Hawthorne
August 2018 —Hawthorne is in Westchester County in the state of New York, located in the United States. I spent the late 80’s, all of the 90’s and early 2000’s in Hawthorne. I lived in Hawthorne with my mom, dad, and younger brother. It was a great place to live, but I’m glad I have moved on. It’s a very small town, so small it’s actually considered a hamlet, where everyone knows everyone. And that means everyone knows everyone’s business. This didn’t affect me as a child, but as an adult I wouldn’t be crazy about the busybodys. Now that I live elsewhere, I am very aware of the things I dislike about Hawthorne. It’s an older area, not many new houses or establishments. It has more hills than flat land. A lot has stayed the same over the past few decades. It’s not very commercialized, which some people may find charming. But it also lacks that small-town quaintness. It’s not really old, and not very new, just a boring in-between. It’s not special to me beyond the fact that it is where I grew up and made some of my most significant memories. There’s a sense of nostalgia when I go back and visit, but not a place I yearn to be.
White Plains
August 2018 — I have moved in White Plains, Westchester, NY back in 2003, about fifteen years ago. Its a small, quiet and relatively safe to live. Since 2003 the city of WP has changed dramatically. Back then there wasn’t even a Starbuck shop in the center. Nowdays you can find almost any business shop that are also in Manhattan; such as pret a manger, Chipotle, H and M store and many other shops that gave the main street a pretty much energy that back then it lacked. So much has been done in a positive way, but still beleive there is a room for improvement. It is still a boring city comparing to other neighborhoods as Manhattan, Queens or Brooklyn and this is the main issue about it. Besides Mark Zuckerberg, there is no other famous personalities that came out from the city. Hopefully in the future city will get more funds and invest in a right direction. Also, I wish the city of WP will go under gentrification and attract more young people and make it more liveable.
Yonkers
March 2018 — I live in Yonkers, NY. It’s in Westchester County. I have no affection for this city. It has no character, nothing to brag about, no landmarks. There are too many people (250,000) too many concrete sidewalks and apartment buildings. Despite being just north of New York City, the people are provincial and mostly unimaginative. Too much traffic, too little parking, which is why I never go into the city center. There’s a beautiful library there, but terrible parking, so I use the smaller one closest to me instead. It has some interesting history, as it dates back to 1664, when the area and NYC were both owned by the Dutch. Yonkers is just north of the Bronx. It runs from the Bronx River west to the Hudson River, and is intersected by the Bronx River Parkway, Sprain Brook Parkway and Cross County Parkway. There’s no reason to stop here if you’re heading into Westchester from NYC.