Saturday, February 18, 2012

Do introverts dislike NYC?

I lived in NYC for one summer. And did not particularly like it! In fact, I felt tired very quickly every day. Now I have some explanation why.

Today, I was on the subway, while reading the book 'Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.' Ironically, the book was explaining a fundamental trait that correlates highly with introversion: high reactiveness. Essentially, everyone has a sweet spot of how much stimulus from the environment they like to take. This includes noise, light, smell etc. Now the more introverted you are, the more you react to the stimulus, and the less of it you prefer.

I have always been just ever so slightly introverted. My latest MBTI scores rank me slightly introverted, just off the middle between introverted and extroverted. (In contrast, when they compared me on planned vs. playing by ear, I am extremely planned. Knock your socks off planned - or rather, fold your socks and put them away in the correct drawer planned).

Anyhow, back to introversion - NYC is just too stimulating. There is the noise of the subway, the conductor announcing loudly, someone singling, too many people - just too much going on. I much prefer the relative calm of Boston. No, not the calm of suburbs - I hate the calm of suburbs. Just the calm of a city that is not that crazy. Even Arlington is fine. And this, coming from a guy, who grew up in Delhi. Try going to Karol Bagh; you will understand.

And that is why I love Boston and love to visit NYC occasionally. And while we have all sorts of people living in NYC, I would argue that on average, they are much more extroverted than the rest of the country. So I am going to get my NYC fix, and head back to Boston.

1 comment:

  1. I absolutely loved NYC when I went. On the Myer-Briggs I am said to be introverted. To be fair though, the reality is that I'm actually an ambivert who leans slightly towards introverted. I didnt care so much about the crowds and noise, as I was with a friend and could filter things out, but it probably was a good thing that a lot of strangers didnt try to make small talk

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