When moving to New York – especially Manhattan – finding a place to live is one of the most challenging experiences you will ever have!  Not only do you have to learn new terminology (junior 4, studio…), but there are areas to learn, subway stops, decisions on whether to rent or buy, and whether or not to have a doorman or live in a walk-up, to name a few.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Gorenstein, a self-named “chick from the UK” who, herself, went through the entire process of relocating from the UK to New York where she followed her spouse, started a family, learned the ropes, and now has her own business helping expats to find the perfect apartment in Manhattan or Scarsdale.  Sarah not only understands your adjustment woes, she is an expert at helping you find the right place to live, and opening you to housing opportunities you may not have considered.

Learn more about Sarah at http://www.halstead.com/agent.aspx?id=SFG

My mom and I recently had lunch at an Asian restaurant on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  When I say Asian, I mean they have Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food!  (It’s delicious, too.)  The staff seemed all Asian to me, but the diners were a blend of probably many different nationalities.

After we paid our bill, we put on our winter coats.  Our table was not cleared off yet, and I was still using my chair as I slowly dressed for the cold weather.  To exit, I had to turn away from our table, walk down an aisle and then over to the doorway.  However, when I turned from my table (which still had remnants of our meal),  I found myself standing face-to-face with an elderly Chinese woman.  She wanetd my seat, and made some hand gesture AT me, which I inferred meant I was a horrible human being for not immediately getting out of her way.  The woman behind her, whom I presume was her daughter, told her mother something, and her mother then pushed by me to get to the table behind me.

The experience made me wonder about expectations we all might or should have when crossing cultures.  Here I was, eating in an Asian restaurant, in the Upper East Side of New York, in America.  I am not an expert on Chinese culture, but I do believe hierarchy is much more prominent as is the concept of respect and obedience for your elders.  I imagine, were I to dine in China, I might be expected to show honor and respect for elders in a restaurant in some specific fashion.  But, here in New York, should the same be expected of me?  Am I rude for not getting out of the way?  Does she have the right to expect me to honor her cultural values outside her country?  Now, I would say, had I been in Chinatown, which is very much like a mini China where you can easily not see a word of English for blocks on end, I might not have been so surprised.  But, on the Upper East Side?  Or, is New York such a mix of diverse cultures that we are all entitled to our expectations to the point that we will no doubt encounter cultural clashes every day?

I don’t know that there is a right or a wrong answer, but I found the concept very intriguing.  What are your thoughts?

I recently came across a fascinating article.  When we transition cultures- especially to another country – we’re always concerned about the local language – trying to learn it or trying to understand it.  However, some languages are on the verge of extinction.  I know that when I lived near Strasbourg, I learned about the Alsacien language – it sounds a bit like a blend of French and German – but is incomprehensible.  Sadly, the younger generation isn’t learning it in school, and it’s known now mostly to elders.  There’s something about this loss of language that most also imply a loss of cultures, which seems unfortunate.

However, according to an article published in April in The New York Times, it seems that New York is becoming a gathering point for people of various cultures, who speak dying languages, to actually foster their continuation. 

* Click here to read about this fascinating phenomenon. *

This is the third and final article about moving to New York City and choosing the best method of staying in touch with your friends and family back home.

In the first two articles I focused on plain old telephone service, and VoIP. This article will cover cell phones, as well as how to stay apprised of current events back home.

Nowadays, many New Yorkers opt to skip a home phone, and just have a cell phone. Since WiFi is available almost anyplace, you can take your laptop and peruse the internet in a café, so this cuts out the need for an internet connection at home. Your cell phone, of course, allows you to be reachable almost anywhere. (Your location, literally as in inside a building, on the street, or at a concert with thousands of people that tie up the cell phone network in one location all influence whether or not calls will get through to you.)

Main providers of cell phone service in New York are AT&T, Sprint and Verizon, though many smaller companies exist as well. Unless you are willing to pay hundreds of dollars for an unlocked cell phone, you will have to commit to a minimum of a one-year contract with the provider you choose. Every one has different rate plans, typically of benefit for domestic calling, and the rate plan changes about once a year. On average, expect to pay $50 – $100 per month for your cell phone (depending what features you have, and whether or not you want a data plan), and add to that the charge for an international dialing plan – typically about $5 per month, which makes international calls cheaper than if you do not purchase an international rate plan. Some providers also offer a “pay as you go” option which could be of value if you want to lower your monthly fees.

