Seriously? I put up with this shit from 30-somethings all the time, the "Oh, Manhattan is boring, oh the City isn't what it used to be, blah, blah, blah. . . "

You're 23. In 2001 you were 14, you have no fucking idea what the scene was like in Manhattan back then and in no way can compare it to what it's like now. Waxing nostalgic about the 80s or early 90s? Sure, I can see that because the city was a very different place (though not nearly as different as people like to tell themselves it was). But take the faux "oh shit was good then it got bad" routine and stuff it.