Everyone Should Live in NYC at Least Once in Their Life

There is a quote by actress Odette Annable that goes, “I think everyone should live in New York City if they ever get the chance at least once in their life. It’s such a great place to live; there’s a different energy about living in the city.”

When trying to muster up the courage to move to New York City, this is a quote I kept coming back to. I always admired NYC and the people that lived there. But I never thought the city was for me. It seemed like it required a certain strength and confidence, or certainly some quality a shy introvert like me didn’t have.

I want to stop to clarify something. I live in New York, but I know I am not a New Yorker. I recognize and admit that I am in no way an expert at living in New York or even really a local, just a college student who doesn’t know how much time she has left in the city but is just grateful to be here, nonetheless.

There is something about New York City that makes you feel alive. There are so many places to see, and so many people to meet. There are so many cultures and cuisines. There is so much history and architecture. There is so much to be experienced and learned here. The coldness of the weather and people will make you hard, but the kindness of strangers and warmth from the realization you’re all just trying to do this thing called life will make you soft.

I remember my first night in my dorm room, my roommate whom I had just met prepped me for my time here. She told me how New York brings out both the best and worst in people. She told me how living here was going to be both the hardest and greatest thing I’ve ever done. Fast-forward a year later, I sat across from my roommate over a glass of wine at dinner telling her how the city was getting to me. How I hated it and didn’t think I could do it anymore. “Oh,” she said like she’s heard it a million times before, “you’re just going through The Breaking.” She explained how you have to realize the reality and difficulty of living in NYC; you have to experience it in all its glory. You go through “The Breaking” and then you can’t imagine living anywhere else in the world. She was right. Both of my roommates were.

I want to focus on why introverts specifically should experience life in NYC once. A big city with lots of people around may seem like an introvert’s worst nightmare. It brings a sort of breakthrough, though. Something about all the energy and life of the city brings us introverts out of our comfort zones. It allows us to observe different people and different cultures. It develops a quiet confidence in us as we learn more about people and how to be around them. In NYC, you will never run out of places to explore, people to observe, or thoughts to journal. You will learn to be surrounded by noise and people, but content and at home within yourself.

Eighteen-year-old Julia was right about one thing. New York does require a certain something out of you. It will take you out of your bubble. It will chew you up and spit you out. Boy, does it tear you down. But it also builds you up more than any other place ever could. I remember telling my mother over the summer with tears in my eyes that I was scared to go back but that I knew going would be the best decision I ever make. One day when I’m 97 years old I will look back at my time here and be so proud of it because it was the greatest adventure of my life.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit or move to NYC, take it. If you’re already here, make the most of every single minute. Don’t buy the lie that you don’t have what it takes because none of us really do. But we grow when we are stretched, we learn when we mess up, and we will come forth as gold when we are tried.

So, buy the ticket. Sign the lease. Get out of your comfort zone and explore. You already have one friend waiting for you.