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| Manhattan skyline |
Last year I spent two weeks of summer in the US, in the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. I have lived in New York before, so it wasn’t new for me. And since I was working remotely, I had limited time to explore anyways. Still, I did get out a bit to catch up with old friends. And since I wasn’t touristing, I spent my time like a local. I experienced everything in a different light, and somehow I liked it more this time. I felt that living there is nice, comfortable and convenient. Sharing some of my thoughts from this time in the States.
Getting there
The flight from London to New York was a day flight, and I got to see some interesting landscapes down below. The island of Newfoundland has so many lakes, they were all visible from the air. Then we flew over a few other islands, all the way till New York. They all looked so picturesque from above. Especially a place called the Bay of Fundy where the sea appeared reddish! That was quite a sight. All the islands and beaches looked very inviting, shining in the sun. Surprisingly, I had never visited any of these areas before when I lived in New York.
Trip down memory lane: New York and New Jersey
My flight landed at JFK and I was staying with friends in New Jersey. And I realised I had forgotten the geography of New York 😂, also that there is no good public transport connecting the airport to Jersey City. So I had to sit through a long 2 hour taxi ride in the traffic to get to where I wanted.
The drive did feel nostalgic though, there were moments and sights that felt the same as before. Like a mini Eiffel tower on top of a building, some billboards, the bridge, pastel houses on the hills - all triggered a memory of the time I had been there before. Crossing Chinatown with its energy, approaching the highrises of Newport, it was just like driving through the past. So at least the long drive gave me that 😂.
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| Working with a view |
Over the next week, I worked during the weekdays, catching up with friends in NY in the weekday evenings and getting out of town on the weekends. I was staying along the Jersey waterfront, in Newport. During the days I worked from our apartment, with a view of the New York skyline. That was quite a good backdrop to the work. The weather, though supposed to be hot as it was summer, had surprisingly turned cold and rainy, but I survived.
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| Along the waterfront |
In the evenings, I would go for a walk or run along the waterfront, till Exchange Place or Hoboken. The entire path is quite active especially in the evenings. The weather was a bit rainy and windy while there, still the views made up for it. The New York skyline across the river was just as stunning and mesmerising as it had been when I had lived there before. The views are incomparable. Whether at night or during the day. It’s an experience I don’t think I can tire of easily. And just like 15 years ago, I photographed it incessantly once again 😂.
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| Newport |
Newport is full of highrises and malls, the new part of town. And so many of our Indian friends either live there or lived there 20 years ago. Downtown Jersey City was completely different though. Just walking 20 mins from Newport to Jersey City took one to a world 50 years earlier. It had older and less high buildings, with more character and a European feel to it. More natural greenery, more space. And it felt so much more relaxed. I loved (re)visiting it.
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| WTC pool |
I made a few trips to the City too. I saw all its different areas in a different light, and it felt so grand and lively. In downtown, I was quite impressed with the new WTC station and memorial pool built there (they hadn’t been finished when I lived in NY). The WTC is also finished now and visible all the way from midtown Macy's, along Broadway. That was quite impressive to see. Also there were many old grand colonial buildings, churches and parks across downtown which had a charming beauty to it. Overall though, it still felt too claustrophobic to me, with all the high rises and the scaffolding everywhere - they somehow took away from its charm.
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| Peter Cooper Village |
Midtown felt a lot more open and inviting, like the place I would like to live. I walked around the East Village to the places I had lived in and enjoyed. The old houses on tree lined streets, with quiet all around. It was so peaceful, so serene, so charming, not like the NY we hear about. The area around Union Square felt like a pleasure to walk around. I was also amazed by all the large murals and art on the buildings here, it definitely felt new (or I hadn't noticed it before).
I walked all the way to Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village. And fell in love with it again. With all the greenery and fountains and landscaping and activities between the apartments. An oasis of green and quiet life in the craziness that is New York. I loved going there, again. And then the nearby waterfront was gorgeous.
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| New York |
Uptown felt great too. One of the evenings I met a few friends in Central Park and enjoyed the summer vibes there. People all around just picnicking in the good weather, just that. Walking around in uptown was also fun. The roads were so wide and open. All the restaurants there were buzzing. It felt nice to be there.
And I shopped - New York is a haven for shopping. It was as much a pleasure as it was convenient to shop now as then. I visited all my old favourites, Macy’s, Loft and Century 21.
I made two outstation trips too. One of the summer days (the hottest during my stay actually), we drove to Jersey Shore. We first stopped at Saravana Bhavan in Edison, and had a filling meal. Then we drove to Ocean’s Grove. The drive was about 2 hours and through green countryside. And when we reached Ocean’s Grove, we could see it buzzing. The beachfront was lined with pastel coloured wooden houses, holiday homes of the ones who love the sun. They looked cute. The trip however wasn’t!
