big city livin'... big city dyin'... dead city shiverin'... dead city cryin'

perceived idea of living in new york city:

Drowning in money and fun, women and booze, carefree and always exciting...

actuality of living in new york city:

... certainly exciting, but not always in the way you'd imagine. Lonely and cold sometimes, but it can also be warm and friendly. It is usually one of these polar opposites and is rarely balanced, so one finds oneself in the pits of despair or the heights of pleasure in a fleeting instant. Money can certainly buy a distracted comfort of sorts here, but over a very hollow life it is if you follow that escape or just roll over and allow the city's undeniable willpower to control you.

Hmmmm...