I changed my political party affiliation back to “unaffiliated” and it feels good

On 11-25-22 I changed my NYS voter registration “party affiliation” back to “unaffiliated”
Until I moved to the City of Mount Vernon, NY in 2012, I spent my entire voting life (26yrs at that point) without a political party affiliation. But because NYS has a “closed” primary system, and the City of Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the local democratic party, the democratic primary determines election outcomes. Therefore, I rationalized registering as a democratic as an act of voter enfranchisement; to have a say in which democrat will elected to office, I needed to vote in the democratic primary.
Well, I cannot do it anymore. Not that I do not share things in common with registered democrats because I do. But I share things in common with republicans, libertarians, members of the green party, the working families party, too. And political parties, regardless of stated ideals, strike me as little more than money clubs that operate on loyalty to people not principles. They promote “group think” and squelch free independent thought. Too harsh? One thing is for certain: democrats govern our city, and one would be hard pressed to argue that our city is well governed.
So, I am back to being unaffiliated with any political party and it feels good.