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My name is Johanna O'Toole I'm from Reedley California small town
and when I was ten I moved to Australia Then I moved to London
and in 2009 I moved to New York. I just thought it would be
the right place for me I guess I didn't feel
like I had a lot in common with a lot of the other kids.
I was really into art and culture and music and I just thought New York was like the mecca
for that I was in Melbourne at that point and I
(was) just working nine to five dead end jobs and New York was just kind of like this daydream
So I just saved up and moved When I was in London an old friend of mine
back from California she contacted me on Facebook
We caught up and she was like "Where are you living?"
and I was in London and then I was like "Well, I'm moving to New
York in a couple of months" She was like "I live in New York...You should
come stay with me". The day after I got here
I did catch up with her for a cup of coffee. I was staying in a hostel
and she was like "You're not going back to the hostel
you're going to come stay with me." And so I did
and I ended up there for four months She was like my lifeline.
I don't think I would have lasted if I didn't have one person.
There's always something going on There's always something happening.
There's always new exhibitions. New bands.
Everything is at your fingertips. I know that people say that New York is harder
to live in but for me I find it very convenient
Sometimes there are just so many people when you just need a quiet place
and the quiet places can be really difficult to find.
They do exist But you just sometimes
have to walk a little further to get there. I think that people just need to know
depending on where they're coming from that the city can be a lot to handle.
It can be overwhelming definitely and that's when those quiet places are really
important. Yeah just try to be as emotionally prepared
for it as you can. Be prepared to put in the time and effort
trying to find a place and a job and have some money and you'll be okay.