take ur time!! let the city flow through you slowly. i moved to nyc and it took a YEAR for me to find my feet. it's scary and big and annoying and new and it will get you down but keep trudging forward. always explore, search for local stuff like on meetup, smores, even insta. it's so so so worth it. and even if it doesn't feel RIGHT, enjoy the adventure for now :)
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Everything in New York takes 2-5x longer than anywhere else, so don’t be surprised how exhausted you are. make your apartment as restful & beautiful as possible, a haven where everything can be easy.
give yourself 2 years to decide if you want to move away. It took awhile for me to feel like myself again but now I’m the happiest’ve ever been ✨
Feb 24, 2024
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It is physical - You will sleep like a damn log your first three months. You will be moving and your senses will be overloaded. walking, walking, and more walking, going up and down subway stairs, running to catch the bus, third floor walk up, fourth floor walk up, dancing, carrying bags, hauling groceries, dodging tourists. We are in the elements. We are not going from big box store to work to farmer's market in our heated or air conditioned cocoons on wheels. We are *in it*!
Headphones - I break this rule a lot, because walking around Brooklyn with a soundtrack is a beautiful way to spend a day, but generally I keep headphones in on the subway to protect my precious hearing from the grind and squeals of the trains, but when I'm walking around I take them out. Not really for safety, although it is a good habit for safety, but more for the great things you could hear people say or the tunes your neighbors/restaurants/drivers are putting out there. It keeps you more connected to your community.
It’s ups and downs - One moment you could be getting romantic about the city, the characters you encounter, sunsets so beautiful you start to actually appreciate air pollution, watching a violinist make a kid smile and clap in wonder as she plays La Vie En Rose. The next minute something doesn’t work, or someone gets angry, and you’re late for your thing and you’re thrown into bouts of hot frustration by a subway system that borders on myth. Sometimes it feels like a cage and but most of the time you don’t know how you could live anywhere else. Sometimes you want to escape and then after a few days you want to come back and when you do it feels like home.
I could keep going, but I'm jealous you have so many new things ahead. As sofi said, don't give up!
Feb 22, 2024
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I’m from the midwest, moved to manhattan for college, stayed for a bit after, have recently moved to a few different cities, and have wished to be back living in new york ever since. It’s often talked about like a thrilling dream— it’s obviously not. But what I can say is that I think in many ways living there helped me grow into a person I really understand. I was listening to a podcast recently where this comedian brittany carney said something like living in new york slaps her in the face every day but she likes that about it so she stays. I think that was a pretty accurate way to describe it. It took me a while to feel comfortable living there, but I still remember the moment I realized that it had become my home, and ever since no home I’ve made for myself has felt quite the same.
Feb 4, 2025
Top Recs from @travisthegrimm
work lunch is this $17 'bedford ave' smoothie with vegan protein and sea moss gel. very west village coded. the vegan protein is so strong in flavor but not too bad. and don't worry, work covered the cost of this one.
Jun 12, 2025
when i went to italy by myself, i had cell service but barely any internet. i drove around northern italy all week with only the music i'd had downloaded on my phone and melodrama was the only album i had. this song (and the album) always meant a lot but in the context of me driving around italy in the countryside by myself... it means even more.
1d ago
a24 zine, next to heaven (botm), and the long road, the chronology of water, and die, my love (the strand)
i love the strand. like love love love the strand. it's become my spot to kill time when waiting for friends or my husband. i also love just browsing books on the weekends. i rarely come out with nothing, always a book or multiple books. i kinda went overboard this time but when the books call, i come! i still browse barnes and noble union square but the strand is just so much cooler.
also the virgin suicides was a present from my husband! crazy crazy. teenage me would love i never let go of those girls.
what are you reading rn????
1d ago