A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on the Starbucks patio with an Ice Tea when a young man approached asking if I lived on Roosevelt Island and would I talk to him about Roosevelt Island. He explained that he was from the Netherlands, recently moved to NYC to be with his girlfriend and was a filmmaker documenting his experience as he builds a new life in NYC. According to Jannick’s You Tube channel:
I don’t have savings. I don’t have a backup plan.
What I do have is the willingness to work, create, and do whatever it takes to turn YouTube into my full-time job.
This channel is my journey. documenting the highs, the lows, and everything in between as I build a new life in New York City.
If you’ve ever dreamed of starting over, chasing a big goal, or seeing NYC through the eyes of a Dutch guy, subscribe and join the adventure!
Take a look at Jannick’s video exploring Roosevelt Island. It’s very well done.
According to his You Tube channel:
What is actually on Roosevelt Island, New York City?
I kept seeing Roosevelt Island sitting right between Manhattan and Queens, but I realized I barely knew anything about it. So I decided to spend a day exploring Roosevelt Island to find out what life is really like on one of the most unique and mysterious islands in NYC.
At first, Roosevelt Island feels completely different from the rest of New York City. Manhattan is loud, crowded, fast, and full of energy, while Roosevelt Island is quiet, peaceful, green, and almost strangely calm despite being only minutes away.
But while exploring the island, I discovered that Roosevelt Island has a much darker history than I expected.
Before it became Roosevelt Island, it was known as *Blackwell’s Island* and was home to prisons, hospitals, an almshouse, and the infamous *New York City Lunatic Asylum**. Journalist **Nellie Bly* famously went undercover inside the asylum in 1887 and exposed the terrible conditions patients were living in.
In this video, I explore Roosevelt Island, visit some of its historic locations, discover the story behind Blackwell’s Island, see the abandoned Smallpox Hospital, talk to people about what it’s like living on Roosevelt Island, and find out how much apartments and rent actually cost here.
I also wanted to understand why Roosevelt Island feels so different from Manhattan even though the New York City skyline is right across the water.
If you enjoy *NYC exploration videos, New York City documentaries, hidden places in NYC, NYC history, Roosevelt Island history, abandoned places in New York, living in New York City, NYC neighborhoods, New York travel videos,* or simply discovering parts of New York that most tourists never see, this video is for you.
I moved from the Netherlands to New York City and I’m documenting what it’s like discovering America and building a new life here. On this channel, I explore New York City through the eyes of someone experiencing it all for the first time.
Subscribe if you want to discover more hidden places, neighborhoods, stories, and experiences around *New York City and America* with me.
Check out Jannick’s You Tube Channel and more videos of him exploring NYC.