What moving to NYC has taught me

At the beginning of June, I embarked on a new adventure and moved to New York City. One week in, I've written about my experiences, the highs and the lows, and what moving to the most thriving and sought after city in the world has taught me…

My first intro to NYC was a negative one. I was conned a silly amount of money by a taxi driver who pounced on little unassuming me at the airport, a deer in the headlights obviously lost in the big city. After charging me over three times the amount the journey should have been, said taxi driver then preceded to tell me that the people in NY are the nicest in the world. YEH OK MATE. Thankfully, despite not fitting into the category himself, the people of NY have been really bloody lovely and there's a sense of energy in the air that's almost tangible.

Take my first weekend for example, it was National Puerto Rican Day and living in a neighbourhood heavily populated by Puerto Ricans, you can imagine the excitement and celebration radiating from the streets. Latin American music playing left right and centre, neighbours having BBQs in their front gardens and people driving around in their obscenely large pick-up trucks blasting Pitbull. I often have to remind myself that I’m not actually living in a Fast and Furious movie and this is real life. 

On my second weekend in the city, a few friends and I went to a bar appropriately named ‘Barcade’; a dive-bar esque joint with every old school, retro, nostalgia driven video game going. We played four man Pac-Man a silly amount of times and I pressed the same button over and over again on Tekken until I won. Because we decided Barcade wasn’t enough, we then had a beer pong championship with a group of guys from New Jersey (again, do I live in a movie?) and then evidently had one too many pints and decided to get a tattoo from an artist from the Bronx called ‘Envy’. You literally cannot make this shit up. 

So yes, my first week or so in New York has been eventful, and I’ve definitely experienced enough already to go home with umpteen cool/funny/weird stories to tell. But regardless of all of this, regardless of the fun I’m having, regardless of the fact I’m living in NYeffinC, I have also had moments where I feel extremely homesick. Now, I don’t want this post to take a negative ‘cry me a river’ turn, because that’s not the point. The point is that whatever you see or read on social media, there’s always, always something going on in the background that you don’t know about. And although my neighbourhood plays pumpin’ Latin tunes and has the sickest street art I’ve ever seen, gun crime is a genuine thing, and I don't know the difference between fireworks and gunshots anymore. And despite the fact I work in Manhattan and have a view of the Empire State Building, I have days where I can be high on life and in the same hour become overwhelmed and on the verge of a panic attack. 

So the reality is, what you see on social media is all fabricated, and unless you know that person very well, you're unlikely to know how they're really feeling (unless of course they're the type to post about their break-up or bad day on Facebook....KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE). Really, social media is a highlight reel, and it’s absolutely wonderful to publicise memories so that we can reminisce upon old instas and snap stories from years gone by. But it’s not everything. 

See, even if you have everything you ever wanted, have a roof over your head, a family that love you and halloumi and homous at your fingertips, it’s okay if you feel glum every now and again. And even if you are living the absolute dream and have been handed an opportunity which people would kill for, it’s okay if you’re having a shitty day and pine for what you once had. As humans, we put too much pressure on ourselves and we convince ourselves that when we're feeling down, it's neither normal nor acceptable. But the truth is, emotions are always relative.

So next time you look at someone’s ridiculously jealousy-worthy social media account, or see them smiling joyfully in the office, just remember that they’re still a human being who's entitled to a down day. And if you yourself are feeling a bit crappy, don’t fight the emotions and let yourself feel. The most important thing to realise is that you're not alone in feeling the way you do. (Honestly, at this point, I've never wanted to quote Ronan Keating lyrics more in my life but I will refrain). 

When it comes to NYC, I will continue to hold my head high and channel my inner Carrie Bradshaw, making the most of every opportunity that comes my way. But I will also tell myself that if I'm feeling particularly quiet or sensitive one day, and even fancy a little cry, then that's totally fine too.