Anyone move out of NYC - and then move right back? (New York: college, living in)

[hooverphonics]

Hi all,
So I left NYC about 2 months ago for southern CA and I want to move back NOW. Moving here has made me realize what I took for granted, from museums to subways to the nationalities and even the crazies, not to mention not feeling totally alone. Anyway my question is has anyone left NYC only to hightail it straight back? If so, how did moving back to nyc go? Happy, regrets, a bit of both? It is beautiful here and all that but I don't belong, I am like a penguin in Tahiti, and also the jobs/pay are better in ny. (I was in NYC for almost 9 years and I am from northern New England, if that helps explains a thing or two.)
Thanks!

[UrbanAdventurer]

2 months in is about when the honeymoon starts to wear off, so it just depends on why you moved there in the first place and only you know where you stand on that.

[Nala8]

Yep, I lived in NYC for over thirteen years, got tired of the hustle and bustle, and moved back to my alma mater, Madison, WI. Now I find myself counting the days to finish my leave of absence and return to the big city. I was in NYC a couple of weekends ago and had a blast. I took so much for granted once, especially the sense of being a vital part of a spread out but city-wide community of grassroots or underground literary and performing artists in NYC: poets, writers, singers, musicians, instructors, etc.

As a college professor and a writer/performer, mostly I miss the academic freedom and artistic freedom (freedom of expression) that is downright socially and economically dangerous in this relatively repressed and therefore oppressive midwestern city. I know first hand that NYC comes with its challenges, and I have no regrets about trying to make a go of it in Madison. Some things a person has to experience for him- or herself. But now know that I will appreciate NYC even more after my experimental leave of absence in the midwest, which ironically has been great for my writing, for discovering who I am all over again within the context of a liberal-conservative environment, and for coming to the conclusion that I am not willing to fit myself into a mold to be "successful" in the midwest. My teaching style, my personal style, my artistic style, my energy, my openness, etc. are all, as it has turned out, very much the flavor of NYC. I think some vital part of me would die or go into a coma if I were to stay here in the midwest for longer than a year. Now I understand why they drink so much here.

See you in August, New York City. I am enjoying beautiful Madison right now, making the best of a city that comes alive in the summer, but I am also literally counting the days 'til my return.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by hooverphonics

Hi all,
So I left NYC about 2 months ago for southern CA and I want to move back NOW. Moving here has made me realize what I took for granted, from museums to subways to the nationalities and even the crazies, not to mention not feeling totally alone. Anyway my question is has anyone left NYC only to hightail it straight back? If so, how did moving back to nyc go? Happy, regrets, a bit of both? It is beautiful here and all that but I don't belong, I am like a penguin in Tahiti, and also the jobs/pay are better in ny. (I was in NYC for almost 9 years and I am from northern New England, if that helps explains a thing or two.)
Thanks!

2 months is really not enough time to say that you dislike a place. If you are alone then you should go out to places where you can friends.
If after a long period of time you still don't like where you are, then you should consider returning to NYC.
BTW, I have living in several places in my life including moving away from NYC and coming back to NYC (and not because I really wanted to at the time).