I got a new job. It pays better then the last one I had (so thats a plus), but there are also a lot of drawbacks to it also. First off, its across the river in New Jersey, and there is no train connection near where I'll be working. That means I have to keep the expense of having a car, paying for gas, and the tolls every day to cross the bridge. I also HATE driving. Its even worse because its in heavy traffic both in the morning and afternoon commute. At my old job in the city, I hoped on a subway, transferred to a trolley, and in 35 minutes I was there. I could read on my phone, listen to music, or whatever the entire commute. Now I'm spending 30 minutes in bumper to bumper traffic where I can't do anything but honk my horn in a useless attempt to get the guy in front of me in the left lane to go faster. To most Americans, the car is their freedom and the thought of having to take public transportation is horrifying. To me it is the other way around. I moved to a city in part so I could get a job IN the city and not have to drive. This job is also working with a population of students who are very challenging and I have no experience in this particular field. I really liked working with inner-city kids, and I had experience doing it. Now, I'm going into working with a population of students who have totally different backgrounds but are challenging in an entirely different way. There are so many rules and regulations and laws I need to learn, and I'm getting incredibly nervous about starting.

So that brings me to the point of this. I've wanted to live in New York City since the very first time I visited it in December of 1997. I just remember loving everything about it: the crowds, the noise, the hustle, the urban canyons of skyscrapers, all these different kinds of people, food, the smell, the list goes on. I've wanted to be a lot of different thing growing up, but the one thing I've consistently wanted through my life was to live in New York. The city is in my blood, as most of my family lives in New York or did at one point. The energy and non-stop 24/7-ness of the place is intoxicating to me. Having been to a fair number of diverse places in the world, I can easily say there is no place like it on earth. Paris and London and Buenos Aires are amazing cities, but New York is king. The great thing about living in Philadelphia is that we are very close to New York, and it makes visiting easy on the train.

I've grown tired of Philadelphia. It was fun for a while, but now I want something bigger and better. I get it, New York is insanely expensive and competitive, but there is so much to the city that makes the sacrifices of not being a 1% New Yorker worth it. I've decided that come next year when my work contract is up, I'm taking the plunge and moving there. If I fail and have to leave, at least I can say I tried. I don't want to keep waiting and waiting for "the right moment" and suddenly be 30 and settled and not able to just pick up and go. My boyfriend is applying to medical school there, and has a pretty good shot of getting, so that would make the move a lot easier. Keep your fingers crossed.

To be cliche and quote Frank Sinatra, "If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere".