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There is nowhere else on the planet I’d rather call home.

For all the inconvenience and expense, I am still dazzled daily by this city. It sparkles through the grit and reminds me why I moved here 16 years ago on the counsel of Joe Giordano, a painting professor who told students that we owed it to ourselves to try. Six months, he told us. If you’re really serious about being an artist, you’ll try living in New York for at least six months. For some of you, it might be two years or 10 or even more, but you have to try.
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As it turned out, painting wasn’t what was calling me, but the rhythms of New York matched the weird way my heart had been beating since birth. I stayed.

I struggled, froze and starved for the first few years I was here — stitching together whatever scraps of jobs I could so I could remain. In another town, I might have had an apartment with heat that worked, in a neighborhood where a band of teenagers didn’t rob me of my last $7 as I trembled on my doorstep.

I might have walked around, content, carefree, filled with more than a cup of soup and a stale roll (they were half price later in the day), and not hacking from the bronchitis I had neither the insurance nor funds to treat.

Agree or disagree? L.A. is a ‘heavenly place’

But then I wouldn’t have looked over and seen Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant bobbing his mammoth and legendary head to my friend’s music as he poured his heart out in an East Village club. I would not have crashed headlong into a beatifically smiling Joey Ramone on the sidewalk on the stroke of my 24th birthday or been plucked from a SoHo health food store to act in a car commercial.

I would not have celebrated the last 11 Thanksgivings with my favorite drag queen, been naked with 200 other women for a group photograph in Grand Central Station, gotten tipsy with an archduchess, met my husband, found the career that sustains my life, and stood on my Brooklyn rooftop, staring over at the Manhattan skyline in gratitude for all its small and massive magic.

Photos: Landmarks of New York

That skyline has changed since I made this place my home. Ten and a half years ago, I stood on that rooftop and watched in horror as columns of smoke filled the space where two towers stood. A madman tried to rip the heart out of the city, and we would not let him have it.

My fellow New Yorkers and I mourned our dead, nursed our wounds, and our pulse thrummed more fiercely than ever. We made art and music and food and did the previously unthinkable: We broke out of our carefully constructed bubbles — the ones that allow us to live side by side, smashed up against each other in subway cars and separated by tissue-thin apartment walls — and we talked to each other. “Are you OK?” “Can I help you get home?” “Do you need a tissue?” “Where were you when they fell?” “Really, are you OK?”

One of the most glorious things about New York is that there are so many versions of it happening all at once, at all hours of the day. Many people speak of a quintessential New York experience — a Yankees (or Mets) game, a carriage ride through Central Park, a Broadway show, ascending the Empire State Building to take in the view, a bit of shopping, a schmear, a slice and a wildly overpriced pastrami sandwich. That’s one way to do it. There are so many more.

Photos: Scenes from the Big Apple

For the price of a Metrocard (that’s $2.50 for a single ride, $29 for a seven-day unlimited), I can wade into the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island, knock back ice-cold vodka shots while watching septuagenarian Russian men test the physical boundaries of their Speedos farther down Brighton Beach, or gawp at one of the world’s most impressive Erte and Chagall collections while chowing down on a killer Reuben at the Mill Basin Kosher Deli.

If I decide to leave Brooklyn (though really — why would I?), I can stuff my head with contemporary art in Chelsea or classics at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, nurture my soul at the Bronx Botanical Garden or Early Music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, or fill my face yet again at the Colombian, Dominican, Indian, Filipino, and countless other nationally specific restaurants along the 7 train’s corridor.

And sometimes, I don’t need a reason at all. I’ll just walk — briskly, the way a New Yorker should — but nowhere in particular. I trust this city and I know I’ll end up where I need to be.

A few of my New York favorites:

Standing under the 94-foot whale at the Natural History Museum

Oysters and prosecco at Grand Central Station’s Oyster Bar (don’t forget to speak into the whispering gallery outside or look for the dirty brick in the Main Concourse)

Grocery shopping at Fei Long Market in Sunset Park’s Chinatown, Buon Italia in the Chelsea Market or Kalustyan’s on Lexington

Mermaid Parade and fried clams at Coney Island

Fashion-gawking at the bar at Red Rooster in Harlem

Movies on the big screen at the Ziegfeld Theater

Paddleboats in Central Park

Egg and cheese on a roll from any corner deli, burrata from Di Palo, pierogies from Veselka, trucha marinado at La Pequeña Colombia, whatever Ali tells you to eat at Kabab Cafe, sour curry at Sripraphai, tacos at Nuevo Mexico, fishcakes and spaghetti at the Neptune Diner (ask for Frankie’s section), or prime rib hash and a single malt at the bar at Keens

Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sleep No More

Roosevelt Island Tram and the Staten Island Ferry

Atlantic Avenue Tunnel

And yeah — the view from the Empire State Building. We all pretend we’re too cool to care, but really — you’d have to be made of stone not to think it was one of the most glorious things you’ve ever seen.

That’s when chef Rene Redzepi opened Noma with somewhat strange ambitions — to serve only food native to Scandinavia — so no olive oil or other fancy Mediterranean stuff.  He created dishes with obscure items like milk skin, hay and pine needles, and against all the odds, it worked.

Noma this week made it a hat trick in the World’s Best 50 Restaurants awards, taking the top award for the third year in a row. And behind him come a whole raft of new young culinary hotshots known as the New Nordics — 10 percent of this year’s Top 50 restaurants are in Scandinavia.

Spain has done even better, mind you, with 30 percent of the Top 10 — yet again — in a row. Spanish restaurants remain at no. 2, 3 and 8, just like last year. And this is without the help of superstar chef Ferran Adria, first-ever winner of the awards, who broke records by holding the top spot for four years in a row with elBulli before closing it in 2011.

