Mitul Shah
moving to nyc
moving my finances around is so unnecessarily difficult, and even harder since i don’t have a permanent address.
like i have so much money trapped because i simply can’t make transfers, or there’s certain limitations that don’t allow me to move a meaningful amount
with that said, i’m glad i finally have a credit card (with a $200 limit…) and i at least have my accounts set up
signed on my first apartment today. feels a bit surreal.
reality is kinda sinking in. i’m building a life here.
my stint in bushwick came to an end, and now i’m in williamsburg for a month.
this places feels extremely similar to roma norte in cdmx or palermo in buenos aires. extremely bland, uncultured mix of tech bros and wealthy americans. i can’t say i’m a fan.
i’ve made a decision to live in manhattan for my first year. i just hope i can find a place i love in time.
there’s been so much going on. i finally have a bank account and some money, but it’s so tough to move things around. my wise account got locked so that doesn’t help either. i just got a place is williamsburg for a month and then hopefully i get my full time place
still not confident on which neighbourhood i want to live in
i’ve been having fun though. i went rollerskating for the first time and can’t stop thinking about it, would love to get really good at it.
celebrated my fourth of july in america. surreal experience having a 360 view of fireworks from my rooftop.
surprising that the city was actually empty – most ppl were off to the hamptons or whatever
also, had 2 of the first visitors from home. unplanned
need to stop building b2b saas and rather find a way to create a direct stream of horchata into my veins
i’m really happy. i enjoy being in bushwick a lot. my place is nice. i’m grateful for the few friends i do have (one thanks to travel). it’s sinking in that i live here now.
like this guy using a shopping cart as his grill, c’mon. it’s wonderful
week two just passed. it’s was super busy since we had vercel ship and everyone was in town.
i’m not as anxious about things as much, i was freaking out my first few days.
i had my first viewing today, and the place was absolutely perfect. but i literally have nothing, no ssn, no bank account, no credit history, not even paystubs. it’s a bit defeating, but then i remember my parents immigrated across continents twice – this is nothing lol
and today was canada day! checked out some bar that was mentioned to me 3x. it was fun, it made me feel like i was in an episode of himym.
lol it literally feels like “dear diary” sometimes, but i guess that’s what this is
first week living in the city. every day has been a learning experience. i've been intentionally taking it slow and i'm glad.
i'm happy with my neighbourhood, my job and how things are going. it's funny because i could simply take out the factor of being "intentional" with things, have fun and just mess around but i know that will lead me to nowhere (at least at this moment, otherwise, would be super pro that).
it's more first time in my life i feel like i don't have a long term goal or plan, so taking the steps to figure that out
It’s my first time living entirely on my own (kinda), in a city that isn’t Toronto. the only place I’ve really ever known.
I’m glad I traveled so much these past few years, it helps. There’s a faint sense of familiarity in the unfamiliar.
Now that it's day two, I’m starting to feel what this shift really means.
Suddenly, all the defaults of my life are gone. The stores, the streets, the food, even the brands I’d reach for without thinking, aren't all there. I have to build a new context of everything from scratch.
It’s not bad. It’s just new. The difference is, when you’re traveling, the unfamiliar feels temporary, almost like a game. Now I'm acknowledging this is my life for the next little bit, and there’s something sobering about that. The best part about it is that there's space, a lot of space to do something new. Maybe even better :)
I'm glad my sublet turned out good, I was stressed about it. Next up, finding an actual place.
it hasn't really hit me, but today i was walking around bushwick, and i couldn't stop smiling. all the puerto ricans, hispanic, bangladeshis, random white girls, all blending! felt like home!
first thing i did was grab cash and head to punjabi deli for some food, felt appropriate. i wanted to walk across williamsburg bridge but didn't have the time.
it feels like i'm travelling, and reality hasn't sunk in that i live here. i'm in a sublet for a month and a half, will grind to find my perfect place but i have a feeling i'll be torn on neighbourhood.
sublet has the dude's parents & his cousin in law? first time having roommates so this an experience in itself. but they've been sweet so far and i'm happy. i dont think i could ever live with roommates but glad somehow i got it off the list like this???
anyways! lots of admin stuff to do and that's priority rn
i’m extremely anti traditional banking, but surprisingly not sure what the wealthsimple equivalent would be in the states. the closest thing i’ve found is chime, but doesn’t feel right
likely will start with capital one