My Trip to New York

When you think of the USA; wealth, celebrities, and the biggest global empire comes to mind. It’s the country with some of the most innovative companies including Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and Walmart. It’s the heart-throb of entrepreneurship and innovation.

With that perception, I came to New York expecting to see the population living a high standard of living. On that basis, it was evident from the get-go that the USA is not as highly developed as it might seem from the outside. But then again, that depends on your definition of “development”. If development is strictly about tall skyscrapers, and companies with multi-million dollar revenues, then yeah sure — the USA is a beacon of development.

But if you are talking about the welfare of people, then from the looking glass of New York as a state, a lot of individuals live below the poverty line. I was shocked by the number of homeless people on the pavements — right beside the edges of some of the best luxury stores. I was astounded by the number of hagglers, and the amount of city-dwellers that would perform their instrument of choice on trains and platforms. Sure enough, you expect some of that to some extent in a big city — but not to the level I’d experienced.

I spoke with a man selling bus tours and comedy club tickets for the duration of half an hour. And he made it clear to me that the perception he had going into the USA five years ago, is very different from the one he has now. Going in, he had hopes of getting a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, by making things happen.

But yet here he was selling tickets to tourists, just scraping enough money to pay for rent and food. That’s just a small example of the harrowing nature of USA’s landscape. With astronomical rent costs, soaring student prices, the dog-for-dog mentality can be felt here.

In my mind, it was evident that much of the residents here (outside of the tourist population) live with a gaping feeling of scarcity that churns within their stomachs. And that’s a complete paradox to the incredible buildings you’re surrounded by in this strangely, (despite its problems), magnificent city.