Why I Kind of Want to Move to New York

Posted on 17. Jul, 2012 by in North America

Well THAT was a 180.

When I was younger: a teenager and a college kid, I used to hate New York. My dad would bring me up for the day to see a Broadway show, and while I loved spending time with him, Manhattan was so insane and commercial and absurd, I could barely stand it. Later on when I went to visit my friend Anna at NYU I felt that same mixture of overwhelmed and intimidated.

Things started to swing in the other direction after college. I would come to visit friends in the city and stay longer, in more out of the way places. I started to experience New York closer to how a local would- I knew it better now and it wasn’t so intimidating anymore.

In the past couple of years I’ve been up to New York dozens of times. My best friends live here, I met my fiance here. I feel comfortably here finally.

And now, after a week of cat-sitting in Brooklyn and running around the city pretending to be a local I can come clean:

I kind of really wish I lived in New York City.

Feels good to put that out there! As I mentioned in my last post, every time I visit New York I love it more and more. There’s always some new viewpoint to explore or new restaurant to try  or a new site to see.

A lot of our friends now live in or near New York. Mike’s have always been there, he is a Jersey Boy after all. Many of mine have been migrating up from DC in the past couple years. Some of my best friends are now New Yorkers and I love coming to the city to catch up with them. Not to mention the plethora of travel blogger buddies who live in the city.

Additionally, New York may be the greatest city in the world for international food and culture. For a couple of foodies like us it’s paradise with it’s enormous collection of authentic restaurants: real Indian food, Cuban food, Chinese, Italian, Thai can all be easily obtained. There’s always new places to try and neighborhoods to explore. Fact is that if you have a permanent case of wanderlust like myself, you could do worse than to live in New York, where just about every culture in the world has representation if you look hard enough.

Red Bean Ice Cream

Lamb Noodles, Xi’an’s Famous Foods

Taco truck

 

So yeah, I could live here happily- riding the subway, eating local, going out for cocktails with my girlfriends. I can totally envision that life, I think Mike could too. We were both a bit melancholy on our bus ride out of town. Both wondering when we could get back to visit the big city.

Maybe our nesting instinct is starting to kick in. We ARE getting married after all, and after 2-3 years worth of travel we’re starting to rethink the way we experience the world. It would be nice to have a real home base and an apartment of our own in the city. We got a sample of that life this week and it felt really, really nice.

This isn’t a dream I see coming true anytime soon. I’d need to make about 8 times more money then I do right now for starters. And I have other plans, big plans, that don’t involve being tied to a lease in the US just yet. But who knows, maybe someday I’ll get to call New York home.

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27 Responses to “Why I Kind of Want to Move to New York”

  1. Mish

    17. Jul, 2012

    Totally know what you mean!

    My husband and I are currently living in NY for six months and we HATE that there’s a time limit on our stay!

    We’ve been moving to a different apartment every few weeks to keep things fresh and explore new neighborhoods, and we’ve loved every single place we’ve stayed.

    We thought there’d be a risk of getting fed up with NY – we’re staying in tiny apartments, it’s really hot in the summer, etc. – but we’re four months in and nowhere near tired of it.

    It really is expensive here, and we doubt we could live here long term (especially if we have children and decide it’d be child abuse to make them sleep in the cupboard under the sink – probably the only space we’d have). But if we could, we probably would.

    Good luck – I hope you get to call New York home one day in the future!

    Reply to this comment

  2. Hogga

    17. Jul, 2012

    Gah to the money… taking me down at every turn. Couldn’t we just move where we wanted based on how awesome we are?

