I concluded that New York City has no age. It does not matter if you come here as a kid, as a teenager, as an adult, or as an elderly. This city is hustle and, when moving here to start fresh, you will have to take a step back, focus on making money, and start over. It does not matter how old you are.
The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine who is in Brazil and he is thinking about moving here and giving it a shot for a couple of months. I, personally, think that it’s awesome and he will definitely crush it in NYC, but as a person who has been here for a while and had to start from scratch, I know that the hustle is real. He mentioned that he wants to come here to focus on his career, but he is afraid of leaving behind everything he already built back home to start fresh. That was when I had the click: NYC has no age!
It does not matter if you are 20 or 40 years old. When you come to NYC you have to start from scratch. I have seen successful artists that moved to the US, had to start from scratch and they are currently 55 years old working as bartenders in a side gig because they need to make money while their career is not settled. This is not only normal in NYC, but it is necessary and that is one of the reasons why I say “you need to have focus and determination to stay here!”.
I have friends who came here and decided to go back home. Not because they couldn’t handle the hustle or because they didn’t like NYC, but because they felt like they were “old” to focus on their career and work as interns while working on a side gig to make money. Well, let me tell you, if you come here with this mentality, I suggest coming here with your ticket back home already bought. It will probably make your trip cheaper - lols, but for real!
I came to NYC with a master's degree and I also had to start fresh. I came to NYC with three different bachelors and I also worked in a bar while I worked as an intern trying to focus on my career. All of these things are more than normal when building a career in NYC and, to be honest, I have seen so many people of all ages doing it. My dad’s visit also proved to me that NYC's lifestyle and culture are just so different from anywhere else.
While my dad felt like it was horrible the fact that I have roommates and the bartender next door was almost 60 years old, I have had roommates my entire 6 years in NYC. Once, I had a roommate who was a college professor and decided to rent a room and have roommates because he was going through a divorce. One of my old coworkers was 40 years old and worked as a server while he was launching his career as a photographer… This city mentality is SO different from anything you will ever see and, for real, there is no age to come to NYC and start a career.
All you need is focus and determination to make things happen to you in this city. Young souls are what move NYC and, with the right mindset, you will find the young warrior inside you.
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