Brit Pack Interviews
EMMY PERRY
Name: Emmy Perry
Profession: Celebrity/Fashion/Music PR and Brand Management Executive
Current Residence: Brooklyn, New York
UK Residence: Islington, North London
Came to US in: 2011
There’s a fly English girl walking around the City University of New York’s Brooklyn campus, who’s a little bolder, a little brasher and a lot more content than she was a year ago.
As a successful fashion and PR consultant in London Emmy Perry moved in high profile circles and was invited to all the right places, but ultimately she’d been deferring a dream that existed ever since she was a little girl. Three years ago, Emmy started working towards that dream - relocating to America.
After sponsorship through a fashion company fell through she found another route. By her own admission Emmy hated University the first time around but that didn’t stop her becoming a full-time student at CUNY.
“I wasn’t convinced that I would enjoy or even fit into going back to school but I’ve really thrown myself into it,” she tells me from her home in Bedford Stuyvestant, Brooklyn.
As a Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies student Emmy is doing a degree in International Business Marketing and Communications.
“I want to get the most of the education I’m getting,” she says. “I’ve maintained a near perfect grade point average which has allowed me to go for scholarships and I’ve been given educational awards I haven’t even applied for. I wasn’t particularly a high achiever at school so I’m proud of that.”
It’s an opportunity she’s not taking for granted. After practically selling her whole life in London she made the move with a ‘no excuses, no surrender’ attitude and pockets full of cash. The attitude has seen her through the transition and the cash helped secure her dream address - a brownstone in Brooklyn.
“I still cannot believe I did it. I’ve had that on my bucket list since I was something like 14 years old,” she admits with a huge smile on her face. “I’d been pre-warned that it might be hard to get a place because they want a lot of paperwork and credentials which you don’t have as a foreign student. But cash talks and I just told them ‘you can’t credit check me, I haven’t got a guarantor - but here’s six month’s worth of rent!”
The thought of relocating to another country with no safety net and going back to school would probably deter most people. But Emmy says she needed that tough experience to shake up her life. That’s not to say she didn’t have some anxiety about the whole process.
“The amount of work I put into it consistently for a year; the stress of leaving your job, sorting out my house, a bank, applying to a University, getting my visa, it was a lot. When I finally got my apartment it all came rushing to the surface. I arrived a day before I had to start school. I put my bags down, had to register and the next day I was in class. There was no buildup and no time to breathe and take it all in.”
It’s been a year since her move and she’s hardly thought about her old home or job. A sure sign she’s settling into the eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood she lives in. It did take her a while to adjust to the interest she was receiving however, especially from American men.
“When I first moved here I didn’t even wear heels for the first two months. I just wasn’t used to that kind of attention in London. To me it’s like I’ve been normal all my life and all of a sudden I’m one of the pretty girls. Now, I’m completely comfortable wearing whatever I want. I wanted to be this person in London and I didn’t feel I was able to be.”
Emmy soon realized that being noticeably English was a huge advantage. Her British style and demeanour have already earned her an array of nicknames, from English muffin to London Fog and a bunch of dates. But while it might be fun to socialize with a variety of interesting men, she says navigating the New York dating scene was the most confusing and emotionally taxing experience she’s had since moving there.
“I would take offence to things which for the men here were normal, which made me seem like I was this crazy, obsessive woman when I’m thinking they’re just completely out of order a-holes!” she states. “Like arranging a date between 5 and 8…what’s that about? I’m in a time slot now? I have to work my way up to the 8pm dinner slot? To me it’s insane that I can very openly have dinner with 3 people in one week. I just feel that at some point someone’s going to tap me on the shoulder and say ‘you’re such a tart, what are you doing?”
As well as learning how to weed out the serial daters she’s developing her hustler skills. Soon after she arrived in New York Emmy made an effort to be out nearly every night meeting the industry players and making the necessary contacts. She’s quickly secured some PR and talent booking work through word-of-mouth and back-to-basics networking and through her involvement with the Liverpool Sound City Festival she also hosted a hip hop panel at the beginning of the year.
Profession: Celebrity/Fashion/Music PR and Brand Management Executive
Current Residence: Brooklyn, New York
UK Residence: Islington, North London
Came to US in: 2011
There’s a fly English girl walking around the City University of New York’s Brooklyn campus, who’s a little bolder, a little brasher and a lot more content than she was a year ago.
As a successful fashion and PR consultant in London Emmy Perry moved in high profile circles and was invited to all the right places, but ultimately she’d been deferring a dream that existed ever since she was a little girl. Three years ago, Emmy started working towards that dream - relocating to America.
