Moving from New Hampshire to New York City

Culture shock is probably the best way to sum up how I felt about moving to New York City my first year of college. I grew up in a small New Hampshire town, about an hour north of Boston. My whole life, I had grown accustomed to a type of country-side living: driving 10 minutes just to see civilization, hanging out at the mall or movies with my friends on weekends, and knowing plenty of people when I went into town. I lived within one minute of not one, but two farms growing up! It’s safe to say the first eighteen years of my life were spent in rural America.

I had been to NYC plenty of times before coming to Barnard. I loved the city, and I knew that I wanted to move here for college. But visiting NYC and actually living here are totally different. Although it’s kind of silly, but the thing that shocked me most about NYC was the convenience of everything around me. Cleaning supplies? There’s a Rite-Aid across the street. Food? There’s three grocery stores within five minutes walking distance. I loved how I didn’t have to hop in the car every time I had to run errands.

I think the biggest challenge for me in adjusting to the city was the fast-paced nature of life here. I think this fast-paced life is exemplified by how fast New Yorkers walk. You gotta keep up or else feel their wrath (people won’t actually unleash fury on you, but you might get shoved a bit). New York really is the city that never sleeps: I’m always surprised when I’m off campus at night how many people are out late into the evening. At home, people are off the roads and out of restaurants by 9pm. 9pm is when New Yorkers leave their homes to go out for the night! Luckily, the Morningside Heights neighborhood is very spacious and quiet relative to the rest of the city. This neighborhood has been the ideal place to adjust to city life.

Going to college here has made me grow up and see the world in very new ways that I wouldn’t have seen if I stayed closer to home. Moving from a small town to the big city was most definitely scary, but the experiences I’ve had will always be worth it.

If you have any questions about adjusting to the city or Barnard in general, email me at hes2142@barnard.edu!

-Hannah

*Image by Source: FreshNYC