I remember stepping off the plane for the first time and landing in Los Angeles. I was six years old, terrified, and spoke no English. Really, I was quite sure I’d hate it in Los Angeles. Fast forward a few years, I couldn’t believe I once thought I’d hate Los Angeles. It had become my home, and I identified myself as a SoCal girl through and through. I defended Los Angeles and California to everyone, I took pride in being from the City of Angels, and yet, I moved to NYC after college and haven’t looked back since. This is my story of why I moved to NYC and how I learned to love the City that Never Sleeps.
Why I Moved to NYC: It All Started with a Boy
If I never left Los Angeles, I would never feel like I missed out on some life experience. It seemed to me that Los Angeles had everything I wanted. And then I met my boyfriend, Mikhail. His lifelong dream was to move to New York City and live there for the rest of his remaining adult life.
The truth is that it would be easy to reduce my story of moving to NYC to be “simply moving because of my boyfriend”, but that would be a massive oversimplification.
In 2015, I had graduated college a year early, found a job in Salt Lake City, and subsequently realized I hated living in Utah. By the time Mikhail graduated in 2016, I was ready for a change. I had already left California because no other entry-level jobs were available, but I was ready to move back to Los Angeles when Mikhail popped the question:
“Will you move to New York City with me?”
When I moved to NYC, the year was 2016. At the time, neither of us thought too much about what such a move meant. That is perhaps why we had so many arguments early on, mostly all revolving around how much I disliked living in New York City.
It was loud, smelly, and dirty. I am terrified of birds and rodents, and they were… everywhere. I loved being by the beach, and the closest beach was an hour away from me. I missed Taiwanese food being readily available, and I missed the year-round good weather.
There were many times when I wanted to leave. It was my relationship that kept me from leaving the city. I had debated leaving the city voluntarily even up till 2019. Being stuck in quarantine in 2020 was the first year that I realized that my feelings about New York City was changing.
Adapting to the Concrete Jungle
I learned to love New York City through quarantine. That may sound stupid or contradictory, but I realized that I miss the busyness of NYC. I missed the hustle and bustle, I missed seeing my friends (few though they are), and I missed being able to go do the usual things Mikhail and I liked to do on the weekends.
As an extroverted introvert, I thrived at home. I didn’t have to get ready; I didn’t have to travel several hours a day to get to work, and I didn’t have to take several detours just to avoid birds. Being at home made me very at peace, and it was that inner peace that made me realize that I also thrived off of other people’s energy in short durations of time.
I adapted to New York City by learning my limits of how much of the city I was able to take in at a given time.
New Yorkers thrive on the energy of the city and the people. We love being in the thick of all the action, and some people wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes, I need that energy. Be it twice a week or once every two weeks, there are those times where I feel extra inspired and motivated simply by being in New York City.
I also love having my own space and feeling slightly more secluded (one of the reasons we chose to live in the Upper East Side in Yorkville). By realizing that I need to spend most of my time alone in my own space rather than out and about with other people gave me the mental ability to process how much is going on in New York City at any given moment.
I still hate the loud noises and smells. I still take detours to avoid birds, and I get scared out of my mind when I see a rodent.
Despite all of this, however, I still love New York City in its own way. I love New York’s ability to inspire me and make me feel a part of something bigger.
When I moved to NYC, I told myself I’d never call myself a New Yorker. 5 years later, I take pride in calling myself a New Yorker.
NYC Vlogs and More:
Advice for Taking the Plunge
If you were anything like how I was six years ago and terrified about taking the plunge to move far away from your family and everything you know, here’s my advice for how to overcome this.
#1: Change your thinking. This move does NOT have to be for the rest of your life.
We grew up with parents who bought a house, had a family, and never moved again. This does not have to be our lives! We are allowed to change our minds, and every move doesn’t have to be for the rest of our lives. If you end up not liking where you moved to, you can always move back.
#2: Get involved with societies, volunteering, and other activities to meet friends.
I felt so incredibly lonely in New York City for the longest time because I didn’t know anyone besides Mikhail. As much as we might enjoy time with our significant others, we also need time with our friends as well. To combat this feeling of loneliness, I joined events hosted by my sorority’s alumni chapter, signed up for any free blogger events that were out there, and eventually, met my circle of friends.
#3: Think of moving to a new city as your chance to reinvent yourself, even if it’s for a short bit
We all have things that we want to improve about ourselves and things that we vow to not do after certain experiences. I find that moving to a new city has often given me the chance to be able to reflect on what I want to do differently and make a vow to start fresh.
Moving can be a scary experience, but it can also be wonderful.
I can say hands down now that I have lived in NYC for 5 years, I would not trade this experience for anything in the world. Living in NYC has made me more resilient, and the experience of being all by myself has made me a stronger and better person.
Life is unpredictable, and who knows what could happen, but what I can say with a strong degree of certainty is that regardless of what my next move is, I’m not done yet with NYC!
Check out my YouTube channel for NYC vlogs and other videos about NYC!
