Hi friends, 

It’s your old friend Kastania. I say old because I’m now in my *whispers* thirties. YIKESSS!!! Maybe the best is yet to come? Maybe this will be the greatest decade of my life? Honestly, the world is falling to shit so who knows. What I do know is that there’s a mass exodus of people fleeing large metropolitan cities like New York during this pandemic. In case you forgot, we’re still in a pandemic haha *laugh cries* You may be asking yourself, well why are people leaving NYC? Welp, I’ll tell ya! 

Many people moved to New York City to follow their dreams, myself included. Now the pandemic just shit on a lot of those dreams in the worst way possible. Many people are out of work or working from their tiny closet apartments with no windows which seems literally unbearable. Broadway shows are paused until further notice, no concerts, no live events, no sports, etc etc etc. Yes, New Yorkers are actually the most resilient humans I’ve ever encountered in my life so they will “make it work” but at what cost? It’s been running through my mind too. Move out of the city I once knew and loved then come back later? Why should I pay expensive rent to live in a city that resembles a ghost of what I once knew? Well, I might be crazy telling you this, I’m staying in New York City haha YES, you heard it here first. I’m a little nuts. 

I moved to New York to pursue a career in the music industry which never happened and my heart broke into a million pieces once the pandemic hit and couldn’t even fall back on my event planning experience. I was working in radio (which is also a dying industry but we’ll talk more about this later).  What I’m trying to tell you is that the music industry, hospitality industry, live events, etc etc etc all went to shit. It has been devastating seeing incredibly talented close friends lose their creative jobs during this time. I think the worst part is not being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel so we’re all scrambling to find generic work to pay our bills. Yes, I lost my job and I’ve just been freelancing work in hopes of making enough money to pay my cell phone bill or buy groceries. 

I’m staying in New York City because I believe it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. I needed the space away from my family and friends - I love them but I really felt like they were dictating what was ‘best for me’ and I wasn’t living the life I wanted to live. Just trying to make everyone else happy other than myself. I came out here for a career and ended up finding love. I fell in love with my boyfriend who is born and raised in New York. Look, life happens, I can’t help it. New York City may look a little different than when I first moved but that little spark of hope is still shining through the cute SoHo streets, the laughs with friends at Happy Hour rooftops, the lights shining in Washington Square Park, the walks along the river when you can see just a peek of the Statue Of Liberty looking back, and that breathtaking Brooklyn Bridge view. New York City is always magical. It looks a bit different today than it did a year ago but I’m not giving up on the potential of what it can this city still has to offer.

XOXO,

Kas