Tag Archives: relocating

Philly

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Dad is in the hospital.

In Philly two hours from home.

So Mom and I are also in Philly. In violation of all privacy laws, I will tell you that Dad is getting a pacemaker.

Honestly, I’m more anxious about my impending apartment search and move (note: I am not staying put after all thanks to a big rent hike) than Dad’s procedure. At first glance, you’ll probably think I’m a self-involved ass for that.

But I swear: apartment hunting in NYC is generally more stressful than getting a pacemaker. Weird, right?

I’m approaching Dad’s procedure as a great thing actually. The doctor thinks he’ll feel like a new man once the pacemaker is in. Fingers crossed.

I hope to return to NYC Tuesday. And to blogging soon after that.

xoxo

Update: Dad’s procedure went great.

The drive

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There’s a point on Route 46 East in New Jersey where you hit the top of a small hill and get your first glimpse of the New York City skyline.

NYC skyline

Every single time, this drive makes my heart ache.

I remember being a little girl and visiting my Aunt Mar in Parsippany with my mother and grandmother. Sometimes we’d leave her apartment and go into the city for a few hours or two stay the night.

Later, the view meant that I was returning home after a visit to my family in Scranton.

For ten years, while I lived in DC, I didn’t see that view very often. Which is probably why that glimpse of skyline still feels like a gift a year and a half after making my return.

The leaving made the return sweeter.

Related posts:

  • My new-old home
  • The old neighborhood, Greenwich Village

NYC real estate: old pink bathrooms anyone?

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Sometimes I review real estate postings even though I’m not exactly looking to move. While some listings make me swoony, more often than not my jaw drops for the wrong reasons.

I’m a pink lover, but no. NO.

I like to be sure I have a good place to live for my money. It hurts to write the monthly check, but I’m staying put.

Am I the only one hooked on real estate?

The grass isn’t always greener.

Related posts:

Real estate: what $2000/month will get you (via @curbed)

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I’m really enjoying Curbed.com’s renters’ week content, including this round up of what $2000 per month in rent will get you in various American cities

Even though looking at the NYC option makes those of us paying high rents feel a little silly. And poor.

$2000 per month goes far in Detroit.

But NYC is home. I don’t even know what I’d do with more space. Honest.

The hunt (entry #4 about finding an apartment in NYC)

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Are you bored yet? If so (or if not) say so in the comments. It’s lonely over here! I see that you’re reading but no one leaves me notes…

Moving right along, I gave moderate consideration to this apartment in a cond-op building. Of every Manhattan (not Brooklyn) apartment I viewed during my hunt, this unit featured the nicest fixtures of all. At that time, I was considering increasing my upper rent limit to $2800 so the broker wisely showed me the rental she called a unicorn.

242 East 25th Street , New York NY Condop

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The hunt (entry #2 about finding an apartment in NYC)

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Would you like to see some of the apartments I didn’t take? OK then! Here’s one.

95 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village

I looked at three studios (two with the same layout, one with a different), all around $2850 per month. Sample listing with floor plan here.

Yes, almost $3000 per month. That’s rent, not a mortgage payment. You don’t get to keep the place.

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The hunt (entry #1 of 72 posts about finding an apartment in NYC)

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I have tweeted ad nauseum about my hunt for a New York City apartment, and the difficulty of finding one while still based in Washington, DC. Enough of my twitter friends have commented on the process that I thought I’d share information about why the hunt is so challenging.

Backing up a little…

I have wanted to move back to NYC – my spiritual home if I, in fact, have anything spiritual – since the moment I left. Each time I returned to Manhattan for work or to visit friends, I tried (and failed) to remember how I managed to move away (for my career) without having some form of a breakdown. I suspect I was numbed by the fact that my move to DC happened just 20 days after September 11.

9/11

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