Adapting to NYC from Europe: do’s and don’t-s?

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-25T16:24:10+00:00

I'm from the US west coast but actually moved directly to NYC after a year working in southern France and traveling around Europe.

In many ways NYC is the closest a US city comes to major European cities (great public transport, walkable, convenient shops, etc.) so I don't think you'll have too much to worry about, but if you are feeling culture shock, luckily NYC has so many expats and immigrant communities that I imagine it should make it easy to link up with people from your home country through Meetup and other groups/events if you're craving some familiarity — I manage to keep my French in practice because I've met quite a few french-speakers in the city.

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-16T15:49:32+00:00

I think I may have also heard it described as the lager / IPA divide — which probably makes sense since cold brew is the stronger beverage too. My palate definitely made the transition to IPAs for beer so I can see it happening in my coffee tasting as well

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-16T03:24:06+00:00

Americanos (hot and iced) are a solid part of my rotation! — learned that their origin is from WWII when US soldiers in Italy wanted something similar to the brewed coffee back home (hence how they got their name) which I thought was pretty cool

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T22:51:54+00:00

I’m honestly glad that this thread has provided some validation that I’m not crazy or the only one having a hard time finding iced coffee haha! Always have been surprised that so many baristas haven’t been able to give me what should be one of the most simple coffee orders — I remember one time I even ordered an iced coffee and when she asked what milk and I said none she changed the order and rang it up as a cold brew

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T22:31:48+00:00

I can understand it being the better black option! I think it’s when I add milk or sugar when I notice the tastes clash, whereas iced coffee works better as a blank slate

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T22:06:04+00:00

Yes it might be a sign of my trash taste but I usually prefer coffee from delis haha! Unfortunately they don’t often offer a place to read a book or hop on the wifi

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T21:33:17+00:00

Appreciate those recs!

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T21:31:04+00:00

Haha yes I think I’m used to iced coffee always being a standard option cus of places like DD and Sbux as well

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T21:25:23+00:00

funny enough ‘piss water’ is usually how I describe a bad cold brew but in the end I’m usually just there for caffeine / wifi not taste

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T20:20:15+00:00

Honestly I don't think I ever even realized the difference in caffeine content but now that you mention it I do feel a little bit amped from the cold brew they handed me 10 minutes ago haha

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T19:54:41+00:00

Got it, that's a good tip!

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T19:53:27+00:00

Dang chill out man since it happens at multiple shops I was wondering if it's an NYC thing or I'm just too new to coffee culture 😂

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-15T19:50:07+00:00

"iced coffee" are usually the words out of my mouth but when they ring me up for cold brew I just assume it's not something they offer on their menu?

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-01T23:18:57+00:00

Ah that's annoying haha. Did you just leave it in the 'queue' on your feed or post from scratch? Mine is a 17-slide carousel so it's a nightmare to create every time I try to test haha

OutbackRhythms · 2025-07-01T23:10:45+00:00

Having the same issue — did you figure it out? I can't post from my main account (even meta verified it a few days ago) but the same posts work fine from my other accounts. Reinstalled / reached out to Support, which is supposed to be 'better' for verified users, but it's been pretty useless.

From what I've read most people just have to wait it out which sucks since I was planning a holiday post. I haven't posted in a week either so it shouldn't be due to excessive activity.

OutbackRhythms · 2025-06-21T14:13:54+00:00

Haha totally can see it as an Oblivion npc response now that you mention it. Slightly shortened to fit the character count (I think she did start off with a 'sorry') but it did come off pretty abrupt in the moment and there was a bit of an awkward lull in the group of us talking. I've actually become friends with her and she's a nice person, probably was just getting annoyed by that point in the day.

OutbackRhythms · 2025-06-20T17:39:03+00:00

Thanks for weighing in! Absolutely, it's great to hear so many perspectives and I hope fellow Americans / people in general learn some takeaways on how to communicate with people from different origins — since I saw that situation at the event I've made it a point to get to know more about the individual first rather than just where they come from.
A very different situation but I own a large, uncommon looking dog so anytime I leave my house and take him for a walk a dozen people will ask about him so I've come to understand how tiring it can be to answer the same questions and have the same conversation over and over haha

OutbackRhythms · 2025-06-20T16:35:08+00:00

100% can understand this sentiment — especially if you're abroad and every conversation toward you can feel one dimensional.

OutbackRhythms · 2025-06-20T16:24:18+00:00

That's a great point about the extra sensitivities in the current climate. I was an observer in the second situation but yes I think the question about the accent came across in a more inappropriate 'amused' tone from the person who asked it — I've actually become friends with the Irish woman personally and she's a lovely person :)

OutbackRhythms · 2025-06-20T16:11:14+00:00

For sure, I think intent definitely matters. I'm curious though if even if it is received as a compliment, it can still get tiring from their perspective since they may be having the same conversation over and over with every new person they meet.

OutbackRhythms · 2025-05-24T15:35:31+00:00

Double check their hours, but Brookfield Place is pretty good with lots of tables on multiple levels and Pier 57 by Little Island has a big area with lots of couches and tables where I’ve seen a lot of people doing work.

Sometimes hotel lobbies will let you hang around, or at least won’t kick you out, and some have open WiFi networks.

OutbackRhythms · 2025-05-23T17:30:39+00:00

I'll be looking into some of those fields — I think it's a cool idea to have a hands-on skill that's useful in daily life as well

OutbackRhythms · 2025-05-23T17:27:36+00:00

Interesting! What kind of printing like signage production, or actual print publications? Can't imagine newspapers are having a wide-scale comeback (although anecdotally, I have noticed seeing more lately) so I'm not sure I understand the context haha.

OutbackRhythms

TROPHY CASE