I R_N to: Bright lights, big city, NYC Guide
/New York, New York
Just saying "New York City" evokes an emotion inside all of us, either from a personal trip to the Big Apple or something you've seen on TV or social media. They say somethings aren't for everybody but I absolutely disagree when it comes to NYC. Being immersed in the hectic, smelly, sexy, suave depths of New York opens your eyes to possibilities you didn't even know you wanted. With that said, it isn't for the faint of heart!
I didn't love NYC the first couple months I lived there, in fact the list of cons outweighed the pros, and at the end of my first 13 week contract I was hesitant to extend. I LOVED the hospital I was working at but my life was less Gossip Girl and more Broad City than I was expecting. I decided to take a trip home to decide where I would take my next assignment. I remember sitting in JFK talking to a woman who was an immigrant from the Ukraine, hearing her story of coming to the U.S from her native country and having such a true love for this city put everything in perspective. I decided I wasn't going to leave NYC hating it, I wanted to give it a second chance and that was the turning point. It was the beginning of my love affair with New York.
What I learned from working and living in The City is do not try to make it something it isn't, if you don't like a certain aspect of it there will be something else that will bombard you and make you fall head over heels in love. In the south we often times say "bless your heart" which is a very passive aggressive insult we've developed into an art of shit talking. Working in NYC you'll learn quick that nothing is sugar coated and for the most part they will tell you like it is whether you like it or not.
The view from my apartment window, probably taken on an iphone 4
Hospital: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Neighborhood I lived in: Upper East Side and West Village
Transportation: Walk or Metro Pass, 30 days unlimited $116.50; don't even consider bringing a car up here--it's not needed and would be a dumb idea/expense
Compensation: I am putting this lightly, my hourly wage was absolute shit. The recruiting agencies can get away with a low pay package because NYC is a destination city and easy to fill. You'll make your money in tax free housing. You don't take an assignment in NYC to become rich, you take it for the experience of working and living in the center of the universe.
Cost of living: HIGH! You'll live in a shoebox for the same amount some people are paying for a mortgage. You could chose to live outside of Manhattan and commute in if you're working int the city but a lot of places in Brooklyn will cost you the same as living in the city. As a young single person living in NYC you're bound to spend a good chunk of your income eating out and partying but there are a ton of affordable places to eat. Click here to check out how NYC measure up number wise.
My advice: If you have the opportunity to work at MSKCC do it, hearing the patients stories and working with the doctors there is one of the most humbling things I have ever experienced. I learned so much about myself and the power of listening. Also, living in NYC is unlike anything I have experienced. I was surrounded by such genuine, driven, successful people who found the key to the work/play balance and I am forever grateful for that time in my life.
“The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world”
