Waking up in the morning, putting on my prettiest dresses, walking out of the house, picking up a fresh carrot juice and have some sushi for breakfast.. Walking down 8th avenue and the Meatpacking District until I get to the West Village.. Checking out Carrie’s steps, and secretly scanning every single female walking past me on the street to see if it’s Sarah Jessica Parker, without luck. Walking down Bleecker Street until I get to SoHo, stop by Topshop and some other boutiques, meeting up with Ulrikke for lunch.. Lunch turns into dinner, dinner turns into lots of wine, wine turns into a party at New York’s hottest club.. Grabbing a New York slice of pizza on my way home in the early morning hours, going to bed, waking up the next day, and.. Repeat!

That was my life exactly three years ago, during my unforgettable adventure in New York. I seriously get emotional thinking about it, it was the most amazing experience of my life. I learned so much about myself by being alone in the city of my dreams for two months, I made friends who I know I’ll have forever, I had different experiences every day that I know I’ll never ever forget. Attending Fashion Week, partying with Josh Hartnett, sitting on a rooftop terrace in the West Village drinking beer all until sunrise with fabulous people and a guitar playing in the background.. I am so glad I started blogging before my trip, not only because of where my blog is today, but because these pics will be there forever, and when I’m old and gray I can re-live my 20 years old self’s adventure by just a few clicks online. New York, I LOVE YOU♥

After multiple requests every week since I started blogging, I decided to write all about the practical stuff of my trip in English (I’ve written it in Norwegian earlier, you can read it here). So for those of you who don’t know, I wen’t to New York for two months (September and October) all by myself. Here we go..

Aparment

I stayed at The  Markle, a women’s residence run by the Salvation Army. The standard is fairly simple, but you definitely have everything you need, and the location is perfect! The apartment didn’t have a kitchen, you eat in a dining room with the other girls three times a day. I definitely didn’t need a luxurious apartment, so for me, that was no big deal. There are single rooms, double rooms and four man rooms. I lived at a large single room. I couldn’t have lived with anyone else, especially not a stranger. I need my privacy and alone time! I can’t tell you enough how perfect the location of The Markle is!! It’s located on 13th street and 6th avenue, which means that you’re right next to 5th ave, right next to 14th street (which has great shopping), right next to the Meatpacking District (where the New York nightlife is at its best) +++. My experience at The Markle was very very good. I made a lot of friends from all around the world, and the staff is super kind. They also have a fabulous roof top terrace with the best view of NYC. There’s no men allowed in the rooms on the Markle, and you can’t drink in the residence. This is where I’ll be staying this summer too.

Visa

You don’t need to apply for a visa if you’re staying for less than 90 days. If you’re staying longer, you need to apply, which is both difficult and expencive (starts at 3000kr + a trip to the embassy).

Economy

How could I afford it? It wasn’t very difficult. I had worked a lot and saved up some cash. In June, I got my tax money and vacation money, which was around 20.000 combined. I didn’t go on vacation that summer, so I saved the money for NY. In addition, my 20th birthday was just days prior to my leaving, and I only wished for cash. This, combined with the money I had worked up, made this possible for me. In other words – not difficult! My advice is to plan a long time ahead. It’s not that easy to be impulsive and just book the trip, you need money, and I preferred saving up during the course of 9-12 months. The plane tickets were about 5000kr, and the rent was about 18-20.000 for 2 months, including two meals a day. I would recommend saving between 50.000 and 100.000 for the whole trip.

What did I do there

I simly enjoyed life. I wanted to live the dream, which I definitely did. I’m so incredibly happy that I went! Without that trip, I wouldn’t have started blogging, and definitely wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m so incredibly satisfied with my life now, but if I didn’t go, I’d probably still be working in the furniture store and being mildly depressed.. My days were spent walking around, exploring Manhattan, shopping, meeting exciting people, blogging ++.

The New Yorkers

New Yorkers have a reputation of being sort of rude. I didn’t get that impression at all!!! Everyone were so incredibly nice! Everyone holds doors for you, everyone gives you compliments all the time, and everyone were just delightful. Very friendly!!

Would I recommend doing the same thing I did?

Definitely!!! Go for it. A few precautions though.. If you’re very dependent on having you’re loved ones around you, I think New York can intensify that feeling a lot.. Everything gets intense in the city! I’m very attached to my family, friends and boyfriend, but I’m also very independent and I love alone time, so for me it was more a fun thing to be all alone in one of the biggest cities in the world. Also, I wouldn’t recommend doing this if you’ve never been in New York before. I was there with my boyfriend a year prior to this trip, and I really got to know the city. I felt incredibly safe there, and just extremely happy. That way, I knew it would be a fabulous trip. But if I’d never been there before, I’d probably be terrified by the thought of going there alone for two months.

