Paddy in NY

New York

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It feels good to be back in New York, the city I called home for ten years. The energy, the vibe, the fast pace. Buenos Aires was 35 Celsius (95F) and humid when I left but New York is 2C (35F) with snow on the ground so it's taking a bit of getting used to.

We had a fantastic time when we lived here. We lived in a tiny apartment on 78th Street and York Avenue the upper east side. There's plenty to explore in this huge country so I signed up for all the airline weekend specials emails and about every 3 weeks we'd be jetting off for a weekend break to different cities in the US for a fraction of the normal fare. We visited 46 of the 50 states and also spent time in the neighbours to the north and south, Canada and Mexico.

Q. So if it was so good then why leave?

There were a couple of factors involved but here's the main reason. New York has a large transient expat population. A lot of people come to advance their careers and then move on. It's a stepping stone to somewhere else. Neither of us thought NYC was a place we'd see ourselves settling down and growing old. Both of us had achieved a moderate degree of success so it was time to step off in another direction.

Q. Are you coming back to live in New York?

I'd certainly consider it especially given the current job market world wide, but not right now. I was in touch with some old work colleagues while I've been here and things are pretty bleak right now. To give you an extreme example, an old boss of mine who had a senior position (she was a Managing Director) but has been out of work for a while is now driving a yellow cab.

So my quest continues. I didn't have time to meet up with as many people as I would have liked but maybe next time. I'm heading to the airport tonight for the next leg of the adventure. Catch you on the flip side.

Tags: ..Paddy in New York..

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