One belongs to New York instantly.
One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.
~ Thomas Wolfe
I can't believe I never say this quote before. It's exactly what happened to me, although I think it might have been 10 minutes. I had never been to New York (or any city, really) & then, snap, I was a New Yorker. That first trip I asked someone who lived in Brooklyn for their area code (which at the time was the same as Manhattan's) & he said, You've been here 1 day & you already know that Brooklyn isn't New York. I loved that. I was a New Yorker. Instantly. I never once wanted to live anywhere else once New York found me.