It has already been a month since I arrived in the United States, and somehow it feels both like yesterday and like I have been here much longer.
A month of exploring New York and its surroundings, discovering new places, meeting people, listening to music, trying new food and constantly noticing all the little differences that make everyday life here feel so different from Europe.
But there is one particular feeling I still haven’t got used to.
When a place from a movie suddenly becomes real
One of the things I love most about being here is the strange experience of recognizing places I have known for years, but only through a screen.
You watch a favorite movie or series and remember a particular street, a building, a diner, a subway entrance or a corner somewhere in the city. You have seen it so many times that it almost becomes part of your own visual memory.
And then, completely unexpectedly, you find yourself standing there.
For a second, your brain needs to catch up.
Wait… I know this place.
It may sound like a small thing, but it still makes me genuinely happy.
There is something special about seeing a place that has existed in your imagination for years suddenly become part of your real life. The fictional world you know from a screen and the reality around you briefly overlap.
And then New York simply carries on. Someone is rushing past you, a taxi is honking, music is coming from somewhere down the street, people are having completely ordinary days.
Meanwhile, you are standing there thinking, I have definitely seen this before.
Those little moments have become some of my favorite memories from the past month.
A city where music is everywhere
I knew before coming here that New York had an enormous music scene. What I didn’t fully expect was just how difficult it would be to keep up with it.
There is hardly a weekend when I don’t find a DJ I would love to see. Then I discover another one. And another. Different clubs, different sounds, different crowds, completely different atmospheres.
Sometimes I open the event listings and immediately think, I want to go there.
Then I remember that, unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out how to be in five places at the same time.
It is a very good problem to have, though.
What fascinates me most is the sheer diversity of the scene. Electronic music here doesn’t feel like one single community or one defined sound. It feels more like hundreds of smaller worlds existing alongside each other, each with its own character, audience and energy.
As a DJ, that is incredibly inspiring.
Sometimes I go somewhere simply because I want to experience the atmosphere. Sometimes I find myself paying attention to the way another DJ works with the room, how the crowd responds, how the music changes the energy of the space.
And sometimes I simply stand in the crowd and enjoy being on the other side of the DJ booth.
Being a DJ changes the way you listen to music. You notice the transitions, the pacing, the room, the people and the relationship between all of them.
But there is also something wonderful about occasionally switching that part of your brain off and simply enjoying the music.
So many cultures, one city
Another thing that continues to fascinate me is the sheer variety of cultures you encounter here.
You can walk a few blocks and suddenly the language changes. The food changes. The architecture changes. The people, the music and even the atmosphere of the street can feel completely different.
It can feel like travelling somewhere new without ever leaving the city.
Food has become one of my favorite ways of experiencing that diversity. There are flavors, combinations and ingredients that I simply don’t encounter in quite the same way in Europe.
Sometimes it is something completely unfamiliar. Sometimes it is a dish I already know, but prepared in a way I have never experienced before.
And every now and then, there is that moment after the first bite when you think:
Why don’t we have this at home?
That has happened more than once.
The biggest differences are often the smallest ones
Of course, there are plenty of obvious differences between life in the US and Europe.
But after a month here, I find myself paying much more attention to the smaller things.
The way people communicate. The way spaces are designed. The scale of everything. The sheer number of choices. The things that feel surprisingly casual, and the things that are completely different from what I am used to.
Some differences are exciting. Some are confusing. Some make me laugh.
And some make me appreciate things about Europe that I had never really thought about before.
That is one of the interesting things about travelling. You don’t just discover a new place. You also start looking at your own world differently.
Distance has a funny way of giving familiar things a new perspective.
One month is nowhere near enough
After a month, I certainly don’t feel like I understand New York. I’m not sure anyone really can.
And perhaps that is exactly what makes the city so fascinating.
There is always another neighborhood to discover, another venue, another restaurant, another artist, another party, another street you haven’t walked down yet.
And, inevitably, another place that will make you stop for a second and think:
I know this.
Only this time, it isn’t on a screen.
It is right in front of you.
I came to the United States with my own plans, my own music and my own expectations. But after a month, I am realizing that one of the best parts of being somewhere new is allowing yourself to be surprised.
To listen.
To look around.
To taste something you’ve never tried.
To walk into a place without knowing exactly what you will find.
And every now and then, to stop somewhere in New York and smile because a place you have known from a movie for years is suddenly part of your real life.
For now, I am still exploring.
Still listening.
Still discovering.
And still trying to figure out how anyone in New York manages to choose just one DJ to see on a weekend.
