Why I returned to Moscow after 5 years of living in New York

Hello! My name is Polina, for five years I lived in New York and a couple of weeks ago I voluntarily left for my own city, Moscow, from there.

Фото: Depositphotos

During these two weeks I didn’t have a single day so that they wouldn’t ask me: why did you return? People are perplexed and sincerely think that I left the best place in the world. I decided to share my experience of living abroad and I want to start with an introductory story about why I went to America, what opportunities it realized there and why I came back from there, writes Polina Alieva for vc.ru.

prehistory

From birth, I paint, draw a lot, without stopping. From the age of six I have been fluent in a drill, hammer, screwdriver, saw; I will build everything you want. Always knew the geometry and adored mathematics. Therefore, from the age of twelve I knew: I want to be an architect.

Behind the architecture to America

In Moscow, I went to regular schools, the classroom in 10 began to think about where to go, what kind of profession. All the attempts of my mother to make me an economist or at least an engineer failed.

Having given up, my mother decided that if she was going to study to become an architect, it would be in some cool place. This is how the idea of ​​going to America came up - as a country with the best architectural education in the world. After six months of preparing for American exams and passing them, I entered six of eight universities, missing out on UC Berkeley and Pratt Insitute.

University brochures with invitations. Photo: personal archive

I chose the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, a very cool university! Located in the small town of Troy, near the capital of the state of New York, Albany. This institute is known to the whole world by various scientists, engineers, architects.

Year 1. The village is also in America

The school was gorgeous, and I adored her. There was a lot of work, but it was very interesting, and I had great projects.

Everything was great, but having adapted, having enjoyed my studies, I began to be disappointed. I realized that I was in a village, which is smaller than the university itself. There was simply nothing to do. Although there is beautiful nature around, but from entertainment only a couple of restaurants, a cafe and the main event of the week is a weekend fair on the main and only square of the city.

On the subject: How and why I came back from emigration: 4 stories

Weekend Fair, Main Square, Troy NY. Photo: personal archive

And so in America, the main entertainment of all young students is to drink cheap beer until they pass out at fratenrities and sororities parties and die the whole next day in their crib.

With a big city this place, of course, can not be compared. The benefit of four hours away from me was New York, where I occasionally spontaneously broke down, and this was always a real salvation.

Just like in the song: “But I’m taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River line I’m in a New York state of mind.” Billy Joel. Photo: personal archive

Year 2. Escape to NYC

At the end of the first academic year, I precisely decided that Valya from this “village”, in any way, got into the Pratt Institute (which I was not taken from) and live in New York. All my next year I was engaged in the plan-escape a.k.a. entering a new university. I passed the exams, prepared a portfolio, wrote all the essays and crossed my fingers. In the spring I received a letter of congratulations from the Pratt Institute.

Letter from the Pratt Institute. Photo: personal archive

My professors and the dean tried to persuade me to stay, some even put various ultimatums, summoned me to my office to convince. Well, what are you doing? Me? To convince? Of course, it was a useless exercise, because a dream city was waiting for me.

Year 3. Big apple

I flew to New York the day before the first day of school. Therefore, there was no time for adaptation or acclimatization; in general, we plunged straight into the abyss, it was chaotic and difficult. Although this city is a dream for many, it is still quite complex and tough to live in.

To be honest, this city is stifling and directly crushing people: they either succumb to this pressure, or resist it and become stronger. The first six months were spent on becoming stronger. After this difficult period, I began to actively look for people: friends are very necessary here, and I had to spend much more effort on social activity than before. Like it or not, this is a city of lonely people, and very few people admit that the people here exist by themselves and are not particularly open to sincere communication. Everyone lives in his municipality, district, and is tolerantly silent about dislike for his neighbors.

Year 4. New York - a place for a career, but not for life

It was a very exciting year: I adapted to the culture of the city, the culture of the university, the culture of this peculiar society. Projects went with a bang, there are friends, there are tuses, I’m 21 a year! It seems to be enough, but I was looking for more classes all the time: I was an athlete at the university, volunteering at the New York marathon, doing karate, music, organizing parties, going to various events.

Protecting the project in Pratt. Photo: personal archive

Cross Country Run Team. Photo: personal archive

Volunteering at the New York Marathon. Photo: personal archive

I tried everything that this city and the people in it were capable of, and it wasn’t enough for me. I had a feeling of inadequacy in this New York life. I began to compare every aspect of New York with Moscow - and this comparison was never in favor of New York. Of course, I was grateful to the city for the opportunity to get to know the whole world and for the enormous experience that was useful for my career, but life in New York did not support any human values.

On the subject: Life in New York after winning a green card: why everything is good and why we want to leave

I started to miss Russia very much, to understand and tell everyone that I am from Russia, in Russia it is so cool, so free, active, how much potential, there is friendship, human relations, smart people.

During the World Cup they rooted for ours from Brooklyn. Photo: personal archive

“You, of course, stay in your New York State of Mind, but I’m not going to stay here, Moscow is waiting for me, my native place, which raised me and raised me to be a strong person and a strong personality (just think, in America it’s like that) yourself with these qualities).”

Small retreat

America is very well able to advertise itself as a super-free country with unlimited freedom of speech, equality and full satisfaction of any needs in which happy people live.

And the people believe in it.

Well, what are you doing? America is a very authoritarian country, with people whose independent thinking has so atrophied that they don't "emerge" at all: they do what they're told, nothing more. Americans are the most fearful, most dependent, inferior, unhealthy, completely satisfied, but unhappy people I have ever seen. And the story about consumer culture and the value of economic gain is not a horror story, but the real use of people for the benefit of large corporations that control politics and people in America.

That is why America rests on immigrants. Very roughly speaking, creating a stir around her, she for her content lures new efficient people (green card). New people work for a foreign country, working hard, and try to earn their own housing, and living in a rented place until old age.

The United States is a non-free country, a country not for people, but for consumers. America is a huge supermarket.

Year 5. Last

All right, the final fifth year. My priorities were planning to return to Moscow and further development in my city. My thoughts were already in Russia, I even moved to Brighton Beach to hang out with the Russians.

This year has passed swiftly: May already, the defense of the diploma, the presentation of the diploma among the best works, the last meeting with beloved friends from around the world and an incredibly easy farewell to New York.

Presentation of thesis: “Playing with the monument. City Directory". Photo: personal archive

Release: Pratt Institute Class of 2019. Photo: personal archive

Why did i come back

Life in another country taught us to appreciate our native place and my own people.

Now I am a graduate specialist of a top international university, I have a huge exceptional experience of living in the most international place in the world and have an unrealistic competitive advantage in my hometown, which I really love and plan to change for the better.

I wish everyone to live abroad, in a different culture, it is not necessary that then, like me, come back. Life in another country will clash with another happiness, other problems, tell about another life and create a more conscious attitude to the world.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How and why I came back from emigration: 3 stories

What struck the American in relation to neighbors in Russia

As a former official from Russia, developing a network of children's parks in the US

Life in New York after winning a green card: why everything is good and why we want to leave

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.