The dream of living in New York
I’d been traveling full-time for almost three years by the time I came to New York, building my content on Instagram while moving between countries. I grew up in Romania, then lived between Italy and the UK, and New York I kept putting off on purpose. I cannot do winter in New York, I told myself every time. So I came in June instead and stayed in a Williamsburg apartment with SharedEasy for a month.
The first thing I noticed was the balcony.
Expectations vs. Reality
In my head, New York meant small box apartments, everyone says it. And then I saw this balcony and I was like, okay. It’s not bad at all. I didn’t end up using it as much as I should have, but knowing it was there changed how the apartment felt from day one.
The room was mine. I shared a bathroom with one other resident who was barely ever around, so it functioned as my own most of the time. The kitchen had enough space to actually cook in, which matters when you’re staying somewhere for a month and not eating out every night. And the apartment had a washing machine and a dryer inside the unit, which stopped me, laundromats are the default in New York, and having your own machine changes how you think about staying anywhere.
Williamsburg did the rest. I could get to Manhattan in 20 minutes, with every subway line close by. I had my own desk in the room, and whenever I needed to change the environment, I’d walk out and find a coffee shop and work for a few hours. I didn’t get the tourist feeling. I felt more like a local, because this was my home.
Community & Events
There were events along the way: a kayaking day, and World Cup watch parties with people from other apartments watching soccer together, right in time for the final at MetLife that July. Those were the moments I kept coming back to when I thought about what the month had meant.
Final thoughts
If you’re going to a new city and you don’t want to go through the hassle of finding an apartment yourself, especially in New York where you have to show proof of income and go through brokers, and if you’re only coming for a month, two months, or even six months, you don’t want to go through all of that. SharedEasy is so easy. You just book it, and they sort it out for you. You just show up.
Watch my full video below.
Anna is a full-time travel creator from Romania, based between Italy, the UK, and wherever she lands next. Follow her on Instagram at @anasavu
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