Advantages and disadvantages
essays 1: Living abroad

1When I graduated from university a few years ago, I didn’t really have any concrete plans for the future. A lot of my friends already had jobs lined up and went straight to work, but things weren’t so clear-cut for me. After studying hard for three years, I just wanted to take my time before I rushed into making any decisions about my career.

2London is great, but after growing up there, then spending my student years in the capital, I decided that I needed a change of scenery. I started to look into the possibility of taking a gap year and did a bit of research. In my mind, it would be a good way to buy me some time to think things through. And of course, on top of that, I was very excited about the opportunity to have an adventure! I also knew that having a year out wouldn’t really harm my job prospects because employers generally look favourably on it.

3One night I was out with some friends and I got talking to a guy called Ian. He told me that he had been living and working out in New York for the past six months on an international exchange programme. He was working for a market-research company in the centre of Manhattan and living with a group of other British people who were also carrying out work placements in the city. It sounded right up my street and just the kind of opportunity I was looking for. I took some contact details from Ian, and within a week I had applied for a position on the scheme. A month or so later, I was called for an interview and the rest, as they say, is history!

4Arriving in New York after all that hard work at university was an unforgettable experience. I’ll never forget standing on Fifth Avenue for the first time and looking up at the Empire State Building while yellow taxis raced up and down. I felt like I was in a scene from a movie. I had to pinch myself.

5Even though it was the first time I had spent an extended period of time away from home, the first few months passed by very quickly. Looking back, it was probably down to the fact that there were lots of other British people around. I had a kind of instant social life. I think because we were all a long way from home and starting afresh, we quickly bonded and became good friends. New York has so much to offer, and soon I had started to discover new interests. My friends back in England laughed when I told them about my cocktail-making classes at night school! I love hip-hop music and street art, so it was easy for me to immerse myself in the New York culture.

6Although my work placement wasn’t exactly what I had expected, I gained valuable experience and knew that whatever happened, it would look good on my CV. Anyway, my year abroad was more about the chance to broaden my horizons and consider my future options than about the work.

7I can’t say everything about my New York adventure was plain sailing. There were times when I really missed my family and friends. If I had a bad day or was just feeling down, I didn’t have the same support network of friends that I could go to back at home to cheer me up. Having said that, I was able to keep in contact with everyone fairly regularly via phone or email, so I was never too homesick.

8On the whole, I would describe my year in New York as a life-changing experience and an opportunity that I’m happy to say I made the most of. I got the chance to live in one of the most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities in the world, I became a much more outgoing person and, above all, I made lots of great friends along the way. I certainly don’t regret my decision to go.