Laura Raquel

As you may have gathered from my post title, I am writing this from NEW YORK CITY.

I did it!

I know, I know. I’ve been saying for YEARS that I’d move to NYC, but I’m not sure how many people thought I was actually serious. (I’m actually not sure how serious I was at some points.)

But I decided after grad school it was time to take the plunge. So I sold all my furniture and my car and got some roommates and moved to Brooklyn.

And it already feels like home. I love this city.

But I’ve been playing a game with myself. Kind of keeping a mental tally of things to check off that are quintessential New York.

1. I’ve seen rats on the subway
2. I’ve seen clearly DISEASED rats on the subway (nothing like a good ol’ flesh disease to brighten your commute)
3. I’ve accidentally missed my stop because I was too involved in my book
4. I’ve had to plan an alternate route home because there was construction on my line
5. I’ve run into someone I knew in NYC (seriously, how cool is that? NYC is huge!)
6. I’ve eaten some NYC favs: Momofuku, Junior’s, Shake Shack, Roberta’s…
7. I’ve spent hours roaming Central Park
8. I’ve successfully given directions on how to transfer to another line on the metro
9. I’ve seen multiple film productions on the street/metro
10. I’ve had a shared connection with a complete stranger on the metro

But I’m excited for this new venture and all the changes it will bring. There’s so much to explore. And, of course, I’ll be updating here with my adventures and misadventures.