    Reply to this comment

  3. Britany

    17. Jul, 2012

    I was just at that restaurant with the adorable patio from the picture of you and your girlfriends! I’ve lived in NY since October and here’s my confession: I’ve kind of hated it until recently and now that I’m learning to love it, I’m leaving! Its a great city but it does have a way of kicking your ass and then picking you back up again in the most exhausting ways. My apartment will be available in October if you’re really interested:)

    Reply to this comment

    • Meghan

      19. Jul, 2012

      Where is your apartment? this article caught my eye b/c I actually kept saying I was going to move to NYC and after more and more frequent trips I moved up here in March! :)

      Reply to this comment

  4. Laura

    17. Jul, 2012

    New York does have a way of exhausting you, overwhelming you, and wearing you down. And you tend to work way too much here. But after 10+ years of having it as my own home base, I wouldn’t trade it in for a minute. It’s one of the world’s true great cities, with so much range and diversity among its different neighborhoods–there’s really something for everyone (my part of Queens, Jackson Heights, often gives me the feeling I am actually traveling in another country!). And the food–yes. You can find just about anything here. I’m glad you went to Xi’an; it’s one of my favorite Chinese spots.

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  5. Christine

    17. Jul, 2012

    You’re totally selling me! Have I mentioned that I’m moving there without ever having been there since I entered my teenage years? Granted, I moved to Melbourne without ever having set foot in Australia but still–NYC is a big deal! A bit nervous but so stoked for the adventure, the opportunity to explore the East Coast (and I frivolously think I’ll be able to hop over to Europe on a whim!) and all the foodie finds. See you there :)

    Reply to this comment

  6. Adventurous Kate

    17. Jul, 2012

    ME TOO!!! I never felt a need to live in New York the way I did this past week!! SO MUCH GOOD FOOD! That’s what I miss most about not living in a city (Chester’s only sushi place went out of business because nobody went there…GAH).

    So much to DO, so much great food, such cool neighborhoods…I was even scoping out where I’d like to live in Brooklyn.

    Then last night I watched House Hunters and there was a couple with a budget of $500,000 and one of their options was a STUDIO APARTMENT in midtown. Brought me back down from my New York high quickly.

    Reply to this comment

  7. Amy

    17. Jul, 2012

    I love New York, especially at Christmastime; there’s nothing like it. But it’s interesting you mention needing to make more money in order to live there because isn’t DC just as expensive?

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      17. Jul, 2012

      DC is pricey (although not nearly as expensive as New York), but when I’m home I get to stay at my mom’s house for free!

      Reply to this comment

  8. Amanda @ Farsickness

    17. Jul, 2012

    If/when I ever decide to move back to the United States it will definitely be to New York. For all the reasons you stated and because you can usually get some pretty good deals out of JFK for international flights :)

    Reply to this comment

  9. Sabina

    18. Jul, 2012

    I could handle living in New York too. I’ve always loved it but felt – and was – so far away from it since I grew up in the Mid West. Since I’m living in Connecticut now, though, I get to come and go as I please to NYC. I was out of the country for 2 years but am back home for a while and itching to get back to the city!

    Reply to this comment

  10. Surminga

    18. Jul, 2012

    I could happily live in NY, I’d love to some day move across the pond from the UK. It is there in part of my dreams – I’m used to London, next has to be new York

    Reply to this comment

  11. crazy sexy fun traveler

    18. Jul, 2012

    I know what you mean … after 2 weeks in NYC I felt in love with it! But it is too pricey …

    Reply to this comment

  12. Matt

    18. Jul, 2012

    Perhaps I’ve not spent enough time in the city, but the thought of moving to NYC makes me cringe. It’s a fantastic place to visit – to sample the huge variety of food, to take in each uniquely feeling neighborhood, to see live music and shows – but I cannot imagine living there. I need more green space, more mountains and less people in my life.

    I guess three years on New Zealand’s South Island will do that to a person. 1.1 million people on the entire South Island compared 1.5 million people in Manhattan.

    Reply to this comment

  13. Kieu

    19. Jul, 2012

    We can definitely relate! The food alone is enough but the idea of being on the East Coast, I mean for this West coaster, seems fun. A good change I think. But yeah that lease is sure getting in the way. :P

    Reply to this comment

  14. Franca

    19. Jul, 2012

    I know few other people with the same dream as your… I personally think that, no matter what, if it’s what you really want you should go for it, whenever you are ready of course!

