QuoteProject
It is often said that New York is a city for only the very rich and the very poor. It is less often said that New York is also, at least for those of us who came there from somewhere else, a city for only the very young.
Joan Didion
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

New York City attracts both the wealthy and the impoverished, but it's particularly appealing to the young and those seeking new beginnings.

In this quote, Joan Didion reflects on the unique social dynamics of New York City, highlighting that it often appears as an exclusive space for the affluent and the underprivileged. However, she emphasizes that for many newcomers, especially the youth, New York represents a vibrant landscape of opportunities and possibilities, suggesting that youth is a critical factor in navigating the city's challenges and rewards.

Themes

New YorkYouthOpportunitySocial DynamicsCity Life

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about chasing dreams in urban environments.

More from Joan Didion

To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.
Joan DidionRead
The truth is, it's easier for me to write than talk... to express the state I'm in at any time.
Joan DidionRead
Memories are what you no longer want to remember.
Joan DidionRead
It was clear, for example, in 1988 that the political process had already become perilously remote from the electorate it was meant to represent.
Joan DidionRead
I mean maybe I was holding all the aces, but what was the game?
Joan DidionRead
Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.
Joan DidionRead

Similar quotes

Since 1981, I've spent every Thanksgiving Day broadcasting a game, and it is one of my favorite days. You can say, 'Woe is me, I never get to be part of the tradition,' or you can say, 'Heck, we've got our own tradition, and it's pretty good.'
John MaddenRead
I heard your song the moment we were born. And years later, it dragged me back from the lake of the half-dead when all I wanted to do was die. Each time someone tried to kill me, it sang its tune and gave me hope.
Melina MarchettaRead
Sydney in the 1960s wasn't the exuberant multicultural metropolis it is today. Out in the city's western reaches, days passed in a sun-struck stupor. In the evenings, families gathered on their verandas waiting for the 'southerly buster' - the thunderstorm that would break the heat and leave the air cool enough to allow sleep.
Geraldine BrooksRead
But life is just a party, and parties weren't meant to last.
PrinceRead
You have left me so long to struggle against death, alone, that I feel and see only death! I feel like death!
Emily BronteRead
Freedom begins the moment you realize someone else has been writing your story and it's time you took the pen from his hand and started writing it yourself.
Bill MoyersRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Joan Didion | QuoteProject