I’ve been dreaming of the city for as long as possible. It’s been a real bucket list place for me. But was New York worth it?
If you didn’t know, I went to New York
It’s been a pretty big bucket list place for me, and somewhere that I always knew I wanted to do right. Therefore, when I embarked on this gap year, one of my big plans was to save up enough money to go to New York and to do it right (Without massive financial restrictions). The plan was to save as much as I could until June, and then go wild. However, then things changed a little…
Jordan Fisher, my biggest stage crush, announced a limited run as Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway from February. Therefore, if I wanted a chance to see him live in a musical that I already knew I liked, I’d have to go a lot sooner than June. Luckily enough, due to the amount of overtime I’d done over Christmas, and the fact I had a friend also willing to book a spontaneous early trip to New York, I ended up with plane and hotel tickets for February… Funny how things work out.
The anticipation
The second I booked it, it felt so surreal. In the least corny way possible, this was a place I had dreamed of for years. This was a place I’d seen in some of my favourite TV shows and movies. Yes, I’d been planning to go, but suddenly I was going a lot sooner than expected. I was trying as hard as possible to quell the butterflies in my stomach and keep my hopes down as far as possible. Because the last thing I wanted was to be let down by my dream city. However, as much as I tried, I couldn’t stop myself. So, safe to say, I had a lot of expectations going into the trip, and a little bit of doubt as to whether New York was actually going to be worth it.
The reality
“When you get there, lookup. The buildings are far taller than we’re used to.” Was one of the last pieces of advice a friend gave me before I went, and once I got there I totally knew what it meant. I’m from London; I’m used to skylines and concrete jungles, but everything was so much bigger and brighter in New York. I was in awe of the buildings and the streets and even things as simple as the subway system (London tubes could never). It just felt so… intense, in a good way.
Our schedule and tips
I don’t even know where to start with the trip. As I said, I wanted to make it special, so I packed as much as I could into the 5 days that we were there. We fit in as much different food, activities, and sights that we could, and I honestly don’t think that it could have been better. I’m going to do some travel diary posts and food diary posts to get into real detail, but honestly, I had the most amazing time. That being said, I’m already ready to go back.
My main takeaway is that New York isn’t as expensive as I expected it to be. if you plan your days adequately, make great use of the Subway and spend your time seeing sights, it isn’t actually that bad. In fact, I ended up drastically under budget.
So, was New York worth it?
In short, it was everything I hoped for and more. It’s a place I feel like I belong; like I could genuinely see myself living there one day. Who knows? Maybe I will. I was so stressed that I would be disappointed, but it was absolutely perfect. If you are considering going, I would definitely recommend going for it! I can’t wait to write all about it and share all that I did with anybody else who is considering a trip.
Have you been to New York? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments!
Lots of love,
Jas xx
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