10 Things I've Learned From Living In NYC For Just 2 Months

Well, I’m here. Finally. I knew from my first visit to New York that I’d like to someday live here. I knew when I visited NYU as a sophomore in high school that I didn’t want to go to college here but that immediately after graduating, it was my dream to end up here for good. To start my career, to start my life. I’ve interned here every summer since my freshman year in college, each summer only getting closer to a permanent lifestyle in the city. The big, wonderful, exciting (but dirty) city that I loved.

1. Find an apartment a few streets away from the prime neighborhoods.

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We did this – found an amazing 4 bedroom apartment in Grammercy rather than right in Union Square which we wanted, and I’m so thankful we did. Because we’re technically in a less-optimal neighborhood and it’s not called Union Square, we’re getting much more space for our money. Not only do we have a huge living space for the four of us, but it’s much quieter and more relaxed than living right on 14th street with the hustle and bustle and fast food restaurants and shops right below us. By being 4 streets and 2 avenues away from the center of the Union Square, I’ve found so many little perks right next door to us. My roommates and I have discovered our favorite pizza place in the world right on our block- the thinnest crust you’ll find in the city- you have to go to Posto if it’s the last thing you do when you visit the city! I found a cute little boutique with jewelry, clothes, handmade cards and trinkets right next to the police station on 21st street- and we live in between a police station and a hospital so it really couldn’t be any safer! And we picked an apartment right between two beautiful parks. If only we lived directly on Grammercy Park, then maybe we could have received a key to enter Grammery Park.

2) Wake up early one morning and go to the gym.

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I never thought I could do this, because I’m someone who really values a full night's sleep and I really struggle the next day if I don’t get enough. Waking up at 6:40 every morning is pretty rough as it is, but after one night of going to the gym after work and getting to bed early that night and getting up the next morning at 5 to run before the sun rises is great- even if it is just one time a week. Showering in the morning (because I usually shower at night) and being ready for the day feels great, even if I do get tired around 2:30 in the afternoon later that day. Then when I leave work that night, I’ve already worked out and feel that I can really just relax. This definitely lowers any stress I seem to feel during the week just by making it my goal to get up at 5 once a week. I also like to switch up the gym locations I go to so I don’t get stuck in a rut, and get to experience a new atmosphere every now and then. Especially because I have a gym right by my office, it’s nice to go here after work sometimes because it’s much quieter and more relaxed than my home gym by my apartment.

3. Get to the office earlier.

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I’m always one who arrives early, I like to give myself extra time in the morning to wake up and get to work but getting to the office earlier than the “expected 9 am arrival” really allows me to get some important work done before everyone shows up, go through any e-mails, and make To-Do lists for the day and for the rest of the week. I really value this time, and don’t feel like I’m cramming as much throughout the day.

4. Take a night during the week to enjoy- go to dinner, grab a drink, see a movie.

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Like I mentioned before, I really struggle the next day if I don’t get enough sleep, and I sometimes get stressed if I’m not able to make it to the gym. But it’s so easy to get into the same routine and sometimes it becomes a rut. Wakeup, go to work, go to gym, come home, shower, make dinner, go to bed. Wakeup, rinse, repeat. If this becomes your schedule every day, there’s no room for anything new and exciting, and no time to really appreciate this amazing city you’re in. I realized this about a week ago- only a month and a half in to my new job and new lifestyle, when a family friend was in town and took me out to dinner. We met on little west 12th street up in the meatpacking district on a Tuesday night and it’s crazy to see how many people are out enjoying themselves and getting dinner every day of the week like it’s a Friday. We ate at STK rooftop while the sun was setting and it was amazing with great food great drinks and great company. I realized that to be able to have that specific lifestyle living in New York (being able to go to dinners and get drinks multiple times throughout the week) is definitely out of reach as someone in their first job who just graduated. I’m still struggling to balance my monthly rent, groceries, utilities and everything I’m paying for that’s necessary. I’m trying to save a little from every paycheck I get, allthewhile contributing to my 401k, buying monthly metro passes, paying for cable, etc. etc. etc - and I’ve always been one to budget and one to try to save so it’s hard for me to say “hey, it’s okay to go to dinner tonight and enjoy it” but after this Tuesday night dinner at a rooftop restaurant, I realized how easy it is to miss out on everything this city has to offer. So find cheap deals on seamless, find a reasonably priced Thai restaurant that gives you enough pad thai to save some for lunch the next day and find the best bagel place you’ve ever tried and go there every Saturday and get a breakfast sandwich with pesto and hot sauce. Do it. Treat yourself one night a week (at least), get a beer on Thursdays after week on Stone Street, and mix up that routine that can easily take over your life.

