Recently, Jocelyn and I left New York and drove across the country to start a new life in California. A decision like that is not made lightly. Years of daydreaming and months of serious consideration passed before I mentioned it people outside our closest circle of friends. By trigger-pulling time, I had chased any and every doubt away. Not every pang for the places and people I have loved … but any doubt the adventure of building a new life was more exciting than any adventures left in NYC.
The reactions to such an announcement have been very diverse. The most common one has been “congratulations!” – which is interesting because it suggests that it’s an accomplishment of some sort. On the other hand, we got some blank stares … as if they didn’t understand why we would do something so stupid when we had a really good thing going. Finally, there were expressions of jealousy – or the desperate “take me with you” eyes of a hostage left behind.
Footage of Matt Urban driving out of the NYC area
While I’m basking in the euphoria of arriving in California, I wanted to share a playlist I made for when I’m missing NYC. You’ll notice that it’s mostly about people and transportation.
BONUS TRACK: Spotify doesn’t have this, but it should be the lead track: