so, i guess i'm moving to NYC..

[holdfast]

you may have already heard me talk about this, but recently i have quit working as a preschool teacher and have moved in with a family in order to nanny for them full time. it is just one little girl who is almost 2 and her mom, and i absolutely love it.

yesterday after the mom came home from work she asked me, "how do you feel about moving to new york city this fall?" and i said, "that sounds like a good adventure," and she said, "good because i've been wanting to move back there and my job has an opening there now, but i wouldn't want to go unless you came with to take care of ella."

so, she is going next week to look at apartments, and she already has someone to rent her house here. we will be moving by the beginning of september! it has all happened so fast, it's crazy! but i've been in nashville for 5 years, i am ready for an exciting change.

but, i don't know anyone in new york. i am a little nervous about that, but i am used to moving and having to meet new people. what i am really sad about losing is the relationship i have with everyone at my korean church. it took a long time to build, and i'm going to have to start all over. but from what i hear, nyc has a lot of korean stuff.

anyone from new york? can anyone recommend any places to go? things to do? where i can find korean stuff? i've never even visited there before, but i absolutely love london and have had several people tell me that nyc is similar. i am excited and nervous all at the same time!

[SiEd]

Keith씨, I think this one's right up your alley

[holdfast]

sooooo......

it looks like i'm moving even sooner than expected.

like, august 1st.




i'm still in shock. but excited!

anyone from NYC?

Keith, any recommendations?

[Bouks]

How exciting! Can I visit you when you're all settled in?

I'm a Pennsylvania girl originally, so I know NYC a little but not enough to be of help.

You're gonna get a funny accent, nyah nyah [ducking and running so Keith can't hit me]

[holdfast]

haha! i already have a funny accent.. i grew up in minnesota (ooohhh geeez.. yoooou betcha.. dooontcha knooow?) and i have lived in tennessee for 5 years! i think that i don't have too much of an accent, but sometimes a really strong southern accent will come out if i'm not paying attention to what i'm saying. i tend to pick up accents pretty quick, though. once i was in northern ireland for two weeks, and even in that short time i started picking up a little bit of the intonation. and now one of my friends told me i'm starting to sound asian - whatever that means. i think she's just picking on me.

but yes, my accent will be very strange after moving to new york. i hope i don't pick up a strong accent, though. i like the way i talk now.


bouks, i hope we can meet someday, that would be awesome! are you back from france yet?

[Bouks]

Nope, I'm still in France...poor me Just for a few more weeks, though. Life will be crazy when I get back.

I miss the East Coast terribly. I miss the DC/Northern Virginia area the most, but I would love to be anywhere back east. My current circumstances don't permit it though. But I've found some pretty weird chocolates in my box, so maybe there will be some more enjoyable ones in there next.

[vaberella]

I'm a New Yorker, lived raised in the City all my life.

To learn Korean you can go to the Korean Society. I tried to take lessons and was totally unhappy because there were no tapes. Just books and the teacher going over the sounds in class. Not enough there to learn.

As for fun things to do. I really don't know what tourists like to do here. Most of the cool places to go as a New Yorker are actually outside of Manhattan in my book. Bronx---Botanical Gardens. Brooklyn---welll known for the infamous Brooklyn Museum. There are museums in NYC like MOMA and MET, but I like a bit more. There's the fairs upstate going on right now, around Westchester County.

Other tourists things, you could pick up any manual on NYC. I personally hate the places since their over run with the same old.

A nice place with something for everyone is Central Park actually. They have restaurants, bars, parks, a public pool near morningside in Harlem and of course a zoo. So that's always a fun place to get lost in. You find cool places to hang out.

If you're more specific in things you like maybe then I can help you more.

[holdfast]

i'm sure i'll eventually do all the tourist type stuff, but i really want to find the korean stuff! and of course, i'll have to find new language exchange partners... and people that will go to 노래방 with me!

the woman that i work for works in midtown manhattan and she said there's a whole street of korean stuff right across the street from her office. she said it's called korea way, or something like that.

the only other thing i'm worried about with new york is i don't want to go anywhere dangerous. most of the time, i'll have a 2 year old with me, so i need to be extra careful. i'm sure i'll be able to figure it out pretty quick when i get there, but still..

[vaberella]

I never heard it called Korean Way. But then, everyone has a different name for everything. I know it's been called Korean Town and that's by the Koreans I know. There's also one in Flushing, Queens, which is the largest. The one in Flushing is defacto. It just has a huge Korean population and therefore a lot of stores and products so it's very Korean and then called Korean Town.

The street I believe is 32nd street between Broadway/6th Avenue and goes all the way to 5th Avenue. I'm always iffy on the number. I just know it's directly across from Penn Station on 34th street which opens under Madison Square Garden and the M4/M34 buss stops there. ^_^ I'm sure it's 32nd street. It's an alright location. I mean there are a lot of restaurants but I find it lame. It's more so restaurants and a few stores. Flushing is better in my opinion.

The Korean Society is cool. I'm a member, I'm just not partial to their language class. But if you take the one here, then the Korean Society language course will be a great way to obtain official qualifications in Korean.
http://www.koreasociety.org/

Dangerous? No where in New York is dangerous. The places that some people think is dangerous is the Bronx and all the cool places are there like the Botanical Gardens, and the Bronx Zoo (the largest zoo in NYC). I have lived in NYC all my life and have walked all over at any part of the day without a problem.

The most dangerous is probably at night but that is ANYWHERE you go. Harlem is given a crap reputation for nothing. Ditto for Brooklyn and Bronx. They have great places for kids and there are people with children who live in those places. Further more, all programs for kids is in daylight. I'm sure you won't be out with a child past sunset, there's nothing to do for kids, well except for Chucky Cheese and that's in Harlem <---I love that place.

[just1world]

Woo~ welcome to nY!

Everything vaberella has said is spot on. If your looking for korean stuff in the city there actually isn't that much. There is KTown (never heard it called "Koreaway" either) around 32nd and 5th but the consensus is that it's pretty whack. I mean, its cool for hanging out when your stuck in the city anyway but it's only a couple of blocks big. You can always find many koreans there regardless tho. Other than Ktown there are korean stores spread sparsely throughout the city.

Again like vab said, the real bulk of the korean population/ actual communities lies outside of the city to the east in Flushing (right by where i live ). Another formidable korean population near NYC that seems to go unnoticed is in Palisades Park/Fort Lee NJ, which is just outside of the city to the west. When i first went there with some friends i was really surprised!.

Other than this, i think when you come here your going to find it all out for yourself pretty quick, especially if you join one of the churches. Once you make a few friends and explore a little it all unravels rather quickly. . .

vaberella - thanks for the link to KoreaSociety, gonna check it out.

[Animefanzgirl]

Hola everyone.

My name is Marlene AKA Animefanzgirl. And I am from NYC. Queens to be precise. I know Flushing, Queens and yes it is known as Korean Town and it is HUGE...I haven't done Korean Town in Manhattan but as others have said unlike China Town in Manhattan it pales in comparisson. So I would definately recommend Flushing instead.

I just happen to run accross this forum on a search today to see if there were any Korean language courses available in NYC-Queens preferably.

So I will take this oppurtunity to give a lil advise to vabarella. And to introduce myself and how I got an interest in Korean language and/or Korean culture in general.

How did a "New-Yorican" (A new yorker born and raised to Puerto-Rican Parents) get interested in Korean culture? I got interested in Korean culture from Korean Dramas which I fell in love with after channel surfing one day and coming across 1. From there I fell in love with K-dramas and constantly watch them...from their it went to the cultures, food, language and other entertainment. And I want to eventually make a trip down there.

So thats me. Glad to meet you all.

OH and if anyone is interested I am also a member of a Korean Drama forum. Lots of really nice people. (The groups member mostly live in Philadelphia) I am known as Animefanzgirl there as well and have been a member for years.
www.koreandramas.net

[javiskefka]

Welcome to the site, Marlene. I hope we can help you learn more about the language and culture.

As for NYC, my only exposure to Flushing was staying in a hotel there once, and the part that I saw definitely reminded me of a typical sleepy area north of the Han River in Seoul.

[holdfast]

thanks for all the info, guys!

so, this korea-town in flushing, where exactly is it? is it near a subway station? what major intersection should i try to find on a map?

[Keith]

Wow! I'm so sorry I'm so late on this post! I was actually on holiday, and IN New York when you posted, so I wasn't able to see this... apologies!

Here's some general information that some have mentioned, and some other information that hasn't been mentioned yet.

There are a number of different Korea Towns in New York, all with their different nuances and specialties.

K-Town in Manhattan (34th, between 5th and 6th) - Absolutely fantastic food. Real Authentic food that makes everyone happy. It's only one block (plus a few surrounding blocks), but it has everything a K-Towner would want (restaurants, 노래방, Korean supermarket, cafes and trendy Korean bars). It's a bit expensive to hang out there, but it's definitely Korean (but it leaves a heavy New York/Manhattan flavor).

You can take almost any uptown/downtown (almost all stop at 34th). And you can walk across to 5th and 6th.

Flushing some spots are "Korean." It used to be a heavy Korean town, but now it's become more mixed. But there are still spots in flushing that are heavily Korean. Namely "Northern Boulevard. Between Parsons Boulevard all the way to Bell Boulevard (which is in Bayside)" There are Korean spots everywhere along this area.

Along this, one of the best supermarkets you can go to near 150th St (on Northern Boulevard) is 한양. It has all the Korean food you need, but one of the best parts about it is the supermarket has a little 포장마차 inside of it. Great food, and it has a VERY Korean feel to it.

From Manhattan, you can get to Flushing via the 7 train. The last stop (Main St.)

Fort Lee, NJ This area of New Jersey is less than an hour outside of Manhattan and can be accessed quite easily. It's mostly a residential area, and it has quite a large Korean population.

For all of these areas, I recommend 한아름 Supermarket. It's fantastic.
Also, there's Red Mango and Pink Berry, which are Korean yogurt chains, but have made it's way to the mainstream market.

For Fort Lee, there are a number of buses that you can take from Port Authority (7, A,C,E,1,2,3...).


All of these have Korean churches if you're looking for them.

I hope this helps you out, and please don't hesitate to let me know if you're looking for something more specifically!

[holdfast]

woohoo! thanks!

i'm going to explore and find everything! i'll take pictures and write about it in the blog (:

i leave in 4 days - ahh!! i'm getting nervous now.