People watching
The fact that anyone can fit in
Broadway plays
Central Park
Washington Square Park
Roxy Delicatessen
Macy's
Tom's Restaurant (from Seinfeld)
Window shopping on 5th Avenue

I'll add a couple of more to my last post:

I had the ease of convenience to amazing things - I'll add the ease of convenience to everyday things (I walk out of my apartment and I don't even need to cross the street to get to my dry cleaner, hair salon, grocery store, pizza place, diner, bagel place, hardware store or Korean market - yet I'll still have each of these places deliver to me).

There is no out-of-the-ordinary (where else can you have a naked guy playing guitar on the curb, a filming of a major motion picture on the street or 2 people scale a 50 story building in midtown and have 90% of the people give it little more than a second glace before they pass-by - the other 10% usually being tourists).

Having the grandeur that it does but still feel intimate (3 million plus people in the city, skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, subways crammed to capacity - yet I'll still run into a friend at a random bar, laying in the park or just walking down the street).

I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT NYC!!!

But most of all I love:

The Food
The Culture
Central Park
Pier 17
The Plays
City Life
EVERYTHING....

Hillary
www.edufire.com

the energy and creativeness

the mix of people/diversity

it's ability to change, adapt and overcome

it's need to be over the top in all categories

I love that I don't have to own a car too

More than your fair share of people than most places who are smart, academic and or otherwise, curious, open, tolerant and get things done.

The large variety of good food.

First run plays, movies, musical artists.

Being able to pick up food, dry cleaning, do banking, go to the doctor, etc... all within a 5 minute walk.

Being a ten minute walk from the Met.

Lots of well known author talks at the Strand/B&N. The New Yorker Festival.

The Union Square greenmarket.

Going to Central Park minutes after a heavy snowfall. Ethereal.

Walking out of my apartment to find my street closed for filming and not even bothering to check out what film because I'm po'd there's no parking.

Since this a travel forum:

5 or less hour drive to Boston, Philly, Cape Cod, Providence, Hudson Valley, DC, etc...

Wide variety of connections to the world via LGA, EWR, JFK.

Ess-a-Bagels
Central Park
Chelsea
French bistros
Public Transportation
Great neighborhoods for walking

New Yorkers.