CURRENT MISSION

To Eventually Live & Work Abroad Doing Something that I Love.

But for now, I am enjoying the rugged landscape as a real estate agent in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
(My specialty is rental apartments in Manhattan.)

ABOUT ME

Hey what's up. My name is Zack and I'm 26 years old. I'm from New York City, and I joined Couchsurfing in 2014 when I spent 6 months abroad.

I have now been back home in New York for the last 3 years, but I still have the same hope of doing something that allows me to work abroad in the future.

I still haven't figured that out yet though. I enjoy my job, but my 1st professional love was when I worked in the news department at a radio station here in NY.

I absolutely loved being a radio professional.
However, working as a real estate agent allows me to meet people, to be on my feet, and to save money to do some nice things for myself, for my parents, and for my Grandma.

My Goal is to Live & Work Abroad in the coming years.

I loved growing up in NY, but I want to live in other awesome cities too.

English is my native language, and I am considered a "heritage speaker" of Spanish, but I am not fluent in Spanish.

I would like to someday have the ability to speak Russian and Portuguese at a high conversational levels.

PHILOSOPHY

Many of My Philosophies I have gotten from when I coach Baseball & Basketball:

My Philosophies are:

1) Positive Reinforcement
2) Constant Encouragement... even when you're mad at a player.
3) It's okay to be strict and it's necessary to be serious, but it's also necessary to maintain a relaxed environment.
4) Sports are supposed to be fun, and they're supposed to build cooperation between people.

*Even when you get mad at a player, and you speak with the player, it's always necessary to finish your dialogue with positive reinforcement*

For example: "You know that you're not playing well today. We only play well when you play well. You're on this team for a reason. We need you."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have been a member of Couchsurfing since April 2014.
The bulk of my participation has come as a guest, but I'm also an occasional host.

My parents and I live in a small apartment in Manhattan.
We're not able to host frequently, so you should strongly consider writing to other hosts from New York.

**Please Read My Profile and My Dad's Profile, so you know what our family is like, and when we decide to host.**

https://www.couchsurfing.org/people/tom_murphy_2/

*My parents make the final decision about hosting you or not.*

They don't live in my house. I live in their house*

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

AS A HOST:

I used to attend the NYC Couchsurfing meet-up on Thursday nights, but I haven't been an active member of the NYC CS community during the last 2 years.

My parents and I are much more likely to host someone who already has a lot of references (or at least a couple of references) from different hosts.

Friends always write positive comments on CS, but what we're really looking for is feedback from hosts.

We also value someone who takes the time to read my long, boring profile so they get to know who I am and also realize that my parents and I will be your 3 hosts. Not just me.

AS A GUEST:

I am an easygoing person, and I take pride in being a good guest.
I am clean, mellow, friendly, ... and I won't eat your favorite snacks in the kitchen!

So far, I've surfed in 3 major European cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tallinn.

Interests

I love attending free lectures in NYC that I find out about through an organization called "Platform for Pedagogy."

I also attend lectures that universities here in NY host and open up to the public.

For those of you who also like international affairs like I do, Columbia Univetsity has excellent lectures that are free and open to the public.
So if you come to NY, you should check out their SIPA website.

Going to lectures & art galleries, and learning about new topics or topics that I already know about is my hobby.

It allows me to explore NY more, and it allows me to educate myself in nonconventional ways.

My other hobby is coaching baseball & basketball with my Dad.
I enjoy coaching 16-18 year-olds in baseball & basketball.

I love to teach, so coaching allows me to work with teenagers and to build an environment that is serious, but is fun at the same time.

• arts
• writing
• environment
• coach
• sports
• baseball
• basketball

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite movie is "A Bronx Tale" (1993) directed by Chazz Palmintieri.

My favorite books are "Taming the Star Runner" by S.E. Hinton and "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger.

I like many types of music, but my favorite singer is Stevie Nicks. (She was the lead singer of Fleetwood Mac.)

My favorite international music is from Portugal. I love listening to Fado. My favorite Fado singer is Ana Moura.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I frequently take long walks late at night when the streets in NY are completely empty. I sometimes take these long walks with my Dad, but usually by myself.

It helps me unwind and I see the city from a different perspective that I never get tired of.

Teach, Learn, Share

I learn something from everyone I form a relationship with.

The beautiful thing is that no one knows when I learn something from them.

I get a lot of my personal strength from observing the ways other people live their lives.

It motivates me to do better. I not only have learned things about life through other people, but I learn things about myself and the person that I want to be.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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