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| Oceans Grove |
We spent an hour trying to find parking, and couldn't! We even drove to the neighbouring Asbury Park Beach. And it was the same story. So we just stopped the car for a while, got out, checked out the beach, (told ourselves it’s nothing great 😂), drove to a nearby Starbucks, had coffee and came back. Jersey Shore seemed like such a popular place, though I don’t know why. Also my friends learnt later that to get a parking at Jersey Shore, one had to reach there early morning or around sunset. Well, for next time.
My other outstation trip was to Woodbury Commons, an outlet mall a few hours away from town. We took public transport for this trip, taking a shuttle bus from Penn Station to get there. It was a bit tough to find the right bus, but we did. The drive was comfortable and through the lush green countryside. The mall was also in a green wooded area and it felt nice to be out of town, though the shopping was not that successful.
Living the good life in Connecticut
The same day as the outlet mall shopping, I took a train to a small town in Connecticut (I realised now that the US does have some public transport, you just need to be on it). The Connecticut coast is where the rich of New York move to when they have earned enough. They live a luxurious life in huge suburban houses in the middle of nature. These towns are spread out, with access to watersports, hiking etc., a convenient high street and a small community where everyone knows each other. There are trains from Grand Central to these commuter towns along the coast. And the rich New Yorkers live the good life here, commuting conveniently to NY for work when needed.
For the next week, I stayed in a place called Fairfield, near Southport, along the Connecticut coast. And what a different life it was. A huge house in the woods, with its own sauna and pool. And deer came to visit us every day. I got quite lazy there, just enjoying being outdoors in nature. During the day, I worked outside by the pool, in the sun. And in the evenings, I walked or ran around in the neighbourhood. The area around was lined with grand colonial houses with huge gardens around. It was also a bit hilly, so it was strenuous to walk and run there.
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| Fairfield |
One evening we drove to a restaurant in a nearby town, the Hudson Malone and I was impressed with the decor and vibe there. The restaurant and the area around had an interesting history of slave traders and lack of industries because of that. Also it hit me that to go to good restaurants, we had to drive far. Also that everyone around knew all restaurants in the 50 mile radius, there were just so few of them.
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| Fairfield Boathouse |
Another evening I decided to walk into town, the city centre. So I set off from our house and just followed Google Maps all the way till the harbour. I walked through residential areas with grand houses. Past the town centre with a few restaurants. Past a small river meeting the sea, ending at a boat house with people enjoying fishing and kayaking around. The sunset at the end of the walk was stunning, and the houses there felt so idyllic. The stunningness of this life cannot be described. Though the lack of a proper pedestrian sidewalk was a bit risky. Thankfully my friend picked me up from there, so I did not have to risk my life again walking along fast moving traffic without a sidewalk, trying to come back home.
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| Outdoor concert |
One of the weekend days, we drove around town seeing the different areas in town, how the houses were different in the different parts, from the grand to the lavish to the magnificent. We visited some local farms to pick up natural produce (which was quite expensive), drove by the local churches and schools and so on. Then we went to the town centre and I shopped (again), at Loft. The high streets here were self sufficient, to avoid people having to drive into the City for their needs, and the stuff available there was classy (given the demand). While at the high street, we ran into an outdoor summer concert in a local park. They were playing songs from the 90s, and the average age was 60 😊. It felt like the entire town was there (And we were the only 4 non-whites in the entire crowd!). I loved the concert, being in the pleasant summer air, enjoying music from a time we remember.
One another weekend day we drove to the Housatonic Rail Trail, a hiking trail built on the remnants of a train line. The walk was so refreshing, covered by trees on both sides. And there were many people walking and biking here. We walked all the way under the trees, till the lake. I loved it, country life can be so good and convenient. There was a leisurely feeling I got when there, it was just so relaxing. And lazying. We had to visit the beach that day too but somehow ran out of time 😂.
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| Fairfield |
Overall, living in Connecticut felt like living the leisure life, ‘grand houses, nature, outdoors, drives, farm food’, and so on. It felt good, luxurious, peaceful - the big life. But how is it for the long term sustainability of the world? And for mental health, of being connected and living with people? I don't think anyone felt the lack of it, so my guess is it doesn't matter much. But I did end up with questions on the ‘Big American Dream’. Anyways I loved it, so I was happy.
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| New York skyline |
The journey back from there was quite convenient too. It was easier to take the train to JFK directly from Connecticut than from Jersey City (which is closer). A commuter train to Grand Central Station, and then with 2 connections (the LIRR and the AirTrain), I was soon in JFK. The commuter train passed through stunning countryside places, with cities, rivers, forests and so on all along. And soon it was time to fly out.
Leaving the US, I felt it can give people a good life. And it felt good to experience it.