Feel free to ask any questions you want, I’ll try to answer everything :)

 

I love looking through my NY pics, I do it almost on a daily basis. Miss the city so much <3

http://www.cathinthecity.com/2791/

Almost daily (!) I get emails from girls who are going to the US, and don’t know what to do with the 21 year age limit for drinking/clubbing.. Most of the girls want to use fake IDs. To be perfectly honest, I tried it once. And it was not fun. Everything from standing in line worrying about how everything’s gonna turn out, the panic you feel inside but need to hide the minute the doorman reviews your ID, and generally just the bad feeling you have in your body the whole night. And another thing, that didn’t even strike me until I was inside on of New York City’s hottest clubs.. If I were to get caught, it wouldn’t only have consequences for me; The doorman would most likely get fired! I don’t want that on my conscience. As well as the fact that the club could loose their liquor license, and even maybe go out of business.. And of course, if I got caught, I could be arrested, and probably be unable to travel to the US again!! So please girls, don’t use fake IDs!!

When I was out in NY, my promotor fixed me in, and I didn’t have to show an ID. If I was asked, I told them that I had forgotten my ID at home and left.. But the main thanks for my clubbing in NY has to go to my promotor. But anyways, just don’t stress it!! There’s so much fun stuff to do in NY and the rest of the US!! To find other suggestions, take a look on this post.

..so I was looking through my New York pictures, and I came over this super funny experience which I had totally forgotten about. So I was sitting alone on a diner at 14th street eating a mexican salad (totally irrelevant fact..stick to the point Cath..), when I suddenly noticed that the woman sitting opposite of me, at the next table, was staring at me.. While drawing.. I tried to ignore it, but she wasn’t exactly discreet.. Eventually I just had to say something.

Me: Excuse me, are you drawing me?
She: Oh my God, I’m so embarassed, I didn’t think you noticed..
Me: Umm it was sort of hard not to.. Can I see?
She: Noo, it doesn’t do you justice at all!
Me: I’m sure it’s wonderful, show me? :)
She: Hmm okay..

Hahahaha. I hope that drawing didn’t do me justice.. What do you guys think? When the cat was out of the bag (that she drew me), she asked me if she could do it properly, because she felt bad about how sucky the first drawing was..

Haha, not much better

The artist; Phyllis from Philadelphia..

Can you see the resemblance..? (don’t say yes!!)

<3 <3 <3

Haha, do you remember this note?

I had totally forgotten about this. It wasn’t all perfect in NY; I had two next door neighbors who were lesbian and crazy. Sometimes they wanted to kill each other, sometimes they actually tried, sometimes they had sex.. Loudly. Omg, what a freakshow. I remember looking through that little peep whole in my door, and watching the little chinese lady running back and forth with a knife. Really scary..

One of my favorite things to do in NY is to take a stroll around the west village neighborhood. It’s so lovely. Dine at the Waverly Inn if you want to see celebs, or walk up and down Charles Street in the hope of seeing Sarah Jessica Parker coming out of her home (not speaking from experience of course). Go to Perry Street if you want to visit Carrie’s apartment, and Bleecker Street if you want to visit lots of cool boutiques. It’s just one of my favorite places on earth. Here’s some photos of my girl’s night out with my sweet Hanna, which was spent at The Waverly and just strolling around giggling in heels : )

..New York. Ever since I came home I’ve been trying not to think about the city at all.. I haven’t even looked over my pictures yet! But I can’t take it anymore. So. The person who gives me the best tips of things to do in NY, like different schools or work, will get a super cute prize! You know, something long term.. Hope to hear some creative ideas!! : )

So since I’m constantly getting more and more readers, I thought I’d explain once again what I was doing in New York in September and October. The truth is.. I did nothing! And I loved it! Yes, it’s actually possible! I was bored in Norway, so I just booked an apartment and the flight, and just went! No school, no work, no nothing. I didn’t know anyone there, so I was all alone in the big city. I’m so glad that I went. I’ve had the best time of my life! I recommend it to everyone. You can read more about what I did in the archives, and also on my previous blog, as all the blogposts aren’t moved to this new one yet. Practical stuff you can read about here. So now I’m constantly thinking of how I can arrange another trip. Does anyone have any tips? I’m thinking either school or work this time…