the two cities where the American dream rings clear and the individual can author their own becoming. New York is a city defined by energy. The briskness of footsteps down the street, the sound of money flowing through digital terminals by the billions, the late-night walks along Riverside Park and the strange, liminal adventures at two in the morning. San Francisco is a city defined by outliers. The great software empires built from humble beginnings - proof that outsiders can rewrite the rules of the world - the once bullied nerds finding a city that celebrates their own kind (myself included), the liberalit

I grew up in New York and spent 24 years riding to the same subway stations - 79th and Broadway on the 1 train - convincing friends to go on a late night bodega run from the library, and hunting for the best cuisine this city had to offer. While I live in LA now, SF has really emerged as the energy that I resonate with: a focus on intelligence, ambition, and technology. These are the two cities where the American dream rings clear and the individual can author their own becoming. New York is a city defined by energy. The briskness of footsteps down the street, the sound of money flowing…

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