u/xanaxisforcoolkids

As the title says. I’ve recently realized after moving to nyc where I know nobody, far from my old city surrounded by people I knew in the Punjabi/sikh community there, that wait I really don’t have to lean into being Punjabi or Sikh here if I don’t want to. It’s really freeing. Growing up I never felt accepted by a lot of Punjabi people in our community bc I couldn’t relate to them. I wasn’t religious much, I didn’t like Punjabi rap that much (old Punjabi music/uk fusion music is a diff story tho love that), I didn’t buy into caste culture, I dressed and acted different, and I didn’t belong to a brown friend group. Now I’m realizing wait, I don’t really care for any of this anyways. Most of these people gossip endlessly and are toxic af, don’t have any personality besides their ethnicity or faith, and are just boring to be around. I love being alt! I love having piercings, tats, smoking weed, listening to diff music, dressing different, etc. Why should I feel like I need to belong to these people anyways? It’s kinda freeing. I don’t have to respect my elders. I don’t have to keep my hair if I don’t want to. I don’t have to act religious. I don’t have to do any of the stuff I don’t want to. It’s liberating. I don’t care what people think anymore!

Obv being Punjabi and being raised Sikh is inseparable from my identity as a human, but I don’t have to necessarily make those things my personality if I don’t wish to!

As the title says, I'm moving to nyc for grad school at ccny, and I'm wondering if there's anything I need to be prepared for both in terms of things I may deal with at school, and in the neighborhood. I'm moving from atlanta, and I've lived in the city proper for quite some time, so I'm well acquainted with how to live in a city in terms of walking, public transit, minding my own business etc. However, I also realize nyc is NOT atlanta, it's far more dense, far more populated, and a lot of things can happen there. I'll be living in hamilton heights, I've secured housing, so I just wanna know if there's any streets/intersections to avoid just as a rule of thumb, or places that are good to frequent in terms of cafes/restaurants/businesses, etc. I also wanna know of issues I may run into both at school (since I haven't attended before outside of the open house for my program) or in the neighborhood/upper manhattan (since I haven't lived there outside of frequenting the area on 3-4 trips to nyc). Any other tips and fun facts would be well appreciated! Just looking for all the help and advice I can get so I'm well prepared to integrate in the city and not act like a yuppy transplant! If you wanna share your experiences as well please feel more than welcome to!