Written 26.10.19
At the start of September I moved over to America on the J1 Graduate Visa and since I’ve gotten here I’ve been head down with furnishing my room in my apartment, scheduling appointments for adult related duties (the social security office has been my least favourite place so far) and of course, trying to find an internship.
It’s a Saturday here and I’ve officially been here for nearly a month and three weeks. I’m in a coffee shop in a little town called Bronxville, which is just as picturesque as it sounds. There’s a coffee shop here that I’ve been to before to do some internship searching, but today I decided to come here and finally start personal writing again.
Four things I’ve learnt since moving to NYC
New York isn’t as daunting as I thought it would be
Five years ago I visited the city for a day trip and I felt overwhelmed to say the least. I left thinking it was too crazy for me, but since getting here I found myself growing to love walking the streets and the subway isn’t as daunting anymore. The craziness is still there but there’s also tranquil and relaxed parts of the city as well.
New Yorkers are really nice
There’s the whole stereotype the people who live here are blunt and won’t give you the time of day, but the majority of people I’ve met over here have been overwhelming friendly. Some have gone above and beyond to help me out and when you do something nice for them they couldn’t be more grateful (I held a door open for a lady and she stopped what she was doing to personally thank me).
DIY is not for me
My room was completely unfurnished when I moved in. Some things that helped me fill my room have been going to yard sales and finding furniture on the street. I swear it’s not as dodgy as it sounds, over here they have ‘furniture night’ where people put their unwanted couches, tables, you name it, on the street and it’s yours to take. Some people love interior decorating, but for me I find little jobs like figuring out how to use a tension rod, frustrating and so time consuming. All that said, my room is finally coming together and I do love it. s finally come together though and I do lo
It’s all about networking
A few people mentioned this to me before I came over but I underestimated how important it is. Over here it seems it’s all about who you know and who they can put you in contact with. Reaching out to people on Twitter has led me to getting meetings set up and even though they didn’t have an internship to offer me, they were able to put me through to some more people who could help me. It’s all about getting one step closer, right?
