While not all of us would like to admit it, if we had to choose between a New York rom-com or an action film, the majority votes to fantasize about love in one of the most romantic, lively cities in the world. There’s something about a Matthew Mcconaughey and Kate Hudson film that warms your heart and makes you daydream about what it would be like to move to the city of opportunities and become a big dreamer.
Speaking from experience, I am one to support the rather cliche idea of moving to the big city to start your life over, fall in love and become successful in your career path. But where did these ideas stem from?
The answer is simple. Rom-coms. I blame (yet hopelessly admire) all the classic ‘90s films and television series’ that allowed me to daydream about the perfect New York apartment and imagine that living in the snow was as white and dreamy as it sounds. Reality check— it’s not exactly like the movies portray it to be…
Don’t get me wrong, living in a New York apartment is a treasurous milestone within itself. Apartment hunting, learning to navigate the subway, and standing on your own two feet is exhilarating and oh, so rewarding. Every day is an adventure, not everybody is meant to live in New York, that’s for sure. But after obsessively rewatching the hit-sitcom television show FRIENDS and binging all fashion-related movies starring Anne Hathaway, I seemed to have built up a false annotation of what living in New York is truly like.
Not every day is filled with the stereotypical city activities you imagine— especially not in COVID-19 times. Most evenings don’t consist of getting drinks at The Plaza or taking a sunset stroll through Central Park. Some days are pure magic when you step outside and simply feel the energy roaming through the air with a hot coffee in hand. Then there are laundry days, which are…not so glamorous.
So far, here’s what I’ve learned:
- Hailing a cab isn’t as easy (or graceful) as it looks.
- The subway is nice and all, but have you heard of Uber?
- There’s no way that Carrie Bradshaw could afford her Upper East Side apartment AND her Manolo Blahnik shoe collection. Carrie, you can’t have your cake and eat it, too.
- A savings account? Never heard of her.
- Avoid Times Square. Don’t ask why, just do it.
- You better get comfortable living in a shoebox-sized apartment, probably with a roommate!
- Monica Geller’s two-bedroom flat is not a reasonable New York apartment. That thing is huge.
- Most of us don’t live above a coffee shop or bakery, most of us live above a Thai restaurant or Dumpling kitchen.
- If your apartment doesn’t have window air conditioners, get two to start, then buy two more.
- Stay away from the moving trash piles on Tuesdays (squeak, squeak).
- That job you and 567 others applied to on LinkedIn? Yeah, you’re not hearing back from them.
- Dating is non-existent in the winter time, less people out on the street.
- Dating apps are definitely, most definitely not as romantic as how J-Lo met her man in the rain underneath the nearest dry hotel overhang.
- It’s all about who you know.
- You learn to love it.
Some people question why you would want to move to New York, pay the expensive rent, work excessive hours, and live uncomfortably; both in weather and apartment size. It’s because we hope and dream that somewhere, somehow in such a city that never sleeps, there’s something waiting for us. May that be a job, a lover, a friend or an opportunity, it’s there. You just have to find it.
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Photo by Roberto Vivancos from Pexels
