Six years ago, I profiled

"Noam, the Straying Hasid."

We've stayed in touch since. Below is our latest exchange:

Linh:

It’s been a long while. I cannot remember when I contacted you last, so I will give you the rundown of what’s been happening in my life the last year or so. I had for a while been considering leaving New York, as you know, but I finally took the plunge in February of last year. I moved to Austin (sight unseen) and have been there ever since. How do I like it? I have mixed feelings about it. It is a much more pleasant place than New York, that’s for sure. People are nicer, the streets are wider, there is much more open space and nature has not (yet) been completely stamped out. Culturally, however, I find it’s somewhat lacking. I miss the myriad opportunities of New York: the museums, the music, the variety of live shows to choose from each night. I’ve mostly retreated into my shell since moving here, but I am making some friends. I’ve also taken a hiatus from reading and other forms of intellectual behavior.

Prices here are quickly catching up with New York (I’m paying more in rent here than I was in New York) and I’m somewhat serious about finding another place to live, but I’m also paralyzed by the abundance of options. I’d like to live somewhere outside the US, I think.

One thing I’ve learned since moving here is how much easier it is to ignore the realities of America in New York. Here everyone is extremely fit and obsessed with sports (I exaggerate slightly). I briefly considered Pittsburgh as a place to live, but I soon reverted to my indecision and apathy.

I’ve been working as an Uber driver since moving here, which has exposed me to a variety of perspectives, but mainly granted me some insight into the way humans live. It’s also good money, relatively, and it’s nice not having a set schedule, or a boss on top of me. All the same it’s the path of least resistance—definitely not a career or something which utilizes my creative and intellectual talents. Inertia has taken hold of me in that regard, as it has in so many other places. I am nevertheless looking forward to some sort of breakthrough, whatever form it takes.

How are things with you? Are you still in Vietnam? Has the global disruption in the supply chain affected you there? These are absurd times in which we live. I hope everything is okay with you and you are doing well.

Sincerely,

 

Noam 

***

Hi Noam,

It's always good to hear from you, and to hear you're doing OK. The US is in deep trouble, man, so try to save money and start thinking like a prepper. I'm not kidding.

Don't fuss over the relative paucity of high culture in Austin. Culture is everywhere. Enjoy local culture and the people you've met.

After bouncing from country to country, I'm back in Vietnam and living in a seaside city, Vung Tau, where I have two good friends. The food options here are good and cheap, so I'm happy, and my rent is very reasonable. Vung Tau has no museums or theaters to speak of, but I feed off its street culture, and people's stories. I listen, man, and that's more than enough. Everyone is fascinating because each has struggled.

Since you're already in Texas, really explore it, man. Spend time in San Antonio and El Paso, for example, and check out some of the smaller towns. I'd investigate those before going to Pittsburgh, and I wouldn't advise returning to NYC. As American society unravels, that sprawling mess of a city will become more chaotic and violent than any other. Among other reasons, it's more prone logistically than all other US cities.

As for moving to another country, it's a big step. I remember you telling me you had only been to Israel. If you can afford to take a week off, why not spend it in Chihuahua? Hell, even hang out for a week in Juarez. Though it's supposedly a drug infested war zone, you'd have to be super unlucky to catch any stray bullet! As an American minding your own business, you'd be safer there than in the Bronx, I'd think.

 

Finally, don't retreat into a shell. Turn off your gadgets and spend time with people. Just looking at them is healthy!


Linh