--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New York was no mere city. It was instead…" description: "\"New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion.\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2167139.jpg" --- # New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely… ![“New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2167139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2167139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fe/joan-didion-497_cities_new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead_2167139.jpg) > “New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New York transcends a city, becoming an endless romantic ideal. **In simple terms:** NYC is an idealized romance. Key Takeaway Embrace the city's mythic allure. Themes city romance myth Mood nostalgic inspirational Type literary observational When to use this quote - Travel - writing - urban planning Key Concepts Urbanism nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What makes a city feel romantic? - How does myth shape urban identity? A Different Perspective Romanticizing can overlook practical issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Romantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic/) ## Related quotes > [New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead-an-infinitely-romantic-2/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [New York was no mere city. It was instead an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/new-york-was-no-mere-city-it-was-instead-an-infinitely-romantic/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I don't think of community as being a romantic notion. I think it's as vital as air and water, and so I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-brown/i-don-t-think-of-community-as-being-a-romantic-notion-i-think-it-s-as/) [Greg Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-brown/) > [Opera needs to be a total escape from real life. To relate to what we're going through today is fine and dandy, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/opera-needs-to-be-a-total-escape-from-real-life-to-relate-to-what-we/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Chicago seems a big city instead of merely a large place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/chicago-seems-a-big-city-instead-of-merely-a-large-place/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [That is again a romantic notion: the hero. I think people enjoy a much more levelled playing field where you have the ability for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/that-is-again-a-romantic-notion-the-hero-i-think-people-enjoy-a-much/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [I grew up in the '70s, and there was a romantic notion, at least that I had, that you could have a career making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-penn/i-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-there-was-a-romantic-notion-at-least-that-i/) [Michael Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-penn/) > [The romantic notion that confinement would release the imagination to soar was nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/the-romantic-notion-that-confinement-would-release-the-imagination-to/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) > [“Liberty is a romantic notion to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-mccullough-white/liberty-is-a-romantic-notion-to-me/) Dawn McCullough-White > [I had a kind of romantic notion about being a Hollywood Errol Flynn type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-grammer/i-had-a-kind-of-romantic-notion-about-being-a-hollywood-errol-flynn-2/) [Kelsey Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-grammer/) > [The American Dream is a romantic notion but it's newer - not as pretty. You go to Europe, and it says something about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-hudson/the-american-dream-is-a-romantic-notion-but-it-s-newer-not-as-pretty/) [Kate Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-hudson/) > [“...the hopelessly romantic notion that two people can meet and instantly fall in love, an escape story where love is the highest law and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/the-hopelessly-romantic-notion-that-two-people-can-meet-and-instantly/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [Love is a popular romantic notion that leads to nothing but its own brand of misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/love-is-a-popular-romantic-notion-that-leads-to-nothing-but-its-own/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if I could bring that private world to life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/when-i-start-to-write-words-have-become-physical-presence-it-was-to/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [I had a kind of romantic notion about being a Hollywood Errol Flynn type. Honestly, I did not get into a lot of bar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-grammer/i-had-a-kind-of-romantic-notion-about-being-a-hollywood-errol-flynn/) [Kelsey Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-grammer/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Cities quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Surely, if Mother Nature had been consulted, she would never have consented to building a city in New Orleans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-zuckerman/surely-if-mother-nature-had-been-consulted-she-would-never-have/) [Mortimer Zuckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-zuckerman/) > [Cities are 2% of the earth's crust, but they are 50% of the world's population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ratti/cities-are-2-of-the-earth-s-crust-but-they-are-50-of-the-world-s/) [Carlo Ratti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ratti/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Nice is a city of ghosts and specters, but I hope not to become one of them right away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/nice-is-a-city-of-ghosts-and-specters-but-i-hope-not-to-become-one-of/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [I know of not one Republican candidate that would not appear publicly with Mitt Romney and I know many Democrats that don't even want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-sessions/i-know-of-not-one-republican-candidate-that-would-not-appear-publicly/) [Pete Sessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-sessions/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [We will neglect our cities to our peril, for in neglecting them we neglect the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/we-will-neglect-our-cities-to-our-peril-for-in-neglecting-them-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [I didn't know the city at all, but I was so happy to be in New York I cried. I was so excited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/i-didn-t-know-the-city-at-all-but-i-was-so-happy-to-be-in-new-york-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [Outside of Paris, there is no hope for the cultured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/outside-of-paris-there-is-no-hope-for-the-cultured/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Dawn's faint breath breathes with your mouth at the ends of empty streets. Gray light your eyes, sweet drops of dawn on dark hills.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/dawn-s-faint-breath-breathes-with-your-mouth-at-the-ends-of-empty/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Vienna is a handsome, lively city, and pleases me exceedingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-chopin/vienna-is-a-handsome-lively-city-and-pleases-me-exceedingly/) [Frederic Chopin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-chopin/) > [“We have grace of strength to work, to clear our cities of any dirt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-have-grace-of-strength-to-work-to-clear-our-cities-of-any-dirt/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I was too tired to think. I merely felt the town as a unique unreality. What was it? I knew -- the moon's picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-too-tired-to-think-i-merely-felt-the-town-as-a-unique-unreality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,153 Cities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "New York was no mere city. 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