From London to New York to Paris.

Dearest readers, I have not deserted you. It has been a copious time difference between the last time I wrote to this evening - I have indeed returned back to London from Paris, my original home, and now can happily say I am finally settled into one city. As a girl who has now lived in three major cities, disregarding having also travelled to two other incredible cities, I now have the opportunity to reflect on the three different living situations of New York, Paris and indeed my home, London.

When asked to compare, the three cities are incredibly different in many ways, and do create a different lifestyle from the next - from how its inhabiters live their day-to-day lives, to how their weekends are spent, how they work, how they eat,  even how they dress. So, I want to create a small city guide to really show what I learnt from this year of travelling.

New York. 

currency - dollars, key areas- Brooklyn, manhattan, dumbo, Williamsburg. transport - Uber, taxi, metro. 

Dress Code. 

As most of you lovely readers know, I am an avid fashion follower - I like styling ideas and I like to take note on what others are wearing. I found that after living for four months in New York, living in Brooklyn and spending most of my time in down town Manhattan (soho, TriBeCa, garment district), my own personal style definitely undertook a change and became influenced by those around me. 

My design mentor in particular was a strong influencer in how I chose to dress - she was a woman of style, comfort and minimalism - not only did she wear pieces from her own collection that had a very "niche" and quirky style about them, she also loved to wear oversized, almost boyish shapes, with a pair of trainers or when dressing up, mules or loafers - indeed, when given the opportunity to head to a presentation during New York Fashion Week with my mentors, I was told to turn up in trainers and not be the girl in heels. Which was indeed how I found other New Yorkers that I met. Before I knew it, I took was walking around in an oversized coat and baseball cap, with trainers as my favourite go to, and almost always wearing a neautral colour scheme of grey, black, and white. Before I knew it, I stopped drying my hair and kept my makeup either natural/barely there, and kept my hair also natural. 

There is a certain air of relaxation and ease when it comes to New York styling, where no one over thinks what they're wearing, and everyone is dressed in clothes that are suitable for the city life. 

Lifestyle. 

The lifestyle in New York is indeed how you would image that in any large, busy city that is made up of array of people all chasing their dreams - in other words, everyone is hustling, and life does not stop at 5pm on weeknights. 

To put it clearly, not one person I met worked a 9-5 job - it seemed everyone had at least two jobs, multiple methods of income, and weekday drinks was a usual choice of activity. Its a lifestyle that is particularly infectious - even I found myself going home after a day of interning and learning about design, business, watching youtube videos on dress making and "hustling" towards being better at what I do. My mentors told me stories of how they had worked in multiple careers and work fields before design, and had indeed also been sole creators of an online magazine, before they even reached the career path of designers - they were also incredibly hard workers, with my mentor Julie taking charge of manufactoring, design and selling, which Jason took charge of branding and graphics of the brand - they worked hard to keep the brand alive, with just the two of them supporting the brand's development.

It also seemed that those that lived in the big smoke were individuals of an independent nature - it was not uncommon to find both men and women eating alone on a friday night, or sitting at a bar with a glass of wine and a book. This even rubbed off on me when I found myself outside in a near by bar after a buying meeting, with a good glass of wine and Skyping my parents. In New York, it's okay to be on your own - as my mentor told me, its what New York girls do.

Food.
It's not only the lifestyle and fashion of this incredible city that deserves commentary but also the food, and how different eating and drinking is compared to Paris and London. For example, brunch. Brunch is one of the most popular go-to's on the weekend, with brunching spots like the Egg Shop (TriBeCa), Rabithole (Williamsburg) and Jack's Wife Frieda (Soho) filling up at 12am, with a line outside by 1pm. It is a time to catch up with friends, whilst enjoying bottomless coffee, pancakes, egg and with a large coffee refill in one hand as you leave to browse the local thrift and book shops.

But it's not only brunch that celebrates the love of food in this city - Pizza Slices on every block show that fast food doesn't have to be just Mcdonalds or in New York's case, Popeye's. It is the $1 slice that is picked up on the commute home, a quick pick me up after the day's work that really hits that junk food craving at 6pm.

Finally, who can forget the importance of coffee in this city. Throughout my four months in New York, I was a coffee feign, with regular coffees throughout the day - be it iced or a straight up hot cup of Joe to go. Coffee shops are unique in New York, having their own take and own customer experience, as well as maintaining an eye for taste and detailing when it came to coffee - one particular coffee spot in the garment district even maintained the rule of having no wifi as the shop was about socialising and a love of coffee, not sitting on social media. One particular coffee shop, Happy Bones, was my little hideout when it came to grabbing a coffee after a day of interning, or even as a before-work visit to read my magazine and to chill. The spot was small but well decorated with a white interior (walls, floors, tables, chairs, you name it), and attracted the fashion pack before 10am, and the trendy TriBeCan's after 12pm.

Travel.
In every city, I have found that travelling around is also a lot different in each place. In New York, cabs are everywhere - it's a real Carrie Bradshaw moment when you have to walk out into the middle of the road, raising one arm and shouting "Taxi!". The fare's are not as steep like in London with our black cabs, with taking a cab from Williamsburg to Brooklyn being around $24 (roughly about £20). Uber is also still at large and still remains inexpensive, but is definitely in competition with the city's taxi rank.

There is also the metro - however, unlike the London Tube system and Paris' version of the metro, the metro is a little more confusing - with routes either stopping at every station on the line, or being "express" and missing out four in between. Sometimes, this change can happen mid journey, so always pay attention whilst on route. The metro is also not as clean as the London underground, and there is much more activity on the New York metro system - including street dancers hanging upside down in the carriages mid journey, and even live performers striking a chord as you travel over the Manhattan bridge. (the videos on Facebook you see of train performers and buskers? That's in New York).
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All in All, I found that New York is a fast pace city, where no weekend was boring and days-off could range from brunch, to afternoon drinks, to rooftop parties to nights out in a club or a bar. It is as they say, the city that never sleeps, and is not for the faint hearted. Next up, Paris.