NOTEPAD No. 30

Question: What did you find to be the hardest thing about moving to NYC?

Answer: I had already lived in San Francisco for about five years so I was pretty accustom to ‘city life’. Making new friends, seasons (read winter), and the amount of visitors, were all overwhelming. At 28, I wasn’t going out as much, and didn’t have a network in NYC when I arrived, so meeting new people was, well, work. I needed to put in a lot more effort to make and foster connections to create real, meaning relationships. I loved my first few months in NYC, heading into summer and experiencing the fall bliss! When winter came I wasn’t prepared for how annoying it was to get around at times (an 8 block walk to the subway felt life threatening) and the overall lack of activity. Lastly, living in San Francisco, I rarely got visitors, but being back on the east coast, I was shocked (SHOCKED) at how many people I knew who were coming in and out of NYC for business trips, quick weekends, and weddings/events. The first year I felt excited, yet obligated, each time an old friend reached out to say they would be in town for 2 days. ‘Let’s grab drink!’, or ‘Do you have time for a quick lunch?’ became almost daily requests. Of course I wanted to, but when it was happening so often, I started to get burnt out! I was so happy to have the opportunity to see more friends who did not live in the city, but I needed to completely recharge after those first few months!

“You’ve got a lot of choices. If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you’re not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.” – Steven D. Woodhull