Meet Megan in New York!

4 years ago I came to New York for the very first time. I fell in love with the city immediately. The people, the noise, the constant chaos and people rushing around. I loved it, all of it. That’s why I said to myself; no matter what happens next, I need to live in New York for a little while. And so I did.

It took me two years before I took the big step, but here I am! Still enjoying everyday in this crazy city.

A lot has changed since then. For example, I’m working for a different company now than last year. Last year, my internship was the “typical” internship. Sitting behind a desk, doing tasks my boss told me to do. And although I was bored like 70% of the time, I loved it. I mean, I lived in NY, so I took it all for granted.

How could I have known that there were so much better internships!? I currently work for a small B2B-event company, where I work in marketing. I fly with them throughout the whole country. The motto is; work hard, play hard. I loved the company since the first day and that never changed. I learn so much and feel that I’m really a part of the team. Not just ‘the intern’.

Both companies I found with the help of Stage Global. They have been an amazing help and I’m pretty sure that I would never have made it all the way to New York two long periods in a row!

My living situation is also totally different than last year. Last year I lived in Webster Apartments. This is a women-only residence based on 34th street, which is home for 300 women. It’s a great building that provides food, laundry rooms, sport lessons and a cleaning lady. I lived there for 7 months and it was great. However, after 7 months I decided that wanted to leave. I wanted to live in a “real” New York building. That is why, nowadays, I live in a typical New York building (which my landlord decided to paint totally green) called “the GreenHouse”. I share a floor with 4 others, who instantly became my friends. We party together, eat together after our long, crazy days at work and every now and then we still discover the touristic way together.

During my stay here I made trips with the company to Miami and Santa Barbara, which were both fun and educational. Besides that went to Boston, Washington, Philladelpia and L.A, I even went to Mexico for a couple weeks. My next big trips is a road trip along the Westcoast. San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas are included in the trip, which makes me really excited.

It’s great to travel in America. The country is huge and has so much to offer. L.A. for example has such a relaxed atmosphere compared to the insanity of New York! Every city is different, so traveling within America will never get boring.

Before I moved to New York I assumed that the American culture was quite similar to our Dutch culture.. But I was wrong. The American culture is very different. In the Netherlands we say “If you act normal, you’re already acting crazy enough”.. Well, not in America. Everything here is huge, extravagant and exciting.

I’ve grown so much since I moved here. I think I speak for all of my friends here if I say that in New York, you grow everyday. My English became much better, I grew within marketing and I grew personal. Making friends in New York is easy and so much fun. Every person in this city is different and shows you different sides of yourself and the city. Moving to the other side of the ocean is not something small, it’s a big step, which I would recommend everybody to do. I’m 100% sure I would not have grown this much if I just had stayed in the Netherlands and if i had a chance I would do it all over again.

I’m going home next February and although I’m already really excited to be “home” then, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna miss New York like crazy. What my future plans are after I move back? No idea.. I have to finish my master thesis and then... who knows? The world is big and with an experience like living in New York fresh in my mind, I’m pretty sure my plans won’t be boring.

If I had to describe my internships in New York three words I would say; crazy, impressive and amazing.. Life here is crazy and I enjoy everyday in this city I now call home.

Want to stay up to date? Every Thursday I write a blog, based on my live in New York, you can find it here;
https://meganvlemmix.blogspot.com/

Megan.