The potential downsides of having a cell phone as your main means of staying in touch with people back home are:

•limited battery life which could cut into your talk time
•you will pay for calls received on your cell phone, as well as those you make
•often this is not as cost-effective as either a land line, or VoIP service

Finally, when you move to New York City, you may wish to stay informed about news back home. Major TV stations in New York will only cover local and domestic news, and provide highlights of major international stories. For better coverage of smaller, more local news, you’ll want to check out CNN as well as NYCLife which even offers news segments direct from other countries, in other languages – most frequently French and Italian news. Foreign language newspapers are readily available. Spanish newspapers are available at almost all newsstands, and there are many international media stores around the city where you can find virtually any newspaper you’re looking for.

* Looking for more information to help you adapt to life in The Big Apple? Click Here! *

This is part two in a series to help you move to New York and sort out which technology is best for you to stay in touch with friends and family back home.

Part One of this article series covered basic phone and internet service. Part two will focus on using VoIP to help you find a cost-effective way to talk to everyone you miss most.

There are many providers and options in New York. Though they are certainly not the only providers, two well-known options are SKYPE and Vonage, and I’ll be focusing on them in this article. VoIP technology allows you to use your existing internet connection (so you first have to buy internet service, which normally means you have also bought dial-tone from your local service provider, like Verizon or Time Warner Cable) to lower your calling rates.

Lower calling rates are especially useful for reaching out to people internationally. Here’s how I would break down the benefits of VoIP service to stay in touch versus a land line option, as I discussed in part one of this article series.

SKYPE – known in most parts of the world, this is a great way to attach a video device to your computer and not only talk to, but also SEE your friends as you talk to them – a very wonderful experience! Even better – if you know each other’s SKYPE names, the calls are free of charge. Requires a software download, and microphone. Video is optional. Logitech is one of the better known providers of the video devices you can use with SKYPE. International rates vary if you are calling phone numbers and the connection can have interference or dropped calls, but on average, it’s excellent.

Vonage – for as little as an additional $9.99, you can add this service. This gets you a domestic US number – any area code you like – and 200 minutes of OUTbound calling, plus unlimited Inbound calling. If you tend to make a lot of calls, they also have an international plan for about $25 that includes unlimited international calling. The other great feature you can add, and fees vary per country, but average an additional $9.99, is a virtual number. So, if you just moved to New York, from, say Spain, you can purchase a number with a Madrid area code (or one of many other major Spanish cities) so your friends back home can make an almost local call and reach you in New York!

As you make your decision, make sure you do plenty of research on not only the providers, but hidden fees, contract terms, and additional equipment you may need to invest in.

Make sure to see Part Three of this series, where I will cover cell phones as well as keeping up with the news back home.

* In the meantime, click here for more information and help adapting to life in The Big Apple! *

One of the things I feel happens “only in New York” is the bizarre coincidence of running into a long lost friend in the most bizarre of places.

New York is a city of over 9 million people.  It’s HUGE.  The fact that you can actually notice a single person, and that the two of you are in the same place, at the same time, without having planned it, is, well, seemingly impossible! 

I was reminded of this coincidence just the other day.  I injured my back recently and have been going to Physical Therapy for over a month.  I always go at the same time, on the same days, and there are only 2 practitioners in the office.  The other day, I ended up there earlier than usual, and as I walked in the door, heard my name called from the waiting room.  I looked over and it was a friend whom I have known since the age of 2, but whom I have not seen for five years!  It turns out that she injured her arm, and was also in Physicaly Therapy!  Now, imagine this – two people who have not seen each other in years, both injure themselves in the same timeframe, and, out of all the physical therapy offices in Manhattan (and there are a gazillion of them!) end up not only at the same office, but each seeing a DIFFERENT practitioner so end up with the same appointment time on the same day.

I don’t know what it is about New York, but this happens to me fairly frequently – and when it happens, boy does the city, in fact, the whole world, seem tiny!