After sponsorship through a fashion company fell through she found another route. By her own admission Emmy hated University the first time around but that didn’t stop her becoming a full-time student at CUNY.
“I wasn’t convinced that I would enjoy or even fit into going back to school but I’ve really thrown myself into it,” she tells me from her home in Bedford Stuyvestant, Brooklyn.
As a Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies student Emmy is doing a degree in International Business Marketing and Communications.
“I want to get the most of the education I’m getting,” she says. “I’ve maintained a near perfect grade point average which has allowed me to go for scholarships and I’ve been given educational awards I haven’t even applied for. I wasn’t particularly a high achiever at school so I’m proud of that.”
It’s an opportunity she’s not taking for granted. After practically selling her whole life in London she made the move with a ‘no excuses, no surrender’ attitude and pockets full of cash. The attitude has seen her through the transition and the cash helped secure her dream address - a brownstone in Brooklyn.
“I still cannot believe I did it. I’ve had that on my bucket list since I was something like 14 years old,” she admits with a huge smile on her face. “I’d been pre-warned that it might be hard to get a place because they want a lot of paperwork and credentials which you don’t have as a foreign student. But cash talks and I just told them ‘you can’t credit check me, I haven’t got a guarantor - but here’s six month’s worth of rent!”
The thought of relocating to another country with no safety net and going back to school would probably deter most people. But Emmy says she needed that tough experience to shake up her life. That’s not to say she didn’t have some anxiety about the whole process.
“The amount of work I put into it consistently for a year; the stress of leaving your job, sorting out my house, a bank, applying to a University, getting my visa, it was a lot. When I finally got my apartment it all came rushing to the surface. I arrived a day before I had to start school. I put my bags down, had to register and the next day I was in class. There was no buildup and no time to breathe and take it all in.”
It’s been a year since her move and she’s hardly thought about her old home or job. A sure sign she’s settling into the eclectic Brooklyn neighborhood she lives in. It did take her a while to adjust to the interest she was receiving however, especially from American men.
“When I first moved here I didn’t even wear heels for the first two months. I just wasn’t used to that kind of attention in London. To me it’s like I’ve been normal all my life and all of a sudden I’m one of the pretty girls. Now, I’m completely comfortable wearing whatever I want. I wanted to be this person in London and I didn’t feel I was able to be.”
Emmy soon realized that being noticeably English was a huge advantage. Her British style and demeanour have already earned her an array of nicknames, from English muffin to London Fog and a bunch of dates. But while it might be fun to socialize with a variety of interesting men, she says navigating the New York dating scene was the most confusing and emotionally taxing experience she’s had since moving there.
“I would take offence to things which for the men here were normal, which made me seem like I was this crazy, obsessive woman when I’m thinking they’re just completely out of order a-holes!” she states. “Like arranging a date between 5 and 8…what’s that about? I’m in a time slot now? I have to work my way up to the 8pm dinner slot? To me it’s insane that I can very openly have dinner with 3 people in one week. I just feel that at some point someone’s going to tap me on the shoulder and say ‘you’re such a tart, what are you doing?”
As well as learning how to weed out the serial daters she’s developing her hustler skills. Soon after she arrived in New York Emmy made an effort to be out nearly every night meeting the industry players and making the necessary contacts. She’s quickly secured some PR and talent booking work through word-of-mouth and back-to-basics networking and through her involvement with the Liverpool Sound City Festival she also hosted a hip hop panel at the beginning of the year.
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She’s almost too busy to miss anything about the UK. But the one thing she does crave is Percy Pigs. She confesses it so quickly it’s almost like she’s been dreaming of the chewy pig-shaped sweets made by Marks and Spencer’s.
No doubt she gets a healthy supply from the numerous friends who now come to visit. Surprisingly she became a lot closer to some of her British friends once she left the UK. And she’s also developed a deeper bond with her father. “Maybe because when you’re doing something you really want to do, you become a lot more open and nicer,” she states sincerely. “I use to speak to him once a month if that. Now we speak every week and we email regularly. He came and stayed with me for 10 days. I haven’t spent 10 days with my Dad since I was 10!” When she completes her degree Emmy’s journey of re-discovery could continue anywhere. She’s open to another move and is rightfully proud of herself for coming this far. “I’ve learned that I’m braver, smarter and more resilient than I thought I was. I had no financial backing from anyone else, no family here and a few scattered friends. It’s just been a real eye-opening, life-affirming change that I cannot ever regret. As long as I’m making myself happy and doing what I feel I was always meant to do, everything else will come.” |
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