What You Should Know

I called in sick today as I was feeling... well... sick, and between checking work e-mails and blowing my nose, I decided I might randomly Google some topics about NYC.

One of my favorite search results was a Yelp feed on "Things You Should Have Been Told Before You Moved to NYC." Although most of the posts are negative, scary or down right revolting, I also found them to be humorous and am a little grateful for the warning.

I pulled together the top 55 tips/warnings. You can read the rest of the post here.

1. I have more junk caught up in my nose than I did pre-Manhattan
2. That isn't mud on your shoe.  Ever.
3. NYC apartments are very dry in the winter.  Like CRAZY dry.  I keep three humidifiers running in mine all winter
4. Everything is under construction always
5. Cabs -- when the number on top is lit up - it's empty, when it's not - someone is in there, and when the whole thing is on - it's off duty
6. When a subway car is significantly emptier during rush hour than all the others, it's for one of two reasons: there is a smelly bum stinking up the place, or the AC is broken
7. People will molest you if you fall asleep on the train - and sometimes even if you don't fall asleep
8. The gutters have a slight green slime known as garbage juice.  It's from stores and restaurants putting their trashbags on the curbs late at night (there are no back alleys for trash pickup).
9. RATS: there are lots of them - they might be in your new apartment
10. BEDBUGS are a problem - if you get them you'll be screwed!
11. The subway lines are repaired on the weekend, so there are often long delays and sometimes whole lines are shut down (midnight to 5 am)
12. You can know what part of the corner you are standing on and what direction you exit the subway from, if you pay attention to the SW-NW-SE-NE directional signs near the exits.
13. The even numbered streets go east, the odd numbered ones go west.
14. Avenue blocks are longer than street blocks.
15. Don't feel guilty about totally ignoring the people trying to shove a leaflet into your hand as you pass them on the sidewalk.
16. That there are plenty of parks and places to exercise and bike and run outside.  That though manhattan is an island, it's large enough that you won't notice and won't feel claustrophobic.
17. you will think it's totally normal to make plans to meet someone somewhere at 1 am, "just when it's starting to get a little busy"
18. you will think it's totally normally to have to visit your storage locker every two weeks to get that outfit you stored there, or the other vacuum cleaner, or your good hiking shoes
19. Don't expect the same prices for groceries as you'd find outside of the city... $10 for a baby watermelon!?!? Are you kidding me!?
20. you will see something very very terrible and sad - possibly about once a week (daily?) - which will shake you
21. do NOT economize on rent. you're not smart. you will get mugged. i personally know 3 people who were mugged. now they pay 200-300 dollars more
22. Try to be early rather than "on time" - there WILL be a problem with the trains.
23. People you don't want to talk to you won't if you don't look at them.
24. Bring something to read or look at while you're on the train.
25. Let the people off the train before you go running inside.
26. Do NOT wear flip flops beach shoes in the city far from home base. it WILL rain, you will slip on the slippery sidewalks, your feet will be NASTY when you get home.  the rain is relaxing, therapeutic in other cities. in nyc it's disgusting.
27. There are really only two places where you can get a full meal (like with a drink, etc.) for under $10: on the street and in Chinatown (exceptions include Mamouns and Grey's Papaya).
28. People here care more about how you look in your clothes than out of them (as opposed to L.A. or Miami).  Dress to impress, baby!
29. Stand on the right, MOVE on the left
30. You pay for what neighborhood you live in, not what kind of apartment you live in.
34. All of the awesome free events, movies in the park, concerts in the park, etc...
35. Getting used to "To stay." versus "For here" at a fast food joint.  Makes sense.
36. DO NOT TURN RIGHT ON RED. For that matter, do not bring your car.  All you'll need is a metrocard and maybe a bicycle.
37. If it's less than two subways stops, you should walk.
38. Paying the premium to live in a neighborhood where you feel safe at any time of the day/night is unbelievably worth it.
39. If you wear stilettos to the Meatpacking District, prepare to get laughed at as you teeter around in the cobblestone streets.  You'll get laughed at by chicks like me who wore flats.
40. Get the most out of your neighborhood.  Try every restaurant and bar, even if you end up splurging a bit, because you never know when you'll find a new favorite, or when that place you've always wanted to go to will lose its lease.
41. If you're moving to NY soon, start reading Gothamist, Curbed, Eater, and the NYMag blogs NOW, even though you will at first have no idea what they are talking about.  Once you get here, you'll start finding niches of local blogs to diversify your office procrastination time that fit your interests/neighborhood
42. Have a good idea of how to get where you're going when you hop in a cab. They will fuck you.
43. Nothing in life is ever free. Craiglist is full of scammers. Expect to find brokers posting on the no-broker, no fee part of teh apartment site
44. Be assertive (not bitchy, just assertive) and you will usually get better service at the crowded deli for lunch. 
45. You're not the smartest, funniest, prettiest, coolest, or greatest one here - that's what motivates you.
46. If you're a good-looking, decently-dressed guy (business casual counts) who works out, you'll get hit on by men and you'll just have to deal with it.
47. New York City is the only city where, when it rains, it makes it's own gravy.
48. No one takes credit cards and 2 -  there are no public bathrooms anywhere
49. You can report Cabbies for not stopping
50. IT IS ILLEGAL FOR CABS TO NOT ACCEPT C.C. if they have the machine!!!!! You can refuse to pay and leave the cab if they do not accept it - tell a cop and they will get a ticket.
51. After living in the city for over a year you will want kill every person you hear say, "the big apple" :)
52. If you are waiting for a train late night or on weekends, you'll most likely get screwed.
53. It takes at least 20 mins to get anywhere in the city. Even if you live right around the corner from your destination, you are still at least 20 mins away.
54. Develop a longer patience because there are tourists, crazy traffic, crammed train, and dirty floors - but that's almost every other city in the world.
55. Realize that something horrendous and reprehensible happens in New York everyday. You have to learn to accept everything and that you can't change everything. Don't wallow in your disappointment - it just gets everyone else down.

