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The Rise of the Transnational Professional: How South American Executives are Navigating Extended Stays in NYC

Photo: Unsplash

18% of the entire South American population living in the US lives in New York, and New York also sees 16.4% of all international business travelers (Business Traveller).

New York is the international trade hub, especially financial centres like Manhattan. It's the centre of cross-border consulting projects and business collaborations for market expansions, and we're seeing the rise of transnational professionals taking over New York, whether they're from South America or not.

The result is so many people calling New York a second home, but how are they navigating extended stays and actually making it feel like home? Read on to find out more.

Finding Balance in a City Like New York

Work-life balance in New York is about where you go home at the end of the day. It's about having a space that allows you to totally disconnect from work, or having an area where you can bring your family and try to feel like you're living a normal life. A home away from home, if you will.

For South American business leaders coordinating cross-continental operations, living out of a suitcase for months on end introduces unnecessary operational friction. To maintain executive productivity while providing a welcoming environment for visiting family members, securing an actual apartment or multi-room brownstone is rapidly becoming the gold standard. When mapping out an extended corporate assignment, filtering through the diverse market of premium New York vacation rentals via an all-in-one search engine like cozycozy allows professionals to easily secure properties that offer complete autonomy, high-end residential spaces, and seamless access to the financial district.

Finding a Working Rhythm in a City You're Not Used to

This is probably one of the most difficult things to do as an outsider in New York. Life becomes about work, work, and more work, especially if family isn't there.

New York can feel so chaotic (it absolutely is), so for extended stays, we'd try to live life as normally as possible. Cook dinners at home, finish work, and go to the gym, and spend the weekend traveling outside of New York to get away from the chaos. Asbury Park, New Jersey, is not far from New York and has such a nice vibe away from the high-rises of Manhattan.

Average Costs of Extended Stays in New York

The average costs depend a lot on the location of the accommodation and day-to-day life. Rent is considerably cheaper to stay just outside of the centre of New York, and the public transport system is always running, so daily commutes are not an issue if spending less money is the goal.

Some of the cheapest neighborhoods in New York are:

- Washington Heights (closer to Manhattan and the business area).

- Bushwick (Brooklyn)

- Inwood (Manhattan)

- Woodlawn Heights (north end of the Bronx)

- Astoria (Queens)

And don't think these are necessarily cheap compared to some neighborhoods in South America. Renting a 2/3 bedroom apartment or townhouse in a nice area around New York is still so expensive compared to other parts of the world. These areas just make extended stays not as crazy expensive, which even executives are bothered about.

Then you have to add on the cost of food, transport (which isn't actually that much), the gym, subscriptions, etc.

Extended stays in New York are probably more chaotic than your average extended stays in other parts of the world. It's called 'the city that never sleeps' for a reason, so it's easy to get caught up in the mayhem of everyday life. For South American business executives planning extended stays, trying to make life feel as normal as possible, and not all work, work, work, is essential.