I heartily concur. In addition to NYC, I've lived in upstate New York (Ithaca) and downstate Illinois (Champaign-Urbana). Illinois (outside Chicago) is simply more mind-numbingly boring than I had ever imagined -- and, believe me, I looked. There's simply nothing there. I'm still working on my degree there but I couldn't take it any longer and escaped in January when my lease ended.
Maybe it's easier for those who've never experienced anything better, but I just don't know how so many people have no difficulty living there. (Someone even told me that he finds corn fields scenic but is bored by mountains. He's welcome to his opinion but I cannot comprehend it. They all look the same!)