THE WAY I SEE IT: An 'Empire State of Mind'

 I was once asked what my favorite city in the world was, and without hesitation I responded, "London." 

I've visited only twice, but the city's rich history and character have enthralled me since childhood, and it has been a goal of mine to live there at some point. 

"After that, definitely Chicago," I added — first, out of loyalty to my hometown, but secondly, because I love Chicago and everything about it. 

"Although I have always loved Miami," I continued, because I've spent most of my time between Chicago and Miami, where the majority of my Cuban family resides.  

The person I was talking to looked confused. 

"Wait, you forgot New York," my friend said, seeming to point out the obvious.    

I'll tell you right now — I didn't forget New York. 

Now I am kind of excited. 

I love this game. The reaction I get every time is priceless.

"I've never even been to New York," I said nonchalantly. It was clear that my friend was expecting me to laugh and say, "Of course I forgot New York." 

But I purposefully kept my expression inquisitive and polite until, wait, here it comes…

"What do you mean, you've never been to New York?  You've never been to the greatest city in the world?  Seriously?"  

There it is, folks. 

Maybe it is a New Yorker syndrome. 

My father warned me before I came to the East Coast for school that I would encounter this attitude often, but I did not expect it to occur with half as much frequency as it does. 

It seems to be quite a serious matter.

Jokes aside, here is my bone to pick with those who recognize themselves in the above conversation. There's nothing wrong with having pride in where you're from. In fact, it's admirable. There is of course an exception to this.

I can give an example of a time when someone, probably assuming I was from New Jersey like many Villanova students, claimed that a city in the western region of the United States was essentially plebian and unrefined. 

In the spirit of conversation, I said, "Oh, you've been?" referring to the popular tourist spot. 

The student then replied that he had not visited the city, but that it was just "flyover" and therefore probably not worthy of a visit. 

If the term "flyover" is a new one to you, it represents the region between New York and Los Angeles — in other words, the entire country.  

Doesn't it seem silly to make a snap decision if you are not knowledgeable enough to create an educated opinion on it? 

I understand the next refutation; here people will inevitably say, "But it's New York," as though that explains everything. "The Mecca," they will often add. 

I bet New York is a lovely place, and I bet I would like it there. But as an unbiased outsider, I have always found it terribly uncultured and ignorant to dismiss every other city as inferior.