    I personally have never been to NYC, it is on my endless list though, it’s just a matter of time! :)

    Good Luck!
    ITALIAN/Franca

    Reply to this comment

  15. Nomadic Matt

    19. Jul, 2012

    Do it. See you there!

    Reply to this comment

  16. Erica

    19. Jul, 2012

    While we have never been to NYC, we’re running into the “it would be nice to have an apartment in Austin” thing. Unless i win the travel blogger lottery, I’m not holding my breath right now.

    But who knows, right? NYC sounds so amazing!

    Reply to this comment

  17. Michelle Deaven

    19. Jul, 2012

    I’ve always wanted to know what it feels like to be “New Yorker!”

    Reply to this comment

  18. Camels & Chocolate

    19. Jul, 2012

    A home base IS nice–I have never actually desired to be a full-time “digital nomad” as I like having a place with stuff and my local “spots.” And just because you claim a home doesn’t by any means translate to tying yourself down! Take a page out of my book =)

    Reply to this comment

  19. Ali

    21. Jul, 2012

    I lived in NJ, about an hour from NYC, until I was 15, so we were in the city a lot. I have a few friends who live there now too, and I just love visiting. NYC has such a great feel to it. I’m not sure I’d want to live there permanently, but a few months or a year would be great.

    Reply to this comment

  20. Alex

    22. Jul, 2012

    Sigh. I write this comment from a friend’s apartment in Brooklyn, one of the many I have been couchsurfing at since I’m back in New York yet unable to afford a place of my own. Its so tough! I see NYC as my home, having lived here for four years and grown up just a few hours upstate. You can’t imagine how frustrating it is to know that I can’t afford to live in a city that so weirdly feels like its my birthright to reside in, ha.

    Ah well, no point in having an apartment that I’d only be in a few months of the year. Maybe someday.

    Reply to this comment

  21. Casey Camilleri

    25. Jul, 2012

    One of the best songs: Billy Joel – New York State Of Mind

    Reply to this comment

  22. Rease

    26. Jul, 2012

    I have yet to visit NYC, but I have always had a stigma about it. It’s the prices that kill me. However, I am finally going next month and I am very excited to give it a chance. My boyfriend is a NYC lover (possibly because he is puerto rican? haha) and would love to live there someday, so I know he is hoping the city will leave a good impression on me.

    Reply to this comment

  23. Fly Away Emily

    01. Oct, 2012

    Hey Steph. I was born and raised in the heart of New York City. I get all kinds of reactions when I tell people that, from “You’re a rare breed!” to “You’re SO lucky!” It’s true that I’m a rare breed; New York is filled with non-natives. But every time I’m told I’m lucky, I hesitate.

    Yes, I suppose it is fortunate that I was born in a place where people all over the world, like you, dream about moving to. And at the ripe age of 22, I could probably get away with a few more free years living for totally free at my parent’s beautiful apartment in Downtown Brooklyn. But the irony is that I kind of hate it here!

    Like you did when you were younger, I find it overwhelming, commercial and flashy. I can’t stand the way NYers walk around all fashioned up like it’s a runway and screaming on their cell-phones about their first world problems. I can’t stand how huge it is and that most of my friends live so far away that I never see them. Most of all, it bugs the hell out of me that NYers are often under the impression that NYC is the center of the universe and nothing outside of it matters or exists. As a world traveler, you must know that there is so much more to it!

    I’m currently working on saving up and developing my travel blog so I can hit the road the hell out of NY. But in the meantime, if you ever need a free place to stay and want a native tour guide, give me a ring!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      02. Oct, 2012

      I was born in DC and everyone tells me I’m a rare breed too (everyone is from somewhere else). You make a really good point that seeing a city as a visitor and a local are really different experiences.

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