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As New Yorkers (and self proclaimed bushwickers lol) we tend to lean into a scene. From the hardcore face tatted scene, the techno dolls, fashion gays, all the way to whatever the Pianos crowd is, we never stray away from the normal 3-4 friends we made years ago when we came here for art school. By we...I mean you, but as your friendly Native New Yorker I suggest you do what the girls call a "Solo Pump" and step out of your norm.
You put on an outfit thats only purpose is to make YOURSELF feel sexy, then you plan a club hope either in Bushwick, China Town, Greenpoint, Willamsburg 🤢, East Village, or if your thirsty for yerba Mattes, Ridgewood Queens. The purpose of this is to open yourself to the many lives you could be living in your time in NYC!
My "Solo Pumps" have not only given me some of the best smoke break conversations, but i've made friends with folk I'd never thought I'd share a life with. Solo cig huffs on a dark dance room floor can sometimes be more tranquilizing than all the K ya'll steal from the Derbys (seriously shout out to all the anxious Horses out there with no resources smh). As a New Yorker my favorite thing is meeting new people, you pick up new music, trendys, vape flavors, and you might even find access to the world beyond the L train line.
Next time you find yourself bored, borderline suicidal, at home consider taking yourself on a solo pump. A date night with yourself, a selfish spiral, and work on expanding your OWN independent life here in NYC. You'll be surprised with who or what you bump into, when youre not focused on getting all 6 of your friends in a Lyft at 4am.
Anyways, going to use this as a vague Bushwick Gossip Girl type of writing. Except I'm not writing about people social lives, I work as a bartender I see your lives its not worth blogging about lmao.
xx
Vice
Dec 20, 2023
Related Recs
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As someone who’s moved to 5 different cities as an adult, go out and do things that sounds cool! A few tips that have steadied me in NYC and other moves:
- the friends you know already have their lives in place. It doesn’t mean they don’t want to hang, it just means they shouldn’t be your life line to events and socialization
- if you work a computer job, volunteer! NYC has so many cool volunteer opportunities. HousingWorks Bookstore and Cafe is mostly run by volunteers. You’ll meet people with similar interests and have a shared obligation. Ever felt like it’s hard to make friends outside work/school? Volunteering is a great hack for adults
- have a hobby you can do in public - even if it’s just reading a book. similar to my rec on how to go to bars alone, it’s going to help you feel like you belong in a space rather than waiting for things to come to you
- set a budget. the housing market sucks, you may spend half your pay check on rent. Know what you want to spend that fun money on and those budget lines you’re trying to hold tight
Feb 21, 2024
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i love going places with my friends, but sometimes you just gotta do it by yourself. make new friends. read a book. live a little! you wont know until you try
Jan 27, 2024
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It's simple as riding a bike (after first failed attempts), but you got to do it regularly, if you stop you might fall easy in that obnoxious spiral of guilt where you feel like .... you don't fit in, you just don't belong - that's not right. You don't know that for sure. You got to keep trying to go that film nite, that local bands roaster gig, that DIY grassroots-boost event, that book club, that poetry open mic, that comedy show, that open call set (??) - I mean just go with the flow until your social battery runs low and you got to U-turn to your 'bat cave'. Your presence can change somebody's vibes when you walk in and give it a chance. In LDN is extremely challenging, NYC I guess is quite chill and buzzy at the same time, but hey, yolo at the end.
May 18, 2025
Top Recs from @maxwellvice
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Freedom of speech is our given right, exercise it.
Dec 17, 2023
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living anonymously and having a bit of a haze over memory helps not feeling so scandalous, but if ur that girl ur that girl.
Dec 20, 2023