Jake Przespo

It’s been almost three weeks since I started at my new job and I must say, it is going great. I’ve also just started to get a feel for life in NYC. I still need to do more exploring, but since we launched recently, I should have some more free time soon.

The job

Working at Skillshare is everything I hoped it would be and more. The team I’m working are a bunch of really talented guys. It feels so rewarding to be a part of something where I have say and can partly call my own.

Skillshare HQ

We’ve been super busy the past couple weeks preparing for the launch so the days have been long. However, I’ve never worked in a place where I could stay for 12 – 16 hours and still enjoy it. I think taking this job was the perfect decision for me so far.

I’ve become friends with some amazing people from the office too, since we share space with Carbonmade, Crush+Lovely, and Family Records. Everyone there is super cool and supporting of each other. It’s also really nice to have smart people to bounce ideas off of sometimes. Again, I couldn’t ask for a better position to be in.

To do a little Skillshare pimpin’, check out our feature in the New York section of DailyCandy and also our small write up from Tina Roth Eisenberg on swissmiss.

The city

So far, living in “The City” has been pretty exciting. I’m still getting my feet wet, and will be for a while, but I really like it here so far. The only things that are a little tough to get used to are not having a car, and the subway system.

Growing up, I thought everyone eventually got a car. Not here. It sucks a little when grocery shopping because you either need to suck it up and walk with a couple bags, get one of those wheeled carts, or spend a few bucks on a taxi. Another downside is the fact that you need to walk to where you are going no matter what the weather is like. I thought I’d be okay wearing the same amount of layers that I did when I was home, but I was very wrong. When I’m home, I’m usually in and out no matter where I go. Here, you are outside for a few minutes at a time so you need to make sure you are covered.

The subway system is amazing and confusing at the same time. The fact that you can go anywhere in the NYC area without driving a car is pretty incredible. Also, compared to owning a car, the monthly bill is pretty cheap. On the other hand, navigating through the subway system is not so incredible. Rather than label the lines north, east, south, and west, they label them the endpoints of the lines. To know which way you are going on the G train, you better learn that Queens is north and Church Ave. is south or you will be getting frustrated very often.

All-in-all, New York is amazing. There are so many things to do, so many incredible places to eat (no matter what you’re in the mood for), and with summer coming up, I only see it getting better. So when are all of you moving here?!