Two months isn’t really enough to know NYC. Two decades might be … i.e. I’m still learning every day!
Materialism is everywhere, but I’d argue that NY (or any city where people walk!) has fewer ways to display it day-to-day than more suburban locales.
Being out in public space, especially when walking tends to make everyone equal. That guy you’re caught in a doorway with when the rain comes might be homeless, or he may have 10 million bucks in the bank. It’s not what you have, but what you know and what you do.
