“Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get” – W.P. Kinsella

It was my three month anniversary in New York this last week and it was Thanksgiving the week before. So, I decided that I’d celebrate by writing a post all about what I’m thankful for in New York after three months of being in this incredible city.

First and foremost, my biggest worries about coming to New York were a job and making friends. And now, after three quick months, I can safely say that I couldn’t be happier. And even though the job struggle was real, I can now safely say that I have a job and I have a lovely group of friends.

I’ve met so many incredible people since I got here. I can’t even begin to explain how wonderful everyone has been to me. I should have kept a diary of the amount of new people I met in such a short space of time and wrote down all the the stories I heard and all of the interesting facts people told me about themselves – be it, meeting people through networking or through meeting friends of friends, everyone has been welcoming and helpful, it has been so wonderful.

I was also lucky enough to get to move into an apartment with some of my friends. It was the most perfect timing… I met them within the first two months of being here and we all wanted to move out of our respective apartments at the beginning of December. So, we all moved in together and we got so lucky with the place we found.

Which brings me on to the next thing I’m incredibly happy about. My apartment! I got a sublet before I came over to the United States and it was perfect for what it was. It was a lovely base for me to feel settled in when I first arrived. It was furnished and it meant that I didn’t have to worry about an apartment or furnishing an apartment when I got here. I had three months to get myself set up with a job and to feel settled as I did so before I uprooted my little life again. And I could have stayed in that apartment for longer if I had wanted to. But fortunately for me, some friends wanted to move out at the end of November too, so on the day after Thanksgiving, we signed our new lease for a beautiful new apartment – only 4 blocks up from my old one – and I have never been so thankful.

In my last place, the roommates were so lovely and kind but they didn’t want me to have visitors (because it was a small apartment it would have been overcrowded) but my new apartment is PERFECT for visitors, I have a big room with a queen size bed so any time someone wants to come and visit from Ireland I can have them here and the girls that I live with don’t mind! We also have a pull-out couch, which is going to be amazing in case more than one person comes to visit; like when my sister and my mum are coming in January (another thing I’m thankful for!!!) they can stay with meeee!

There is no denying that I am most grateful for my wonderful friends here. When I decided to move to Spain in 2015, I didn’t really think about whether or not it would be difficult to find friends because I had a job upon arrival, so I knew I wouldn’t be lonely, I had colleagues and it turned out we got on and it actually worked out so well; I ended up becoming besties with Hattie! For some reason, when I decided to move to NYC, I wasn’t so confident. I didn’t have a job with colleagues to fall back on, I knew no one here and it’s a huge city – people have their lives set up, they’re busy and I didn’t think it would come as easily. Thankfully, it all worked out. I met up with loads of people I vaguely knew through people; friends of friends and people I had a connection with once upon a time and I met people that way. I also got a job which means that I now have a wonderful group of friends – both Irish and American – that I get along with so so well, and I am so chuffed with how adorable my little community is here now and how happy I am.

I am also delighted that I am a busy bee. I LOVE, love, love being busy. I thrive off of doing stuff all the time. During the two years of my Masters, I studied full time Monday-Friday (like 8am to 8pm) and worked all weekend in a café – two straight years of no weekend, not even two days off in a row and I didn’t complain. Last year when I had free time, I filled it by setting up this blog and by taking up piano lessons!

The busier I am, the harder I work. So right now I am delighted, I have loads going on and it means I am busy all the time – I don’t have many days off but when I do have time off I am always doing something else (which has mostly just been going to IKEA recently!). It keeps me happy – I am not sure if it’s for everyone, but New York suits me, because of the busy, hustle vibes. I will have time off in a week and a half when my bestttt friend Rosski is coming to visit and that will be amazing, but we’ll keep ourselves busy too. We have plans to do everything and eat everywhere in New York and we’re also going to visit Pennsylvania for Christmas, which I am sooo excited about.

I think some of the most inportant things when you move away from home are your friends and your house and they’re the things I am most grateful for / happiest about, so it’s great. Your job is also a big player, and I’m over the moon with that too at the moment. My housewarming party is tonight, so I am really looking forward to that – I get to have all of my friend in my house, so I am bringing it all together!

Follow me on snapchat for more regular updates on my little life here – as I mentioned, I have been such a busy bee, so unfortunately blogging has suffered – but I snao as often as possible (username: IFtravels). I also sporadically post on insta! Let me know if you enjoyed my little life update – I will try to blog again over the Christmas!

Winging it,

Rachael