* For more fun tips about life in Manhattan, check out www.navigatenewyork.com *

One of the things that always amazes me about New York is the paradox of the beliefs I have when I hear “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” and reality.  Somehow, New York, on paper, is supposed to be this amazing cosmopolitan and atmosphere of “anything is possible”.  However, in my experience, there are some definite areas where exactly the opposite is true.

Restaurants are a prime example.  I often like to substitute a side-dish, or request something I don’t see on the menu.  Only in American restaurants do I hear phrases like,

“No, I’m sorry, we can’t.”

“It’s pre-made, we can’t change it.”

“I’ll have to ask the chef.”

“I’ll have to charge you extra.”

“I’ll have to ring it up as two separate orders so it will come out more expensive, it’s the only way I can do it.”

Somehow, American restaurants have a very difficult time thinking outside the box and catering to creative whims.

However, if I eat in almost ANY ethnic restaurant, I feel like the world is my oyster.  Indian restaurants can always make me a wonderful plate of Chicken Saag, even if it’s not on the menu.  My local Japanese place has a “hidden” menu of possibilities, and I can mix and match as I choose.  Italian restaurants will change the pasta or the sauce to my tastes.  And, none of them tries to tell me it will be difficult.  They simply nod their head and do it.

Corporations are another example.  Grossly generalizing on my own personal experiences, I’ve noticed an irony here as well.  European headquartered companies seem to value creative thoughts, outside-the-box ideas, and are open to changing processes to cater to a good idea or customer need, no matter what level it comes from.  American companies, on the other hand, give the impression they would like outside-the-box thinking, but they really only want it to come from leadership, while they cultivate what Seth Godin has called “Sheepwalkers” – lower level employees that behave, do as they’re told, and do not question things.  There is a big game of “corporate politics” to be played, especially in American companies I have noticed – and your choice to play, or not play, is a huge piece of your success or failure in that organization.

Within any culture, it’s easy to find all sorts of contradictions, but I am often shocked and amazed at how much we confine ourselves into “boxes” and “rules”, while preaching that we’re “free to do as we please”.

For more information on New York Culture and how to survive your life in The Big Apple, click here!

I’m often amazed at how different life can be within virtually the same place.

On a recent drive between Upstate New York and Manhattan, there were many things I noticed that stood out as “different”, that I imagine would cause one to have some degree of culture shock if trying to move from, say, Manhattan, to Upstate New York.  Though within the same state, I think anyone moving overseas would notice similar adjustments.

Trailer parks. Trailer parks are essentially trailers that have been made into homes.  They are usually rectangular in shape, and contain a sleeping room, a washroom, and a common room.  These are not things you see in Manhattan, but are more common in certain places outside The City.  These homes are much less expensive than a house, and are normally arranged in clusters.

Trees.  Manhattan is full of apartments and office buildings as far as the eye can see, with a dash of trees in Central Park. When you leave the city, the trees are as abundant as skyscrapers and tall buildings are.  It adds a layer of serenity and beauty and nature that can either feel relaxing or make you stir crazy because it can seem that there is nothing but grass and trees any way you look.

Noise. New York is noisy.  With a few exceptions, no matter where you go, you can’t escape car honking, loud-talking, police car and fire truck sirens, and the garbage being picked up in the wee hours of the morning.  In the countryside, you’ll go to sleep to complete silence.  Sometimes, the silence is deafening if you’re used to New York noise!  The silence has kept me awake on a few occasions, especially because the utter silence means that the tiniest noise can become exaggerated to your ears.

Children playing.  In Manhattan, you see toddlers on leashes, or being run after by a concerned parent who wants to make sure they don’t cross into the street.  Older children and teenagers normally socialize in cafes, movie theaters, or Central Park in The City.  Once you get to the suburbs and the countryside, you’re more likely to find kids riding their bikes or throwing a ball in the street.  This can take you by surprise if you’re used to protecting your kids, or, vice versa, if you’re used to letting them roam freely and feel like you always know where they are, and then end up in a big city.

Transportation.  In Manhattan, I have never owned a car, nor would I consider it.  You simply don’t need one with all the different types of transportation that exist.  Not to mention that parking garage fees are almost as expensive as a second rent!  However, outside of New York, especially way Upstate, cars are the only transportation!  Well, it can seem that way because if you call for a taxi, you may have to wait a long time for them to arrive at your house.  Apart from that, you will have to either rely on a car, or walk for miles before finding some sort of civilization.

