New York City is my country house

I like cities. I live in a big one, San Francisco. Not as big as New York City, where I used to live, but still quite the urban metropolis. I worship New York City; it feels like the center of the universe, because, well it pretty much is. It is inspiration overload on every single level, and that's a big turn on. It also has some quality of life drawbacks, especially if you aren't rich. One artistic street vender down in SoHo told me once to judge a city by the ratio of how much energy you give to live in it, and how much it returns. She said NYC is 50(give)/50(receive). I agreed. With the inspiration overload and career potential of NYC also comes the freezing winters, brutal summers, overstuffed subways, insane rents, and a jail-like lifestyle- it's nearly impossible to escape the concrete jungle unless you're rich with a second house in the country and a car and to get there. I've now relocated to San Francisco where the ratio feels more like 30(give)/70(receive). I've had to sacrifice some of the inspiration, but in return I spend my weekends swimming in the ocean, driving to wine country, enjoying the temperate weather, and looking at trees outside my bedroom window (as photo shows). I return to the Big Apple for extended visits many times a year to balance the inspiration equation and I've come to think of New York City as my country house to escape to when I need a break.