Marga’s Story

“Your golden ticket to the land of opportunity” – tell us about how
you came to live in NY.

Originally I came to NY for love. The relationship with the person I was with didn’t work, but by then I had fallen in love with the city, so I just had to stay! Since I am a journalist and I work as a freelancer, I got a media Visa in Spain and came back here with a dollar (pretty much literally) and a dream. 

I still have the dollar, and as far as the dream is concerned, I feel closer to achieving it than I was a year ago.

What is the magic of NY that sucks people in and keeps them here?

Well, I guess that’s why they call it magic! Good magicians do not disclose their secrets, do they? New York is a mighty magician, and we ex-pats just keep marveling at its tricks, never getting tired of them
or thinking… Ohhhh, I know how you did that, you can’t fool me! Why do we come to this noisy, chaotic, dirty city and decide to stay willingly? I am clueless, but for once, I think I am happy to be. In my experience, NY doesn’t leave you feeling indifferent; you just love it, or hate it. And I happen to love it.

What priceless “only in NY” kind of experiences have you encountered?

Let’s see… I am still waiting for Jesus to call me since according to a young man who kept screaming at me in Midtown once, “Jesus has your phone number”. That’s going to be one interesting phone call!
In general, I just love how people talk to each other in the street and no one thinks it’s weird. I have received compliments on pieces of clothing or even lipstick shades from complete strangers while walking
down the street. And there’s no hidden agenda there; they just happen to like something, and so they say it. How cool is that?

NY is my playground and I love to…?

Walk around (at a New York pace) while sipping an iced latte, have drinks on rooftop bars in the summer, go to a park with a book. Not making plans, but just go wherever the city takes me, attend gallery openings, go to concerts, go shopping (most of the times it’s more like window shopping). Have lunch with my girls on Fridays, and pretty much just live.

What is your NY vice?

Don’t know about vices, but there’s something I will find really hard to cope without when I leave, and that’s the fact that this city, regardless of the day it is, and sometimes even the time, you can always find what you are looking for. That said, I really like Schiller’s croque monsieurs, Ben’s greasy pepperoni pizzas and Lucky Strike’s juicy burgers. There are great cocktails in NY too! But, what can I say, I love my Spanish wine.

Martini or Mojito?

Both! Maybe Martini in the winter, Mojito in the
summer? Rules are made to be broken though.

Name your 3 favourite things to do in NY?

I can’t name just 3! But I will say just this: it doesn’t matter what your mood is, or what you feel like: there’s always something for you to do here.

A typical day for me is…?

Unpredictable! I write and translate, but
I am also a cocktail hat designer, so every day is different
depending on the kind of work I am doing. Work aside, I go to the gym
a few times a week, try to meet with friends as much as I can for
coffee, a drink, or meals. Walk around as much as I can (and yes, it
still surprises me sometimes when I look around and realize where I
live!), and I also enjoy spending time in my lovely (and tiny) SoHo
apartment watching films, reading, painting, making hats or just
procrastinating.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 8:48 am and is filed under Coming to NY, Living, New York Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.