I ♥ NY

Before Sex and the City, before September 11, before I even knew much about the place, before countless films and before even visiting for the first time, New York City was the one place I always wanted to live and work. There’s a certain stigma about the city that truly never sleeps and I always wanted to be part of it.

The thought of moving to New York has been something that has come and gone in waves, and the latest tsunami-like wave is about to hit. Lately, I have been thinking about New York a lot and the thoughts are coming thick and fast. The imagery is permanently burned into my mind and I want to be part of it again.

For anyone who has been to New York, you will have an understanding of what I am harping on about. And for those who live there, damn you to hell for being one of lucky ones. There is no need to go explaining what it is that entices me to this metropolis. But for those who haven’t had the good fortune to experience it themselves, it’s simply the pulsating heartbeat of the place. There’s no real way to describe it, you just have to experience it to know what I mean.

The sights and images are tried and true. But these sights, coupled with the sounds, the people, the smells and the aura of this city is enough to get this Melburnian on a direct flight. Hell, let’s be honest, it doesn’t take me much to convince me to go… just give me the ticket. And I’m pretty sure that I am not the only one who thinks this way.

A few years ago I was so serious about the move to New York that I had checked ticket prices, researched apartment rentals, share houses, joined several forums for expatriates living in New York and managed to get several contacts who could potentially help me secure a job once there. And there is a strong feeling that that seriousness is about to return with a vengeance.

The last time I was in New York, I ran into a former high school buddy who had made the move to the Big Apple to study theatre at NYU. He worked part time at a popular Nolita restaurant on Mulberry St and rented a tiny apartment he shared with three others above another Nolita restaurant nearby. As we were catching up, I grew devilishly envious of his courage and his New Yorker lifestyle. Lucky bastard! It was then that I knew that it was possible for someone like me to take the punt and make the move.

The thoughts and dreams at night are increasing in frequency. Maybe I will make the move sooner rather than never. One thing scares me so – the loneliness of setting up in a new city on a new continent where my closest friends are in another country, an hour flight away. So I’m putting out the call to any New Yorkers reading this… a riotous ball of Aussie fun is potentially on his way. Or maybe all I will have to do is flash them my smile, throw about a few choice Aussie words and they’ll be like putty in my hands…