5. Make your own coffee.

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Honestly, if you don’t have a keurig, buy one. It can be the mini self-serving one- just BUY ONE! You will save SO much money by making a cup at your apartment than spending 5 dollars every morning on Starbucks. My past 3 summers I alotted myself 25 dollars a week to buy coffee each day because I didn’t have the resources to make my own when I lived in dorm-style apartments. Now, that 25 dollars a week saves me an extra 100 dollars a month that I can go to a nice dinner with my roommates on or buy that concert ticket for Zac Brown. And yeah, the office may have coffee that probably isn’t really coffee, but it’s one tactic that I've learned to help save some money!

6. Wear flip flops to work.

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Sure, people will see your cute outfit with those amazing pumps while you walk to the subway but do you really want to deal with walking up and down the platform and onto the train in those difficult-to-walk in heels? And it’s a surefire bet that if you walk in anything with backs (heels, wedges, sperries, flats) you WILL GET BLISTERS if it’s hot out because if your foot sweats AT ALL the skin on your heel WILL FORM A BLISTER. I PROMISE YOU. I’ve learned the very hard way, and I regret the entire 2-week period my feet took to heel. Save yourself the trouble!

6) Choose one night a week and make a family dinner.

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Living with 3 other girls was the best decision I made! 3 instant friends to always have options to do something with at night or on the weekends, get away for the weekend with, go to the bar with, paint your toes with. Especially just starting out in the city, with new things to do and try and new people to reach out to and meet. It’s hard to coordinate though being on different work schedules, so planning for one night each week confirms that you can have some time to spend together. Each person brings something to the dinner- Emily on salad, Vanessa on chicken, Kaitlyn on pasta, Lauren on drinks. You’ll appreciate that one night that you’re all able to spend together and enjoy when you’re all running around the remaining days of the week trying to catch each other.

7. Leave your lights off if you’re not in the room!

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I never really was one to be super-conscious of electricity because I wasn’t paying. But now that we’ve received 3 utility bills, we really cracked down and decided no ACs running if you’re not physically in the room, and really being conscious of the lights if you’re not in the room either. It even got to a point where I was making my breakfast in the dark because I was being so conscious! But you’ll thank yourself later.

8. Get up and leave the building during the work day.

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Even if you ALWAYS work through lunch, or don’t have time to go eat in the kitchen with your coworkers, get up for 5 minutes, go downstairs, walk outside and take a lap around the building. Just breathe in the sunshine and enjoy the warm air because we’re going to dread the winter when it comes. Take advantage of it now and appreciate that somehow, all these tourists are able to spend the ENTIRE day outside and are able to drink beers at 1pm on a Tuesday. Be a little jealous of them.

9. Buy yourself those earrings. But put 25 dollars into your savings account.

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You earned it. You just got paid. You worked 16 overtime hours in the past 2 weeks, and yes, your rent check is about to clear and once it does, you’ll feel absolutely broke again, but get yourself the earrings you saw on the way to work that morning because you feel like it. Again, you have to remember to enjoy a little bit of this amazing city that you easily can coop yourself up in and lose yourself in the hustle and bustle of this newfound routine. But with every treat comes a reward! So after every paycheck, just transfer 25 dollars to your savings account - after a year, you’re going to love yourself for making it mandatory to do this.

10. Be productive one day on the weekend.

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Or at least, wake up early enough where you feel that you didn’t sleep the ENTIRE day away. Because one day of the weekend is usually dedicated to catching up on sleep that you lost the night (and the entire week) before. But if you don’t go out and walk around and enjoy the day and get brunch or a coffee, the next week is going to start way too quickly and you just repeat it all over again without having any me-time.

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Just yesterday, the 8th monday since I started my job, my alarm went off at 6:40 as always but I was in such a deep sleep and a little tired from the weekend still that I was completely taken off guard and ended up clicking snooze for 30 minutes. I struggled to get up, blindly turned on my keurig on my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth, threw on some professional-but-still-casual clothes, packed a gym bag and went on my way to work. Crossing at the same streets I usually did because the cross-lights were in sync every morning as I left at the same time, I took the same route to the subway, was uncomfortably hot as I waited on the platform, was seated in my chair by 8:15, and then pulled up snapchat to notice many stories of seniors headed back to school. And that’s when it hit me - this is my life now. This is the rest of my life. I’m not going back to college. I’m not returning for pre-season tennis, I’m not able to sleep in until 10 and then walk across the street to the *free* gym and come home and shower and eat breakfast/lunch all before my FIRST class of the day. No more mid-day naps, *free* dinners and driving from my house to the bookstore in my car. It’s all so different. It’s all so new, even though I’ve done this every summer. But now is when I start to realize- after all the interns have returned home, after B Bar is a little emptier on Friday nights because it’s just REAL adults here now, after my fourth rent check has cleared and I hold back from spending 10 dollars for lunch because I’d rather that ten dollars go to a fun dinner- it’s when I realize that I’m in it for the long haul, that my hard work and my dedication from the past 4 years in college have paid off, and I’m where I want to be. And I’m so excited. And I can’t wait for everything else new and fun I haven’t yet experienced.