else-the north, south, west, Xanadu- and come to realize that everyone
living in New York is a transplant. Even the ones who grew up on the
Upper East Side end up moving into a place downtown, which, as you'll
soon discover, is like moving to a different city.
Discover the cruel and bizarre world of New York City real estate. End
up spending an obscene amount of money on something called a broker's
fee, first and last month's rent and a security deposit. Cry a little
bit in the leasing office but remind yourself that you're so happy to
be here.
Picture hearing a man playing the saxophone outside your bedroom
window. End up hearing a lot of sirens instead. Figure it's okay
because it's New York and you're still so happy to be here.
Go out to bars in the Lower East Side because the Internet told you
so. Fall in love with a bar called, Max Fish, and always stay out till
four in the morning. Eat a falafel and have someone pay for a cab back
to your apartment. Watch the sun start to rise while going over the
Williamsburg Bridge and feel like your life is becoming some kind of
movie.
Eat bad pizza but trick yourself into believing it's good because it's
made in New York. Do the same thing with bagels and sex.
Meet people who will be your best friends for three or four months.
They'll help you transition into city life and take you to weird bars
in Murray Hill. It will be like the blind leading the blind but once
you get a firm grasp on things, you can stop returning their phone
calls.
Watch your life in New York go through phases. Spend a summer in Fort
Greene with a lover and get to know the neighborhood and its rhythms.
Once the fling ends, forget the blocks, parks and restaurants ever
existed and don't return unless you have to.
Encounter a lot of people crying in public. Watch an NYU student cry
in Think Coffee, a business woman in midtown sob into her cellphone,
an old man whimper on a stoop in Greenpoint. At first, it will feel
very jarring but, like everything else, it will become normal. Have
your first public cry in front of a Bank of America. Cry so hard and
don't care if people are watching you. You pay good money to be able
to cry in public.
Work long hours at a thankless job. Always be one step away from
financial destitution. Marvel at how expensive New York is, how when
you walk out the door, $20.00 immediately gets deleted from your
wallet. Understand that even though no one has any money, everyone is
privileged to live in New York City.
Go home for the holidays and run into old friends from high school.
When you tell them that you live in New York, watch their eyes widen.
They'll say, "Oh my god, New York? That's so crazy. I'm so jealous!"
Have a blasé attitude about it but deep down inside, know they have
good reason to be jealous.
Go home and feel relieved to be away from the energy of the city, that
punishing 4:00 a.m. last call. Spend the first two days eating and
sleeping, getting back to normal. Spend the last two days feeling
anxious and ready to get back to your real home. Realize this city has
you by the balls and isn't going to let you go.
Someday you might grow tired of it all though. You might start crying
in public more often than you'd like, have a bad break-up and want to
pack it all up.
Certain moments of living in the city will always stick out to you.
Buying plums from a fruit vendor on 34th street and eating three of
them on a long walk, the day you spent in bed with your best friend
watching Tyra Banks, the amazing rooftop party you attended on a
sweltering hot day in July. These memories might seem insignificant
but they were all moments when you looked around the city and felt
like you were a part of it all.
When you leave the city, you probably won't come back. Eventually your
life in New York will seem so far away and sometimes you'll even
wonder if it really happened. Don't worry. It did.
source: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2010/how-to-live-in-new-york-city/
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