the second year itch

This month marks my second year anniversary of moving to New York and I still remember that feeling of walking around the West Village that first spring after moving in. The cherry blossoms were in full force, restaurants had started opening their outdoor patio seating and New Yorkers just seemed to smile a bit more freely and easily at each other on the street. I must have walked around with a silly grin on my face for that first full week, unable to believe that I was finally living in the city of my dreams — everything about it just seemed so picturesque in those early spring moments.

Oddly enough, I’ve been told, the second year in New York is meant to...