In January 2000, the world was conquerable. New York City was cleaner, crime was down, Disney was taking up half of Times Square and you could buy a pack of cigarettes for three bucks. There were jobs everywhere, and it felt like the city was an infinite playground. It was what brought me here. It's what brought thousands of us. It's difficult to comprehend now, and you probably won't even believe me when I say it, but the dot-com boom that led to the influx of stupid young things into New York City was not, inherently, about money. READ MORE