See Ya Later, NY

You think Vegas never sleeps? I mean sure that’s true, the parties and gambling, among other things, are non-stop. But New York is the originator of the sleepless city. At any time of the day or night you can do literally anything you want. Wanna grab a beer? How about washing clothes at 2am at the laundromat around the corner? Broadway show? Hungry? Well do you want to sit down or find a gyro street vendor? Let’s do something low-key instead, like walk around Central Park – for hours. Well, I’m not that adventurous today so instead I’m sitting in a coffee shop called Bearcat with an Americano and a chocolate croissant.

New York is exactly what people think it is, bustling streets, fast paced-living, amazing public transit, etc. But its also what you don’t think it is. Slow, relaxed, and not intimidating. The key is finding those places. When I moved to Washington state following my college career I thought I was going to a lush, green state with trees everywhere. The reality in southeastern Washington was high desert landscapes, still green and nice, just not what I was expecting. Apparently no other Arizonan knew that either because anytime I was asked about Washington the question was “How’s Seattle?”. Um, I hear it’s nice.. Conversely, people I met in Washington have the impression that Arizona is basically Cacti, dirt and desert animals, which to be fair there is quite a lot of that. A friend of mine was amazed when I said it snows in some areas. 

This is my third time visiting New York and I still think it’s an amazing place. There’s so much diversity that you can feel it walking down the street. It’s very easy to feel apart of it all and still carve out your own little life in NYC. Most of my friends and family have never been to New York but I think it’s a fantastic place to visit. The 9/11 memorial alone is amazing to see and worth making a trip for, not to mention all the other historical landmarks this city has to offer. That’s my two cents, now here’s a Q&A with a current resident and what his experience living here has been like.

• Ehi(Eh-Hee) Ogiamien
• First Generation Nigerian
• 24 year old Male
• Program Manager for a restaurant(La Esquina)

Born in Texas, grew up in Mississippi until he was 18. Has lived in New Orleans, Texas, and Alabama

How did you end up in New York?

“I graduated in 2015 and I moved home to Mississippi for two weeks, realized it was really boring and I bought a one-way ticket here and I’ve been here ever since. I lived with strangers my first few times here, I still live with strangers and I worked various odd jobs. At the end of the day, I’m just trying to figure out what I’m passionate about and I don’t think you need to settle in this world especially when you move to a bigger city, L.A., Dallas, Atlanta, New York. You don’t have to settle for any job that you don’t really like or don’t feel passionate about.”

Why did you want to come to New York?

“I moved to New York because I wanted a challenge, I wanted to struggle, I wanted to feel some pressure that others feel but I don’t. So I moved to New York and I’ve been here for awhile and I still don’t really feel the struggle and pressure of New York, I mostly feel the struggle of a 20-year-old. “What am I gonna do? Who am I?” More so things like that then New York. (But) there’s a certain sense of excitement going somewhere that you’re just unfamiliar with. That was what was important to me, get out of your comfort zone and at the end of the day I felt very comfortable being here.”

Advice to someone thinking about coming here?

“Move here, have a positive mental attitude (and) know that you’re gonna find your place, find your setting. If you don’t know anybody here be on the internet, be on instagram, be on twitter. I had one friend and I managed to grow that into a lot of friends. Even though I didn’t have a job when I moved here, nothing was set up I lived with a friend that I met on the internet, on tumblr, I lived with them for two days. Then I lived with my older siblings friend with 8 people and a dog in a converted church for a month, the I lived in east village, then in Williamsburg. So don’t be afraid to move around and find your passion.”

How would you describe NYC?

Fun, stressful, fashion forward. But nonetheless the same as wherever you live. You find your pockets wherever you live. In Mississippi I found my pocket, you’re always gonna find like-minded people if you’re true to yourself. Obviously you mold as you move places and you figure out what works for you in every place. You find your five bars and say “this is where I like to go, these are the people I like to see” and it’s the same in New York. There’s a million bars here but I go to the same ones. At the end of the day you’re going to explore a lot but you’re going to be ok with a select few. My sentence for New York is “You’ll settle in and you’ll find your comfort in it”.

How long have you been here?

“I’ve been here for three years. I can only mark it by Instagram posts.”

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That’s how we all tell time, right?

Well New York, it’s been really real and I’ll really miss ya, but now it’s time for the next stop, drop top. Here I come Copenhagen, Denmark.
From Newark Liberty International,

– Mark