We’ve been out in New York City the past few days (now we’re very briefly upstate) and I’ve been pretty surprised by what a nice city it’s become in the ten years since I really spent any time there. Some of this may be accounted for by the fact that I’m less of a scaredy-cat traveller than I used to be, but I think the psyche of the City has fundamentally changed since then, too. Some of my New York friends think it has to do largely with the shock of 9/11, and that makes sense to me. Whatever the cause, I actually think that New York is a warmer, friendlier place to visit than Portland. [Read more →]