All are in the foodie north of the country, ditto another two which made the list.

Of course, New York’s Manhattan was not to be ignored, and also claimed 10 percent of the list and 20 percent of the top 10.  Per Se scored at no. 6, Eleven Madison Park at no. 10, while Le Bernardin, Daniel and Momofuku were further down the list.

Alinea in Chicago, the French Laundry in Yountville and a rather more obscure Californian entry, Manresa in Los Gatos, made the United States the most successful country on the list, with eight winners.

However, the world’s fourth-best restaurant is in Latin America, which took four gongs in total.

Asia, however, is the continent to watch, with six in the top 50, and a further 10 in the second half of the top 100.  Iggy’s of Singapore and Narisawa and Nihonryori RyuGin of Tokyo lead the way at no. 26, 27 and 28 respectively.  Behind them are Waku Ghin in Singapore, Amber in Hong Kong and Nahm in Bangkok — Thailand’s first ever restaurant to make the top 50.

Bizarrely, Nahm was born not in Thailand but in London of an Australian chef, and London, host to the awards, has just about held its head up.

The Fat Duck, once no. 1, may have slipped — down to 13, but chef Heston Blumenthal’s new restaurant, Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental, became the highest ever new entry at no. 9, while the Ledbury, down the road in Notting Hill, is the fastest climber in the list, leaping a whopping 20 points to no. 14. However, two British restaurants on last year’s list have dropped out.

It’s in the second half of the list that new stars are being born, with Moscow, Dubai, Cape Town and Sydney all earning multiple showings.

But so too do Scandinavia, Spain and the United States, who for the foreseeable future are going to be the countries to beat. Not to mention the French, whose dozen in the top 100 puts them one behind the United States, the overall winners.

The list is compiled by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Academy — a panel of more than 800  chefs, food critics, restaurateurs and other influential leaders in the restaurant industry.

The Top 10

1. Noma, Denmark
2. El Celler de Can Roca, Spain
3. Mugaritz, Spain
4. D.O.M., Brazil
5. Osteria Francescana, Italy
6. Per Se, United States
7. Alinea, United States
8. Arzak, Spain
9. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, England
10. Eleven Madison Park, United States

Cruise Lines International Association, the world’s largest cruise non-profit organization representing 26 companies, announced Tuesday it is putting in place standards it says will “achieve concrete, practical and significant safety dividends in the shortest possible time.”

Officials say each ship will now be required to provide additional adult life jackets in excess of the legal requirements within a ship’s most-populated zone. This will ensure the number of life jackets carried by a cruise liner will exceed the actual number of passengers on board.

At least 30 people were killed and two others are missing and presumed dead after the Costa Concordia struck rocks and turned on its side January 13 off the Italian island of Giglio.

Some survivors said they returned to their rooms to get their life jackets a half hour after the accident and struggled to climb many levels in dim emergency lighting on the listing ship to reach lifeboats.

The industry also adopted a policy to “minimize unnecessary disruptions and distractions” on the bridge. The change will limit access to the bridge “to those with operational functions during any period of restricted maneuvering or when increased vigilance is required.”

The captain of the Costa Concordia faces allegations of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck, abandoning ship and failing to report the accident. Some media outlets reported that Capt. Francesco Schettino had a woman with him on the bridge just before the accident.

Schettino has previously said managers of the cruise line instructed him to sail close to Giglio. He said the ship hit a rock not indicated on charts of the area.

A third safety policy adopted involves passage planning procedures, which is the complete description of a ship’s movement from departure to arrival. The new standard will change what was simply guidance for years and make it a mandatory minimum requirement. All bridge team members will be briefed on the voyage “well in advance of its implementation” by a designated officer and approved by the master.

“As the Concordia incident demonstrates, there is no such thing as perfect safety,” said Manfredi Lefebvre, chairman of the European Cruise Council. “We do strive for a perfect commitment to safety.”

The third most populous city in the United States is Chicago. Having over 2.8 million people living within the city limits, it is the largest city in Illinois. It was founded in 1833 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Rivers Watershed. It became a major transportation and communication hub in North America. Now, it maintains its status as a major hub. O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is the second busiest airport in the world.

The city attracts 32.8 million domestic visitors and about 1.15 million foreign visitors yearly. Some of its nicknames popular to these tourists and locals alike are “Chi-town”, ‘Windy City’ “Second City”, and the “City of Big Shoulders”. It has also been called “the most American of big cities” and has many historic hotels, one of which is the Congress Plaza Hotel located along Michigan Avenue.

Chicago River is a secret gem – a green and winding playground for wildlife, lined by parkland right in the heart of the city. If you are an adventurous person who loves nature at the same time, you have great reasons to be in Chicago. You don’t need to go far from a city to be near to nature because in Chicago, you’ll find it all. Modern facilities and nature come together, much to the delight of those who come to visit and behold its beauties.

Sometimes, it’s hard to find a place to stay in when we’re planning a vacation and reservations are full. Chicago will rarely have a problem with vacancy because here, there are many hotels to suit your needs. If you want a Chicago luxury hotel, the city has it. If you want a more affordable alternative, there are many to fit your budget, too.

If you are a traveler who seeks a place to stay in, look for a hotel that fits your lifestyle, a hotel that is not beyond your budget and where everything you needed is available. The one that is accessible to your plan of adventure and, at the same time, near a hospital or one within the downtown area is a good choice. Remember, the time you spend exploring the city is as important as the time you spend as you call it a day and take some rest. When you choose a good hotel, you can definitely enjoy your stay from your arrival to the city and as you depart from it.