415 words (~2 minute read)
every city has a vibe, and you can feel it when you're there. one of my favorite parts of traveling is feeling the vibe of different places in world, and seeing who i am when immersed in it.
for all intents and purposes, this vibe of a city is a magic spell cast on all its inhabitants. adjacent understandings of phenomena like this are collective consciousness, group think, herd mentality, etc. but those just don't feel sufficiently explanatory—whatever is happening seems more powerful than just subconscious mirroring and projection. it doesn't seem to take very long to morph into the Me i become in a new place, and i don't have to establish a very deep understanding of the place or people before doing so. somehow, simply observing, or being present, is enough.
in new york city, FOMO is too easy. i talk about this in keeping your options open. almost always there is an excess of people around you, doing something, going somewhere, dressing up, seeing people, and really just anything that can be done in public. it's the default to feel like everyone is doing something, and that you're the odd one out for not doing Whatever with Whoever. in reality, there are many many more people at home, doing nothing, doing what you're doing, etc. you just can't see them. this is akin to attention bias—you focus on the information in front of you, which feels more real and True than other abstract knowledge that exists in your head. or you don't think about it very hard at all and just react to what you see.
interestingly, the FOMO feeling doesn't really stop when you can't see or hear people—maybe you're at home and don't have a view of the street, or in a quieter neighborhood. it's easier to ignore the feeling when not literally outside or looking at a busy street, no doubt, but somehow simply being in new york almost intrinsically makes you feel an urge to do stuff, feel social, and go out.
nyc feelings include (but are not limited to):
so, the question becomes, can you break the spell? can you learn to operate independently of how the city Wants you to act, without friction/guilt? should you?