New York | United States
Oh New York. A city that immediately reels you in with its energy and creativity and diversity of humanity, all palpable the minute you walk down an avenue.
I spent four wonderful years in the city, attending graduate school in the heart of Washington Square. My friends and I lived out the Friends/Seinfeld fantasy of New York we had grown up with; buying coffee from carts every morning, people watching in Union Square, going to all the delis all the time. We loved it.
But life in New York isn’t easy: rent is high, winters are extreme, and commutes are long. We chose this life of hustle and bustle and inconvenience, and there is a pride in New Yorkers that we’ve figured out how to make it work, how to live in the greatest city in the world despite its challenges. I think that feeling of comraderery that we’re in this struggle together is what drives New Yorkers to constantly create, innovate, and improve. I hope if you visit, you’ll get out of Time Square and into the neighborhoods so you can see and feel why so many people decide to call New York home.
Manhattan
For my first two years in New York, I spent all my waking hours in or around Washington Square. When I wasn’t holed up in NYU’s incredible library, I was working at Housing Works bookstore and cafe just off Houston. Packed with used and little tables and a balcony that circles the main floor, it feels cozy and warm on a cold, windy NYC winter day.
Eat
As a grad student, I was always searching for quick, cheap eats that I could grab between classes. My favorite was Mamoun’s incredible fallafal sandwich or the Indian dosa cart which is often on 4th Street. We’d grab lunch and sit on the fountains edge, watching children play in the water and listening to the latest street performers under the acoustics of the arch.
If we were feeling fancy, we’d get into the city early and go to Buvette in the West Village just as their doors open to avoid the ever-present line. We’d sit at the counter and escape the hustle of the city, slowly enjoying Croques Madame and cafe au lait and unrushed conversation.
Explore
The city can feel claustrophobic at times. One of my very good friends created an idea for a “Morning Club”, setting a weekly adventure to spots all over the city with a 5:30 am start. The city was all ours and while I didn’t join often, because commuting from Brooklyn at 5:00 am is the worst, the few times I did were amazing.
Once, we all meet at the Donut Pub as the sun was rising. Sitting at the 1960s bar, we drank unlimited drip coffee, ate a random assortment of sugary donuts, and watched customers come in and out, wondering about the lives they lead that would bring them to a donut shop at 5 in the morning.
Another early morning excursion was to the High Line; I think one of the best ways to spend a morning in the city. We’d stroll the walkway alone, the early morning light off the Hudson reflecting off the neighboring buildings, taking breaks to sip our coffee and watch the city wake up. It was magic.
When you live in New York, people always want to come visit you. Which is great, because you suddenly have to become a tour guide and learn about the city you live in so you can seem fun and interesting to your visitors. I wasn’t always the greatest at this, but there were a few things that I always encouraged people to try.
I loved taking the Staten Island Ferry as a way to see the city from the water. It’s totally free, takes about 20 minutes, and you can order a beer and sip it on the deck while you watch the Statue of Liberty pass by.
I’d also take a train uptown to MOMA, my favorite museum in the city. We got a yearly membership so I could wander the 5th floor whenever I wanted, taking in Monet’s waterlilies or Lichtenstein's pop art.
We also loved taking people to the Nuyorican, a packed venue that has spoken word competitions every Friday night. We’d queue up on the sidewalk an hour in advance, New York’s winter wind making us bounce from foot to foot, hoping to get a decent seat for just $10. We’d cram into this tiny, cozy hall and watch some of the best spoken word poets in the country talk about love and race and death and feel surrounded by the energy that defines the city.
Around midnight when the show wraps up, we’d spill out onto the streets and head to Decibel Sake bar. My husband and I stumbled across this place in the East Village and it was the first time I felt like I was actually living in the New York I dreamed about as a kid: it felt like a secret, like we’d become unknown in a city of 9 million people.
Brooklyn
We spent four glorious years in Prospect and Crown Heights, first on the West side of Washington Ave and then on the East side, carting our few positions two blocks down the street for the whole neighborhood to see. I’ve never felt more at home than in that last apartment. Our eight neighbors lived out completely different lives: non-profit fundraiser, artist, prison guard - but we all lived under the same roof and looked out for each other. We’d catch up on local neighborhood happenings over iced tea and a conversation on the stoop, or rally together when the heating went out during the polar vortex. It was a little community that I love and miss.
Eat
I’d only been in New York for one day when I found my first job.
My mom and I were walking down Vanderbilt Ave, trying to learn a little about my new neighborhood, and I saw a man hanging a neon sign above a door. Chuko was a new ramen shop opening up and thankfully, the owner took a chance and invited me to serve during their opening. For the next two years, I funded my graduate school and feed my myself with the best ramen in Brooklyn.
A year later, when my husband moved to New York full time, we would get up early on a Saturday morning, pass the rows of famous brownstones in Park Slope, and head to Cafe Regular du Nord. We’d order our one fancy coffee drink of the week and sit in the bay windows, reading the New York Times and commenting on passerbys and their dogs on the street.
Another staple was Natural Blend, a Jamaican style vegan restaurant. A block from our house, we would go there almost weekly when we didn’t feel like cooking or wanted to try and trick a visitor into thinking their chicken curry was actually chicken.
Explore
Being in that neighborhood was also special because it was close to so many incredible public spaces.
We would regularly walk across the street to the Brooklyn Museum for First Saturday, a party inside the museum each month with live music and exhibitions. We’d spend the weekends at Prospect Park, and sometimes, we’d wake up extra early before work and have a little breakfast picnic there, to take in as much of the warm weather as we could before winter started.
One of my favorite memories was actually riding our bikes all the way through Prospect Park and the neighborhoods of Brooklyn to Coney Island Beach. We went in October, when the air hadn’t quite turned cold, and we had the whole beach to ourselves. It was beautiful.
