I've met so many kind people and had so many great conversations and experiences recently its honestly restored my faith in the inherent goodness of most. I like to think people around here are like me: maybe a bit rough around the edges but with good hearts.

And don't get me started on the aesthetics. A lot has changed over the past few years but if you wanna see what old New York looked and felt like then come here before they tear it down and replace it with a mixed use microwave-lookin wood framed "thing". NYC has been mostly sanitized and is just a big theme park/photo-op. Movie studios are filming in Newark for a reason, it wears the grit and dirt and scars that every American city has openly.

I mention both because while people can be put off by initial appearances of the city and the people that call it home, you'll find that it's really a special place with special people. A lot of people who haven't lived or even set foot here for decades or ever have this interesting nostalgia for Old Newark, especially in the Jewish and Italian communities. Just wish I could tell those folks looking at old pictures from the '20s and '40s and telling stories about their family's shop that a lot of it is still here, waiting for people with the will and means to breathe new life back into it.