Living in the Big Apple
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Mike
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Todd
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Todd: Now, Mike, you lived in New York City. That's really, really cool. I think New York's a fantastic city. I've never lived there, but I visited New York many times. What was it like living in New York City?
Mike: Uh, like you said, there's a lot of cool things to do and see in New York. One big difference, when you’re living there, compared to when you’re visiting there, is that you start to feel like a New Yorker does, and it changes your sort of view point of the city and things to do there. Within the city, there's a lot of different, interesting places, and things to do, and of course, when you live there, you find out about more places that you normally wouldn't, either wouldn't know about or wouldn't have time to see if you were just visiting for a few days.
Todd: What did you do in New York city?
Mike: Well, I was there during the height of the internet boom, so I was working for an internet based company that was doing broadband web casting.I won't go into details, but there was just an internet related company, and so I lived in Midtown Manhattan in an expensive apartment, with a few friends and it...
Todd: Oh, you had roommates?
Mike: Yes, I had three roommates, none of whom were from New York, which is very common in New York, I think. It's a city of people who come from elsewhere to live in and the people from New York tend to, I think, sound and act a bit differently than the rest.
Todd: What was your favorite part of New York City?
Mike: Well, as you may know, New York is divided into several sectors, and I'll stick to Manhattan though, one of the main boroughs in New York is Manhattan. In that borough, it's divided into several sections, several areas. One of my favorite was Greenwich Village, and in that area there's a lot of interesting clubs and bars and right next to there, in another area called the Bowery, which is right next to Greenwich Village there are some sort of old icons and places that I'd known from back in the seventies, that were sort of where Punk Rock started, for example, ah, those kind of places, were there.
Todd: You like Punk music?
Mike: Yeah, I do. I'm a big fan. Old guy that I am. Yes.
Todd: Oh, that's cool. Um, could you ever live in New York City again?
Mike: Absolutely. I would live in New York, but, again it's an expensive city to live in and I think it's a very competitive city, and, yeah, if I had, if I had the opportunity I'd definitely live there again. I wouldn't settle in New York, but I'd definitely live there for awhile.
Todd: Oh, cool. Thanks, Mike.
cool
Living in New York is really, really cool, because there's
a lot of cool things to do and see there.
Something 'cool' is fun, interesting or popular. Notice the following:
- He's at an age where he thinks smoking cigarettes with
his friends is cool.
- Your new shoes are really cool.
viewpoint
When you live there, you start to feel like a New Yorker
does, and it changes your viewpoint of the city.
Your 'viewpoint' is your perspective or opinion about something. It's what you think about something. Notice the following:
- He is very loud an opinionated about his viewpoint.
- We quickly became close friends because we share the
same viewpoint on a lot of important issues.
during the height of or internet boom
I was in New York during the height of the internet boom.
The 'internet boom' is when internet companies and doing many things online became very popular. The 'height of the internet boom' was when new internet activities were at their most popular. It refers to the highest point of popularity. Notice the following:
- During the height of her fame she made 5 movies in a
single year.
- He made a lot of money during the internet boom.
borough
Manhattan is a main borough in New York that is divided
into several sections.
A 'borough' is kind of like a neighborhood, but in a legal, instead of community way. New York City is divided into 5 boroughs which each have administrative or governmental responsibilities. Notice the following:
- Each borough in Mexico City has its own government
building.
- People from New York City are very specific about which
borough they are from.
competitive
New York is an expensive city to live in and I think it's a
very competitive city.
In a 'competitive' situation many people are trying to achieve the same thing. In this case, people are competing for jobs, money, houses, etc. Notice the following:
- This is one of the most competitive universities in the
world.
- The men on our softball team are very competitive, but
the women just want to have fun.
Vocabulary Quiz
boom • borough • competitive
