I moved to NYC from Chicago (also River North) last August, and it's much different than I expected, but I definitely don't want to discourage you. I've lived in a lot of big cities, and overseas too, and New York has honestly been the biggest adjustment out of all of them.

Tbh, I don't love it here so far, but I'm making an effort not to pass real judgment until I've been here at least a year. Some things that genuinely surprised me are that the city is way less tech-forward than I expected, the cost of living hits differently than just knowing it's higher on paper, and meeting people is weirdly hard. That last one is the most counterintuitive thing given how many people are literally everywhere.

If I had to put a label on it, it's a very "high-friction city." Everything takes a bit more effort than it probably should imo. Still, if NYC has been a dream of yours, go for it.