West Girl Meets the Big Apple
The summer of 2018 in New York City was full of laughs, memories and a lot of Mean Fiddlers…
I made the courageous decision to travel solo to NYC in June 2018 (if you’re worried about it, don’t be, just do it!) and it was hands down the best experience and decision I have made to date.
After booking the early bird J1 back in November, I started thinking about where the hell I was going to live, I know right, early bird catches the worm.. I found J1Accom through the Facebook page and was in contact with a girl that had been there before. I contacted Paul in January, but sure enough I was a tad biteen early and was assured a place when they opened applications, which is sooo straight forward and simple, a monkey could understand it. With everything sorted before I sat my final year exams I was cruising and couldn’t wait to get over.
I cannot stress enough how much of a relieve it was knowing when I landed in JFK that I had everything sorted and a bed to fall into that night, and the night after that as well!! Trust me your parents wont be calling you every five seconds if you’ve this sorted, let me tell ya!
I was staying in the Conolly Building which is located right in the campus of LIU. I was so impressed it was gated and secure and central. You could nearly fall out of bed and into the subway within 4 minutes of waking up, or coming home, (ideal for work and the odd night out.) The Q train (its yellow I believe) is your way in and out of the city, and you’re in the middle of Manhattan in 20 mins, plus you cannot beat the view of the Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Manhattan when you cross the river (the Hudson btw).
What worried me about going over by myself was, shock, making friends. This was not a problem as nearly everyone you meet is Irish in the building. Funny story, I actually arrived at LIU with my bags and three lads arrived just in front of me and were from Dublin and had just come off the same flight as me. Small world as they say. You will make friends in no time. Plus, it’s New York there’s Irish everywhere! This makes it handy when you need to pop to 7/11 and grab some Four Locos for the night ahead. The nights out organised are one of the bests nights you will have. Can you imagine sailing on the Hudson river abroad a boat with a drink (or two) in your hands and looking out over the Manhattan skyline? Well Patrick Greene is the man that will sort you with everything you need, and caters for J1Accom students. Patrick is an Irish club promoter in NYC and is the guy that will get you into that night club(rooftop bar) VIP with free drink if you stay with J1Accom. What more could you (and your insta) ask for.
I have made friends for life while being apart of the J1Accom group and memories that I wont be sharing with the fam back home. What I will say is that if you’re flying solo or with a bunch of friends this is your one stop shop for a hassle free life.
