While reading Jessica Bruning’s article about Iowa being just as good as New York, I was left wondering if what she wrote was an attempt at mockery or if she was being serious. I have decided she was serious and left wondering how she actually spent her time in New York.

My mother is from two minutes outside of NYC and my father is from Los Angeles. I have spent ample time in both cities, as well as in Minnesota, Ames and downtown Chicago, which has been my home for the last few years. I have spent ample time in both big cities and small cities.

Like Ms. Bruning, I attended Iowa State and graduated a few years ago. I loved my time at Iowa State and would relive any year of my time at ISU. It was a fun time as I met great friends and had a great educational experience. ISU is a great university, and Ames is not bad for a very small city. Nobody is debating this. It has low crime and is quiet. If you want to live a simple, quiet life, then Ames is great.

Before I get started, I find it a little frivolous we’re comparing an entire state with one city, and then Minneapolis, which is not even in Iowa, is brought into view. In that case, we can include Boston and Philadelphia. If we drive fast enough, D.C. can be included, too.

Let’s start: Ms. Bruning contests that New York is filled with primarily chain stores like H&M, with only a few boutiques in Brooklyn and East Village. Her logic says that Iowa is just as good because there is Jordan Creek with the same chains. I guess if you are looking at buying cheap clothing from American Eagle or Aeropostale, then she is absolutely correct. Everyone seems to have the same jersey number in Iowa — 87. Fashion is more than just a few months behind in Iowa. Try a few years, at least.

Any city is going to have many chain stores in it. Contrary to popular belief, most people in New York actually do not have an unlimited bankroll. Also contrary to popular belief, all people need to be dressed. Most cannot afford Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna or even Ted Baker. However, I have to believe the author really didn’t spend much time outside of the East Village or Brooklyn. She’s correct saying there aren’t many boutiques in either of those areas. Perhaps she didn’t travel to the other surrounding areas of Manhattan to NoLita, SoHo, Koreatown or Madison Avenue, just to name a few places.

I don’t know if you realize, but New York is one of the four fashion capitals of the world along with Paris, London and Milan. People from all around the world move to New York to study fashion at institutions such as Parsons and Pratt, and set up their businesses there for a reason. When an international fashion house looks at expanding to America, they usually look to open in New York first. Gucci opened its first U.S. store in New York a decade before it ever stepped foot in Los Angeles. Good luck finding a good non-chain designer in Iowa. To say that New York has primarily chain stores with just a few boutiques is laughable.

Food — something else in which New York is world renowned. I don’t know where you were eating to think that New York as a whole doesn’t have cheap food, but again this is completely incorrect. You can go to almost any neighborhood and find cheap food that is better than most food in Iowa. Look at the per capita income in New York. Contrary to popular belief, people have to eat and not everyone can afford a $70 steak or even a $20 chicken-stuffed-with-goat-cheese dinner. If you primarily spend your time in the Upper East Side, then sure you can find less expensive food in Iowa.

Most of New York does has affordable eateries. Also, just because Iowa has a few cuisines does not mean they are of as good/better quality. Most people wouldn’t even be able to tell mediocre Indian food if it hit them straight in the face. Just like fashion, people from all around the world come to study the culinary arts in New York and to set up their restaurants. Give me a call when Michelin’s crew even steps foot in the state of Iowa.

Bars and entertainment? Most bars are the same around the country. There’s a million Mickey’s. People are half of what makes a bar. I don’t know if you realize it, but most people are the same regardless of where you go in the world. We are all trying to get through the day and figure it all out. When was the last time Ames had a chill place full of couches and down-tempo electronica music? I remember a place in 2004 that seemed to have been shut down by the Iowa Cultural Police.

Nightlife-like clubs? Good luck attracting a big time DJ to any club in Iowa … ever. They play every week in New York. Major artists in Iowa? Maybe every five to 10 years. Also, musicians move to New York from all over to get started. Why do you think Iowans travel to Chicago all the time to get their music? Maybe it is because they don’t play in Iowa much. Broadway musicals? I think we need to understand that most actors in those were not quite good enough to make Broadway, or stay there. It’s rare for a star from Broadway to tour the country. Touring shows are good, but not “Broadway good.”

I could go on for a long time, but this is limited. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. I agree on some things like green space. Iowa is a quiet, simple place with low crime rates, but there’s not much to do and not much culture. If you want an active and cultural lifestyle with variety, look to New York.