Like I said in my previous post I wanted to write an entire piece on my time spent in NYC (which is in no way intended to distract from the fact that I was MIA from here for the last 4 years). I’m going to have to do this in a few parts as I don’t want to leave any important information out but I also don’t want one post to be a thousand pages long. It really is the experience of a lifetime and I’d recommend for anyone that is able to go to seize the opportunity. You can always come home whenever you like if it turns out it isn’t your thing (which is highly doubtful) but I think it’s something everyone who is able to should try. Having said that, I will say it’s not cheap so I’d definitely recommend saving a bit beforehand to not only cover the cost of the visa and flights but to cover you for at least the first month of your stay as it can take some time to secure a job and accommodation when you first get over. So let’s get straight into it!
HOW DID I GET THERE?
Shortly after graduating from the National University of Ireland, Galway with an Arts degree specializing in English and Irish, I was kind of at a crossroads in my life. At the time I was working as a retail artist for MAC Cosmetics in Brown Thomas, in Galway but I was hearing of a lot of my friends from my graduating class applying for the 1 year USA Graduate Visa Programme. This was intended for people who have graduated to, within a year of graduating, intern in their field of study in a place of their choice in the United States. New York is generally the most popular for people as there would be the most opportunities to find work but I know of people who picked Chicago, Florida and San Diego, it’s really up to your own personal preference. While I LOVED my job at MAC, I felt I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend a year (which ended up becoming 2) in New York City. So, with a heavy heart but a lot of hope I left my job in Galway and packed my bags for the US.
SETTLING IN/FINDING ACCOMMODATION
Upon my arrival in JFK, I got straight into a cab to Sunnyside, Queens to stay with a very good friend of mine from college for a while. Now, I’m not gonna lie, finding accommodation without a previous credit score or a US Guarantor was very difficult. I had joined a Facebook group (I think it was J1 Graduate NY) and ended up meeting a girl who was also looking for a roommate and after countless viewings and near selling our souls to the devil for shelter, we were able to convince a landlord we got in contact with from Craigslist to let us rent the apartment above his mothers in a 2 story house. To avoid the hassle we had to go through, I would recommend looking for a room to rent rather than trying to lease a whole apartment, especially if it is your first time renting in the city. Also, if you end up going through a broker to find a place, please keep in mind most of these charge a fee to find housing which can start at anything from $600 per person onwards, plus whatever the rent of the place is, a deposit and the first couple of months rent if you do not have a US Guarantor or credit history. This is why I recommended to have saved quite a bit before going over as you can end up paying up to $2000 upfront for an apartment.
That’s it for this post but here are a couple of links that you can use to get information on the visa and also some sites I used to find accommodation over the 2 years. In my next post I’ll focus more on securing an internship and supporting yourself throughout the duration of your time in the States.
Until next time!
Michelle xo
