New Digs on the Upper West Side

We've had a blast checking out our new neighborhood.  We moved into a studio in the Upper West Side yesterday.  We're extremely happy with it.  See pics.  We're in love with the neighborhood. Our street is relatively quiet, but on the west end of it there is a giant park named "Riverside Park".  There is a biking trail through it that goes on for miles along the water.  The eastern end of our street leads to three major thoroughfares - Broadway, Amsterdam, and Columbus.  All our Manhattan necessities are there: subway, indie theatre, a billion restaurants and internet cafes, shops of both designer and knock-off, and street vendors.  Oh- and last but not least "grocery stores".

In reality the supermarkets are quick stops that have been crammed with groceries.  This was an adventure.  Outside they look quiet, picturesque, like they are on display for a travel magazine shoot.  Look at the rows of pretty flowers nestled in their bins, or the crisp ripe fruits stacked tall. What a color wheel. On the inside it is quite another story.  I slipped in to take a picture, and this was one of the more tame areas: see below.  I went grocery shopping twice because I could only pick up what I could carry home.  The first time I was trying to hurry and stay out of everybody's way.  I couldn't find many of the items I'm used to getting, and eventually I just gave up and got whatever I could grab and booked it out of there. The second time I went in, I decided I was a New Yorker and didn't give two bits about bumping into anybody.  I scanned the ails for things I thought we'd enjoy, and even took my time to visualize all the things I hadn't seen elsewhere.   I embraced the chaos of yelling and impatient shuffling around me.  There was always a store clerk pushing a heavy load on a trolly, shouting "watch your butts, I'm coming through!" I made myself stay in the overcrowded box of a grocery store until I had everything we needed.  After all, this is our life now.

Today it's 42 degrees outside so neither of us feel like going out, in some ways we're still Honolulians.  We'll have to make the adjustment sooner of later, especially when winter comes around.  We haven't seen snow in three years.  This will be a kick.  I can't wait!  I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.

Looking across the street from our window.

The eastern side of our street, going up.

Our building, plus the charming and handsome Robert.

Our living area.

Our kitchen, and the four foot tall loft above with our bed.

Outside the grocery store.

Produce section of the grocery store.

The first full day

Bobby posting for Emily

So below are some not too good pictures of the city.  It rained all day today, so not a ton of great pictures to choose from.  There is some big news- we found a furnished studio to live in a for a few months.  It is a loft apartment with full kitchen.  We will be in a great neighborhood on the Upper West Side.  The price...let us just say that I would kill for Hawaii prices at this point.  

Our first two dinners have not been so good- a below average Irish Pub and a way below average Indian restaurant.  At least there will be a few other options to choose from, maybe one or two.

Stay classy, NYC.

Bobby

Publish Post

Arriving in NYC, Our New Home.

From Aloha to the Big Apple

A month after leaving Honolulu, and subsequently visiting relatives on the east and west coasts, we arrived on Wall Street at 7:30pm last night.  We will be staying in a hotel in the financial district until we land a temporary abode.  Today is the exciting adventure of meeting a real estate agent and viewing a few possibilities.

Our temporary apartment:  it will probably be more like a bedroom with a kitchen and bathroom.  That’s why it’s temporary.  We’re going to stay in Manhattan until our furniture arrives, in 2-3 months, and then we’ll rent a much larger apartment in either Brooklyn or Queens.  So for now, we’re going to make the most out of finding a temporary furnished studio in the center of Manhattan.

We moved to New York so Robert could start his new career. He is a consultant at a hedge fund software company.  He starts April 18th.  After 7 years as a supply officer in the Navy, this is quite the change.  He is excited, this is the industry he has been aiming for and preparing for ever since he decided to leave the Navy.

Last night as I sat in our hotel room and looked our the window, I could see the beginning of our new life before us: lots of cement, entrances to the subway, endless street vendors for those on the go, and tons of people on the go.  That will be us.  Of course, we’ll also have lots of what we enjoyed so much in Honolulu: culture.  All around us there are people of a variety of ethnicities, all with different ways of doing the same activities of daily living.