It was amazing in some ways - but not others

New York as a whole is an amazing city, with lovely attractions, the city literally does not sleep, and you can walk miles (I lost count of how many I did!).

I lived in a midtown NYU dorm, which was great - very close to attractions, food halls, libraries, the lot. Almost everything is walkable, and cabs are cheap.

But when it came to the working side of things, it was not simple, and it honestly felt like my concerns were dismissed the majority of the time; I did not feel listened to. I was also placed in an environment that I did not understand, and no one there seemed bothered to help when or if it was required. You were mainly left to your own devices. In this respect, I would urge the City Internships staff to listen to an intern's concerns, and help them if they need it - perhaps a few unscheduled visits to workplaces would be a way to see how things are going? I'm also not sure if the scope of employers currently signed to the programme is varied enough. City Internships perhaps may want to make it non negotiable to employers that important documents have to be returned on time - otherwise, perhaps, they will be dismissed from the program. I ran into difficulties over this with my employer, but it was sorted. Maybe they need to be vetted more thoroughly in the future.

This aside, the social scene was good, and the events the staff put on for us were good - I made some good contacts, and I very much appreciate the opportunity to do so. NYC is an amazing place (I mostly stuck to the city itself), and I was privileged to be able to visit DC with the interns and staff for a weekend.

As regards my safety, I felt very comfortable walking around the city at any time of the day or night.

I would like to go back, but I would be very worried about being placed in the same situation again, and the cost of the program itself is a lot.