NYC Bloggers Talk About The Challenges of Moving to NYC

Ask anyone that has ever tried moving to New York City and they will tell you– it can be a real struggle. there are challenges at every turn– ranging from finding an apartment to scraping together enough ends meat, to making new friends.

However, if you ask these same people if struggling with those challenges was worth it– they will always say that they was.

To find out more about what people find most challenging, and most exciting, about moving to New York- I asked 11 NYC based bloggers and writers to share their stories– here is what they had to say.
 

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
GG – This may be a broad answer, but just about every “normal” area of life turned into a hurdle to overcome when I first moved here. Making enough money, finding an apartment, and making friends were all are challenges that I had to take head on – I knew they weren’t going to just magically fall into place for me.

MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?

GG – I would say how much it has forced me to grow as a person. All of the challenges I’ve faced here have been entirely worth it because they have built my character and changed me for the better. Not to mention it’s just so FUN to live in NYC – it really does feel like living in a movie!

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
TBK – Securing a pet-friendly apartment was not easy. When we moved to NYC, we had a 90-pound elderly dog and two cats. Most NYC rentals do not accept dogs of that size, let alone two pesky felines! Our options were limited and we paid higher rent because of it. We also had just a few days to find an apartment we could be happy living in, even if only for a year or two, so we had to make a decision quickly.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
KBT – I had wanted to live in New York since I was 12 years old. The very thought of finally moving so many years later –– after I had thought a move to the city could NEVER happen –– was heart-stopping. Though I had visited NYC frequently before I became a resident, there was nothing more rewarding than waking up in my own apartment rather than in a hotel room. I found excitement in the littlest things, and six and a half years later, I still do.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
RM – The most challenging part of my move to NYC was doing it from a different city and not actually being in NYC. My roommate and I relied on apartment listings that were sometimes, subpar at best. When my roommate finally did come to the city to look at apartments, he had a very small window to find an apartment (two days), so we basically grabbed whatever we could.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
RM – The most exciting part of moving to NYC was thinking about all the opportunities available. You’ll never get bored because there are always so many things to do (restaurants, museums, broadway shows, lectures, etc.) and the energy is unmatched by any city I’ve visited.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
SV – Finding a place! When I first moved to the city, I worked in PR (read: not a ton of money) and it was difficult to secure an apartment (and roommates) for my budget and timeframe. There is so much noise, a lot of information to sift though, and hundreds of stale listings. The process was really overwhelming.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
SV – The most exciting part about moving to NYC is that I get to live in the best city in the world. We have the most ambitious people, every industry, tons of opportunity, every restaurant and bar, and there is always something to do or someone to meet. I have never felt at home anywhere until I moved here, and I’m glad I found it.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
JTB- The most challenging part of moving to NYC for me as a fresh-out-of-college kid was finding an affordable place to live! I locked down a place from Craigslist at the amazing price of $400 a month…(ha! should that have been my first clue?!) and upon arriving find it’s located in Hollis, Queens…i.e. the LAST stop on the F train, plus a hefty bus ride and walk. Oh, and it was located in the basement of a house, had no windows, and 5 other people sharing one bathroom! I toughed it out for 4 months until I saved enough for the deposit on a Manhattan shoebox.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
JTB – The most rewarding part of moving to NYC is everything it offers. Is it a hard life with crazy work hours and tiny apartments and cold winters? Yes. But if you take advantage of the museums, theater, restaurants, and gorgeous little neighborhood gems, it truly is the best place on earth.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
ED – Establishing a budget, developing a community of friends, and navigating the subway system were all expected challenges that I, with time, eventually conquered. What I wasn’t prepared for was pure sensory overload accompanied by FOMO (the Fear Of Missing Out). With the endless options of landmarks, parks, museums, stores, and social groups to get involved in (i.e volunteering, running clubs, religious organizations, etc), making actual decisions about what to see, eat, do and join prove to be completely overwhelming.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
ED – Quite simply, I just couldn’t wait to be a part of it. There’s an energy and sense of excitement like no other place I’ve been and New Yorkers have such a sense of pride in living here. This city isn’t for the faint of heart and making the decision to move here to begin with is a reflection of the characteristic qualities that someone must possess in order to “make it” in Manhattan. It’s not always going to be easy in the beginning but like most things, if it were easy – then everyone would do it.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
AH – The biggest challenge for me was meeting quality people. Outside of the city, people are a little bit friendlier, here there are so many people, that I had to learn a new skill. I had to work to keep my boundaries with people who I didn’t want in my life and to fortify the friendships with people with whom I did want to spend my time. It was also hard to figure out where to find all the good people and good food. With time though I found like-minded people and very good places to eat.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
AH – The best part about moving to NYC was exposure to so much food, culture, art, music, ambition, life and excitement. NYC is constantly renewing itself with things to do and new people and it makes every day a joy to wake up here. It’s very easy to actually come face to face with some of your musical, literary or culinary heroes because NYC is home to so many. It’s a great place to be if you’re looking to evolve.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
KM – It was quite an adjustment coming from New Orleans, which feels almost lawless, to uber-regulated New York. In my first few months, I got my car towed and countless parking tickets, I was fined for drinking on the street in Bushwick, and for having my dog off-leash in Prospect Park (outside of designated off-leash hours). Riding the subway was also a tough transition–I would get really claustrophobic and panicky.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
KM – Knowing that I could do it. After the initial rough transition, I adjusted and thrived. There are so many more writing opportunities for me in New York, I’ve met so many inspired people, and two and half years later, I still haven’t tired of exploring the city, discovering new neighborhoods or restaurants or organizations I didn’t know about.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
AO – Securing an apartment! I moved to NYC from Portland, OR and met my roommate through a roommate website. Other than my boss, I didn’t know anyone in NYC so finding a roommate that I thought I’d be compatible with, who I had never met AND trust them with finding us an apartment was tough! I ran into a lot of dead-ends and potential scams before everything came together.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
AO – The experience was very surreal. We had just opened an office in NYC and I received the opportunity to relocate. 3 weeks later I was packed and on a plane. I don’t think it really hit me that I was really going to live here until I was flying over Manhattan. There’s a real sense of accomplishment living in NYC. They say ‘if you can make it here you can make it anywhere’, and I was determined to make it.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
jody – Money: figuring out how to get it, saving it, not having any of it, seeing whatever you do have disappear, and coming to terms with the fact that the cost of a sandwich in Midtown is equivalent to a down payment on a small house anywhere else.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
Jody – Taking comedy writing classes at the UCB theatre, being around some of the world’s most talented and funny comedians, and being able to meet, talk to and work with my idols. Realizing what I’m doing is exactly what I planned on doing, and that its more amazing than I imagined.

MTNYG – What was the greatest challenge you faced while moving to New York?
 
JG – When i moved to NYC two years ago, it was from Florida and i had never seen snow before. I had to figure out how to live in a climate that was 50 degrees cooler than i was used to. It was a challenge buying a brand new wardrobe and even more of a challenge learning how to bundle up to navigate the city for a chunk of months out of the year. I soon learned that my body and my tan lines would adjust and that i’d find myself snuggled up inside of some of the best coffee shops, museums, and stores in the world. Life in the cold, in NYC, is not so bad.
 
MTNYG – What was most exciting about moving to NYC?
 
JG – NYC is probably the only place in the world where you can put an idea, a thought, a dream out in the universe and it’ll come back and slap you in the face– partly because of hard work and partly because of the opportunities you’ll stumble upon.