Sunday musings: 5 ways New York changed me

Hey ladies,

My favorite day of the week; Sunday! I can finally do all the many things that are scribbled on my endless to do lists and spend some great quality family time. I grew up in Zurich, Switzerland and pretty much spend my whole life over there until i got married and moved to my husbands hometown, New York. The adjustments were really hard at times and i cannot say that at times i did not just want to board the next plane heading back to all that i am used to.  But moving across the ocean and living in the big city really had an impact on my behavior towards life. I realized that New York has changed me in many ways, good and bad. Here are 5 ways that i feel i have changed because i live in NYC.

#1 I am more outgoing

Previous population: 350,000
New population: 8,500,000
Well that pretty much sums it all up. The amount of people who live here is overbearing at times and to feel like you are someone and not just part of a huge population you got to be more open to people, be more outgoing, friendly etc. In Switzerland i only hung out with my close friends and that’s it. You do not talk to strangers. Here in NYC at every cashier you ask Hey, how are you, how are you doing. And i am slowly doing the same.

#2 I am more chilled

Swiss people are very straight, no fuss people. They live their lives on a schedule. Here i feel like people are way more chilled and more inclined to adjustments and change. You can’t live on a schedule here. Things happen all the time out of the blue whenever and however. I became way more at ease with life.

#3 I became a late person

This was probably the biggest adjustment for me. Nothing is on time here. Unlike Switzerland were everything is exactly on the dot.  A time is not a time here. 5 min could be 20 or 30. They day does not start till 10 o’clock. Shops do not open before 11 at times. So i really had to adjust to a new meaning of time. I get up later and start my day later and i come late to things because otherwise i will be the only one waiting for 30 min.

#4 I became less of a planer

I live in a city that never sleeps. Where shops, pharmacy, doctors are open 24/7. So i stopped planning ahead and just go with the flow, since things are so easy to access. In my hometown all retail stores are closed on Sundays, the city goes to sleep at 8 pm and you gotta really plan ahead if you do not want to be stuck with just bread and butter over the weekend.

#5 I enjoy the little things

I grew up in a beautiful city, full of parks and greenery. There is a big a lake that is a 5 min walk of where i lived, where you could take a swim, go boating, rent a bike and bike for miles. Point is that everything was nearby. If i would want to walk by the water here, i will have to take the car and pray that i do not get stuck in traffic. So just a simple walk around the park in my area became a real gift.

Life is a constant adjustment period. What did you have to get used to in life? Have you ever moved to a different city? Let me see if am not the only one:)

Happy Sunday:)

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* Pictures taken in Switzerland, by me