Restaurants.  In New York, you can find everything – from gourmet to garbage – when your stomach starts growling.  Once in a less-populated area, your choices go down.  If there is a more gourmet type restaurant, it may be the only one of it’s kind and impossible to get a seat.  Other choices may feel more like casual or fast food fare.

Wildlife.  In Manhattan, I see dogs every day (and recently, a woman walking her CAT on a leash in Central Park – his name was Goldie and he was quite affectionate!) and pigeons.  Once into nature, I have seen deer, all sorts of birds, raccoons (ok, there is one who dwells in Central Park as of late!), and other more exotic-seeming animals.  Some people have bears in their backyard at times, and hear the howls of coyote in the distance.  This is another big difference between city-life and more rural or suburban life.

** For more differences you’ll notice when transitioning cultures and cities, and tips on how to manage them, click here! **

For anyone living in, or moving to, a large city, you’ll tend to have a subway or metro as one of the major ways to transport yourself around town.  It sometimes amazes me that New York has one of the largest subway systems, and yet it is one of the most archaic.  Here are a few examples to explain what I mean:

• New York has been one of the few places in the world with a subway that does not give any digital or signal notification of when the next train should arrive.  But, FINALLY as of May, 2010, they are adding digital signs!  It’s so surprising to be that the New York system is far behind other cities in deploying this helpful feature.
• The speaker system is muffled or too loud, or too soft, so if someone does try to communicate verbally, you usually can’t understand what they’re saying
• It’s often difficult to tell what the next few stops are, or even, sometimes, whether you’re on the right line!  Most times, you arrive at a platform where multiple trains arrive to your left or right, one track being express, and one local.  If you don’t know the stops, it’s easy to find yourself heading the wrong direction, or skipping the stop you need.
• You can’t easily figure out best route from and to the location you’re trying to find.  In Paris, they offer a guide, in some stations, such that you can press a button for the station you’re traveling to, and a map will light up the path you should follow for the quickest route.  In New York, you need an iPhone app – and thank goodness “there’s an app for that!”

Even as a New York native, I mess up on the subway once in a while – especially when I’m tired, or rushing.  I had a good chuckle recently when I meant to get off at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, but ended up in Queens!

** For more helpful information on navigating the subway and getting around town in The Big Apple, click here! **

Moving to New York, even from another city within the United States, is a huge culture shift.  Once you’re done unpacking, you’ll be thrown into the so-called “metal jungle” and it’s easy to get lost – both literally and figuratively. Here are a few tips to help you with the adjustment process:

• Apartments come in several flavors.  If you’re on a budget, look for a walk-up or elevator building, or even a roommate.  If you prefer more luxury, and have a larger wallet, look for doorman buildings which usually offer amenities such as a gym, and up to 24×7 security.
• You do NOT need to pay a broker’s fee for an apartment!  Brokers often charge up to 1 month’s rent for their services.  That can amount to several thousands of dollars, depending on the price of your apartment, and that money could go a long way towards furnishing it instead!  There are several ways to avoid paying this fee, even beyond searching the “NO FEE” listings on the internet or the newspaper.
• Grocery shopping is not as obvious as it may seem.  Prices vary immensely, as do expiration dates!  You will find everything from inexpensive to gourmet, and it’s important to understand the differences to get the best prices and produce.
• The New York Subway is a culture onto itself. Get familiar with the unwritten rules, and the ones that can cost you a hundreds of dollars $$$ if you aren’t aware of them.
• The local social and professional cultures may be very different than your own.  Not only in terms of where New Yorkers socialize, but in terms of habits and traditions that can quickly leave you feeling isolated and frustrated if you’re not careful.
• New Yorkers are not at all as rude as their reputation!  I have seen many a New Yorker rush to the aid of people who fall (yes, people miss the step off sidewalks on occasion, or trip onto the subway, etc) or hurt themselves, and are eager to help with directions and advice

** For some amazing insider tips on living in New York – including everything you need to do to find and furnish your apartment, figure out the social and dating culture, understand professional expectations and more – click here! **