New to New York, and Dazzled by the Energy of Times Square

When Candice Gwak and David Xie moved from Southern California to New York City, they settled in Hell’s Kitchen, just a block from the chaos and crowds of Times Square, the very place many New Yorkers love to hate.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of their one-bedroom apartment are the upper-level ramps and rooftop parking lot of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The walls of their living room glow with colored light thrown from the ever-changing giant digital billboards nearby.

Though the couple’s apartment is adjacent to Times Square, the commotion doesn’t bother them. They picked the location because it’d give Ms. Gwak a 15-minute walking commute to work.Credit…Graham Dickie/The New York Times

Their friends who knew New York couldn’t believe they’d live there.

“We’re not really fazed,” Ms. Gwak said. “Maybe it’s because we’re so new here, so everything is great.”

The couple moved in September. Mr. Xie, who works for an executive search firm, is focused on developing a sense of direction to avoid getting lost. Ms. Gwak, a lawyer, is learning to navigate her way through throngs of people, but she’s not annoyed by the slow-moving visitors — in fact, she relates to them.

She and Mr. Xie admitted they have behaved like tourists since they arrived.

“We bought CityPASS as if we don’t live here,” Ms. Gwak said, referring to a ticket that grants admission to several tourist attractions.