The guidebooks have it wrong. We’re not 8 million people sharing a single metropolis—we’re each living in our own private Idaho. For the organicist, the city is what lies within a daily orbit of compost workshops, leatherless shoe stores, and wheatgrass-juice stands. Economizers—okay, cheapskates—subsist in a universe of $2-a-pound clothing, $2.25 dinners, and almost-free dental work. Hedonists, of course, wouldn’t dream of going to a free clinic for anything, but see the city as a constellation of pleasures: custom-made sheets from Bergdorf’s, truffle dinners at Del Posto. Obviously, we’re not all caricatures. You may not be a dog-freak design maven with a literary streak, or even a quasi “It” girl who’s a closet rebel. But no matter who you are, you’re bound to catch a glimpse of your own city somewhere in the following maps, which chart a sampling of the boutiques, eateries, clubhouses, makeout spots, and historical sites that speak to the passions of ten different New York archetypes. You might even find the inspiration to redraw your own map.
By Sarah Bernard, Sara Cardace, Julia Chaplin, Arianne Cohen, Chris Erikson, Michael Idov, Boris Kachka, James Kurisunkal, Ben Mathis-Lilley, S. Jhoanna Robledo, Jill Singer, Alexandra Zissu.


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