London

Your critical guide to arts, culture and going out in the capital

Search London

Moving to New York
By Sophie Harris

Posted: Thu Aug 27 2009
There's a lot to love about London - the culture, food, art and 24-hour buzz is pretty addictive. But if you want a change of scenery without losing any of the perks, New York is a good second choice. Find out everything you need to know about making the transatlantic leap to live in NYC

© Jonathan Perugia
In February, Sophie Harris left 'Time Out London' to work at 'Time Out New York '. Here’s how she made the switch…

Why move to NYC?
Because New York is exciting. New York is the place you come to to make your dreams happen: romantically, artistically, even financially.

What does NYC offer? Feature continues

Advertisement

Like London, New York has a ton of amazing (and cool) museums, galleries, restaurants, shows – you know, all the things that you read Time Out for. The difference is in attitude. New York buzzes with a kind of roll-with-the-punches bonhomie; people are tough here, but also optimistic and, by and large, hugely enthusiastic.

What do you sacrifice?
A good cup of tea. If you live in Manhattan, you’ll miss having space. Any space. At all. Oh, and you’ll miss the BBC. American news still looks like ‘Brass Eye’.

How do you get an apartment?
If you’re looking for somewhere swanky, of course go with an estate agent. But for somewhere more homely (read: cheaper) most people go to Craigslist. Ask around.

A job?
Finding a job in NYC is much the same as finding a job in London: you need to scour recruitment websites. You can also approach companies on spec and request a meeting, if you can make the trip.

A green card?
What you’re looking at is a working visa. You need to speak to a lawyer to find out which is the right one for you – there are a lot of options. The process can take months, so if you do bag a job, you need to tell your employer you can’t start right away. It’s a drag, but you can do it! I got an O visa (‘Alien of Extraordinary Ability’). It took about three months and cost, including a three-year visa (you can get one-year visas, too) about $4,600.

Ups…
The beautiful Manhattan skyline. The Noo Yawk accent. Music everywhere.

Downs…
A winter so cold that the wind feels like it’s slapping you in the face. Disappointing tea. No Stephen Fry .

To purchase one of our range of New York guides click here.
Add your comment to this feature
- Bookmark
- |
- Print
- Send to a friend