What a unique city we live in, Justin. I appreciated your perspective of being a Long Island New Yorker living in New York City. I've been here for a little over two years now, and I have seen the same cycle from friends and friends of friends. It's like my first summer here when all the cute boys came in just for the season. Then, it was like saying goodbye on the last day of summer camp. *sigh*I could have just as easily been one of these people. I was a Mississippi boy who just decided one day to move to New York City. I started saving money that I eventually spent after a challenge to drink every beer at a new pub that opened in St. Petersburg, FL (where I lived at the time) right before I left. I then moved to New York with no job or apartment.
I lived in a tiny subletted room for 2-months as I looked for work and spent my remaining funds on Broadway shows. Finally, my first New York job offer came through. I literally received a phone call from my best friend's mother's boyfriend's brother about an open position at the Jersey City campus of The University of Phoenix as an enrollment counselor.
Being new to New York, I did not know what a daily reverse commute to Jersey City meant. Also, it was my first corporate job. I had a lot of things to adjust to. I did it, though, for 15-months. It was a micromanaging, soul-murdering hell, but I did it. And you know what? It kept me in the city that I love.
So yes, this city is a bitch. If you don't get in really quick, it can be an uphill battle to stay here. You may think it's tough, but I prefer it. New York is a gritty, honest, no-bullshit town. It makes no qualms about being difficult, and I love that. You have to be up for the challenge! Even if, as in my case, you have to start out working in a black hole of indecency. You gotta do what you gotta to do.
What do you think, Liza?
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