I looked at a calendar the other day and realized I’ve been living in New York for over 6 months. Pretty hard to believe! But, having made it this far, I figured it was a good time to take stock of what my time in NYC has been like, and how I fared in that transition.
The First 3 Months
My first few months in New York didn’t feel very real– in one day, I moved to this city and started a new job. It wasn’t until my third month here that I actually processed the fact that I lived here. I remember so vividly, walking down Wall St on my way to work and idly thinking that this was my commute. Feeling a fondness for it, like I had in Berkeley so many times. I stopped walking abruptly, and held onto that sensation which grounded me in this new place.
Finding an apartment and making it ours, taking on a new role at a much bigger agency, trying all the ramen spots to find something close to my fave in Oakland– really, just trying to find my groove and create a new routine. By the time the holidays rolled around, it all felt a lot more normal. And furnished. Ha!
The Following 3 Months
After finally processing that this place was my home, I stopped focusing on creating a new normal. Now it was time to explore. I spent hours wandering Manhattan, going into small shops and down cobblestone streets. I tried new coffee shops in Brooklyn every weekend. We were in the dead of winter at this point, so I was bundled up through all of this. Experiencing the wintry season was a little bizarre, but exciting too.
6 months in, I felt twice as comfortable as I did in the beginning– thank goodness! Having settled in at this point, I decided to extend my reach a little further and apply to volunteer at one of my favorite organizations. More on that later.
Currently: Month 7
Currently, I’m gearing up for spring. The days are finally getting longer, and arriving home in time to see the sunset stream into my apartment has been making me really happy. I can’t wait to leave the house without a wool coat, and to be able to sit in the park on a Sunday afternoon. It’s so close I can taste it!
The slow onset of spring has also got me feeling very inspired, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of me here.
The long and short of it: I like this city a lot. And it’s still growing on me. Thanks for having me, NYC.
xo,
T
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