7 Days in NYC

After 7 days in New York City and I can confidently say it has more shit in its streets than San Francisco. Every 500 ft there is a new smell of piss, shit, or a $50 charge to simply exist.

The news outlets want you to think that both cities suck. Twitter wants you to think that one is better than the other. But I want you to know I loved every moment of being in New York.

I’m going to brain dump some of the highlights from the trip because it served as a reminder why I love stepping out of the San Francisco bubble.

Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed

7 days prior to arriving I had zero clue where I was going to stay. I was at a friends birthday picnic where I asked someone whose girlfriend just moved from NYC to SF, if said girlfriend knew anyone who had a spare couch or bedroom they needed filled for an entire week. Turns out that girlfriend needed a cat sitter because she had to move to SF in two days after receiving a job at a VC firm.

I asked anyone that would listen, and ended up being extremely fortunate to get a free place to stay and also learn that I was slightly allergic to cats.

NPCs and NRPs

New York was full of NPCs and NRPs, which stands for Non Player Character and Not Real People.

I vividly remember walking down the street noticing all the weird and quirky things of the people I passed by. Followed by thinking: “I’m never going to see this person again.” That’s an Non player character, aka an NPC.

Then there’s the opposite, I met people at parties that you would just ask yourself “how are you a real person, how do you make money, and how do you survive here?” All fair questions.

For example: I met a girl at a pizza party that was friends with a guy who worked in private equity and owned a penthouse in one of the enormous high rises next to central park. He didn’t spend time there so she gets to stay there for free, as long as she covers the utility bill… of $10k per month. I decided not to ask questions and just run with it.

Mixing Work & Play

San Francisco has a bad rep for encouraging working yourself countless hours, relentlessly hard, and not making any friends along the way. I felt the opposite of that in New York.

It was common to see people work 50-60 hour weeks in NYC. But it felt like a lot of the work was intertwined with play. Work meetings became dinners. Catch up’s became coffee, co-working, lifting, hitting the sauna, or even dinners.

Prioritizing these catch up’s made it hard to be efficient and actually focus on work from New York, but I reminded myself I was here to enjoy both parts of the visit. Because of those “meetings,” I was able to get tips and directions from my friends building and recharge to be more focused on the important things to work on when I got back.

Public Transport

I was able to get around the entire city using public transit using the train and citi bikes, including to and from the airport. I didn’t need to use any ride share or taxis to get where I needed to go. Google Maps was fantastic at showing me how to do it, but horrendous at understanding which direction I was facing (so was apple maps).

Anytime I got off the train or finished using one of the city bikes, I rushed to the nearest hand sanitizer. Some of my friends even told me that they refuse to hold the handrails on the trains, nor sit on their bed after they sat on train seats.

All that being said, the fact that I could go anywhere in the city using google maps, the trains, and a bike was indeed liberating.

“Food Recs”

For the first day and a half, of being in the city I would ask friends for food recommendations, only to learn that that is like asking someone where to find the food in a grocery store.

New York City is full of incredible food options from hole-in-the-wall restaurants to top-tier Michelin-star dining experiences.

On the first night I arrived, I stumbled into an Indian restaurant which ended up being some of the best Indian food I have ever had. So don’t overthink where to get the “best X food.”

It’s the company you’re with that matters anyways.

Cost of Existing

This comes as no surprise, but being in New York is so goddamn expensive. It costs $3 to take the train in one direction, $5 for a small coffee, and an avocado was $4 at a grocery store across the street from me.

Most apartments don’t have a usable kitchen so it makes sense that eating out culture is so big there. But these costs add up incredibly fast and I can see how a weeknight catch up with a friend over dinner can quickly become $100. This city is not somewhere where you can comfortably budget.

Equinox Hudson Yards

I was eating pizza outside a Joe’s Pizza shop in the West Village and I bumped into an old neighbor from San Diego. Who happened to have access to the Equinox Hudson Yards, which is considered the top-tier Equinox experience in all of New York.

She was generous enough to give me a day pass to check it out. I hit an afternoon workout and cold plunge there and can confidently say it is not worth $500/mo despite the incredible views.

That being said, I still think Equinox might be the best gym option in New York City, considering how many there are to choose from.

Othership

I stopped by Othership, which I have had on my radar ever since starting Plunge Party. I shot the founder a DM on Twitter a couple months back. He said to let him know when I’m in the city and he would hook me up with a day pass. Nothing better than my favorite things, a sauna x cold plunge plus FREE. I got to experience firsthand the incredible experience they are able to put on through one of their classes.

I was at first skeptical to take a “class,” but it turned out to be a euphoric experience where they guide you through breath work, mindfulness, cold plunging, and sauna cycling. They even smashed scented ice balls on hot coals and spun towels in the Sauna.

So hard to explain, so I’ll simply say, go experience it yourself.

You will love it.

You’ll See Anyone Here

I was walking the streets of SOHO and bumped into Nick Gray. He wrote The Two Hour Cocktail Party, which was the book I read that got me to host events and ultimately do Plunge Party.

Just another reason why I love New York, I bumped into six friends I was not even planning on seeing while I was there. That is what happens when you're in the epicenter of the United States for.. almost everything.

The West Side Highway

On my last Saturday morning in the city, I decided to wake up and run 11 miles along the West Side Highway. We all know I'm a masochistic maniac that loves to run long distances, but I can honestly say that this was also an incredibly stunning view to soak up seeing high rise after high rise all the way to the Freedom Tower and back to mid-town.

To be honest, I’m wrapping this one up thinking, “what’s the takeaway here?”

Well, I don’t have one for you. But I’m just jazzed up that I was able to spend a week in a city, with zero plans, no place to stay, and still have a great time with great company.

So maybe I just want to document how fun it was to do something like this.

Love Ya,

Jared

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Things Worth Clicking

A few gems I found on the internet this week - no digging required

• John Oliver with a good rant about how AI slop is flooding the internet

• Sam Parr on why Focus is so hard (relatable)

• Jim Tang wrote a great piece about how to copy great content. Written so well, I bought his course 🫠

I Dig So You Don’t Have To

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