On Friday at 5pm, I was asked what I was doing this weekend. I answered “I have no idea, but something always comes up.”

It is three months into my second year in New York City, and the level of spontaneity that this city calls for has been unmatched anywhere else I’ve lived. Today, I ended up at brunch on the upper east side, walking through Central Park with friends, and shopping, at all places, at Zabar’s. The evening will consist of either a concert, a house party, or a quiet evening at home.

It’s not just the sheer number of things there are to do in New York. Every other major city I’ve lived in has had lots to do. I think it’s the ease of transporting around the city via Subway and the relative proximity of so many diverse neighborhoods. In Los Angeles, by contrast, once I had a friend visiting from out of town who told me day of–and there was no way I was schlepping to Pasadena at 6pm on Thursday. I would see him next time.

The spontaneity of New York no doubt offers opportunities for a diverse range of experiences in a short amount of time. Multiplied by 8 million people, and it’s no wonder that New York is a modern cultural marvel, the center of our nation’s financial, artistic, and culinary life.

It is wonderful to wake up every morning and not quite know what is coming next, but not in a way that’s dangerous and unpredictable, but in a way that’s enticing and exciting.

New York is not just a city that never sleeps. It’s a city where life never slows down.