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So I was asked to contribute to a blog about living in Manhattan and offer the perspective of a long-term resident. So far it mostly discusses the oft heard frustrations encountered by folks moving from a more urban environment who then are amazed at how Manhattan can be a college town without the cultural/gastronomical/environmental amenities that they enjoyed in their previous residence. I've often wished for many of these same alternatives myself, but after visiting other places - Portland, Austin, Chicago, San Francisco, DC, to name a few - I return home thankful that I have all I really need right here. (Excluding, perhaps, my brief visits to England and Germany, but, as there's no chance of my moving there in this lifetime, they don't count for this discussion.) Sure I'd love a wider variety of restaurants, but there's no way I could eat out often enough to do my part to ensure their financial survival. All of the aforementioned cities are great places to visit but when I comes right down to it, I wouldn't want to live there. Here we have plenty of sunshine, plenty of rain, dynamic weather with 4 distinct seasons, no traffic congestion (really, no matter where you live here you can get across town in about 15 minutes or less), no smog/ozone alerts, good folk concerts, jazz concerts, McCain performances, numerous lectures, a fine library (ok 2, but I wouldn't know much about Hale as I haven't used it since it was called Farrell). If you really need a change of scenery then Lawrence, KC, St. Louis - wherever, even KCI - aren't that far of a drive and if you drive on a road other than I-70 you'll probably find something along the way to pique your interest. The point is, either you like it here and find ways to appease your whims, or you decide Manhattan will never be good enough and you start looking for a new job. Naturally, that could be said of anyone in any town, but some of us like it here and should aid those who are new to town in discovering that it's pretty good here once you really start to look around.