Editors note: this post was written before Hurricane Sandy struck. Our thoughts are with our alumnae, Scripps families and the millions of people who are affected by the storm this week.
Lately, whenever I visit somewhere I’ve never been before or haven’t been in a while, I view it with a very certain eye. Once I finish up with my fellowship work, I’m going to get down to business applying to jobs all over the states and in a variety of international cities. So when I spend 5 days in New York City, like I just did for fall break, I’m seeing things and exploring different neighborhoods knowing that I might be drawing on my experience in a year when I’m deciding where to live for my job in New York. I find this incredibly exciting!
Certainly no views like this in Claremont, eh?
I had an absolutely great time in New York with my boyfriend, his family, and number of other friends from CMC. We got to explore much of Manhattan, the West Village, and Brooklyn, where a friend and Scrippsie alum had just moved into a new apartment. It was rejuvenating to be in a city, lights on, lively at all hours, with an infinite number of events and activities every day. It was certainly a sharp contrast to Claremont life and made me miss London, where I studied last fall, dearly. There is so much life within a city and I found myself really looking forward to getting to move to one next year—mastering the public transportation system, picking favorite coffee shops to read in, and starting to regularly check the TimeOut page for different fun cultural things. This weekend I saw posts for a dog Halloween costume parade and a 100-woman drum concert on the subway, among many others.
The crew at a Giants v Redskins game, my first experience with professional football!
Spending time in a big city also helps me clarify what I need to be happy with a living situation. I lived in two places during my time in London: one in a sweet neighborhood and less than a block away from a large lovely park with lots of trees and nature and one in central London across the street from King’s Cross Station, all cement and buses and traffic. I now know that I would be happier living in a more residential area rather than smack in the middle of downtown (luckily I probably wouldn’t be able to afford the latter anyway), and need to have some sort of green place to walk and stretch and small clean air nearby. This is also necessary for me to make a big dream of mine, having a dog, a reality. Of course, wherever I live needs to be close enough to the subway and to buses to make the downtown and other areas easily accessible.
Who wouldn’t want to live across the street from the NY Public Library? It’s such a beautiful building!
What about you, fellow senior Scrippsies? Where do you fantasize getting a job after graduation? Are you thinking of a big city or do you want to live somewhere a little less hectic, loud, and bright? Would you live abroad or are you planning on staying in the States? Have a great week!