And, one post with positives that makes me hopeful:

Street fairs and green markets - lovely.
Summer, Fall, Spring and Winter in Central Park - lovely.
There's a heart beat to the City.
Stop on the sidewalk, in a historical part of the city, look around and it's easy to imagine the generations that lived here prior.
Free events each week.
I've never felt threatened.
This city will humble you but make you stronger as well. 

Feel free to comment with your own insightful advice.

Won't You Be My Neighbor

One of the biggest considerations for this move is which neighborhood to settle into. Chelsea, Upper West Side, Financial District, Murray Hill, Morningside Heights, etc. etc. There are upsides and downsides to everything I've looked up so far and it really isn't all that easy choosing. What I have determined are what my "must-haves" are to help determine what options are really viable. So, here they are:

Must-Haves

1. Price (we are looking in the 1800-2400 price point for a true one bedroom)

2. Safety

3. Easy Commute

Bonuses

1. Lively, social neighborhood (bars and restaurants)

2. Nearby Central Park (maybe it all is?)

I suppose it would help to know where I'm going to work, but I don't. So...mostly we are basing it off of Columbia University's location, which is technically in Morningside Heights/Harlem (116th Street and Broadway)... which I'm not too keen on, however I do hear it is an up-and-coming neighborhood! No?

Well, not knowing much, I set off to Google. And here is what I came up with:

Gramercy/Murray Hill:
34th St. to 40th St., East River to Madison Ave.
Really cute and safe and is filled with young professionals and is pretty well priced. It’s decidedly unhip, which may be why Murray Hill is $500 to $1,000 cheaper per month than most of the surrounding neighborhoods. But it’s extremely safe, the schools are good, and its residences are modern and well maintained (if architecturally middling). The famously fratty neighborhood gets a little extra flavor from its excellent Indian, Korean, and Sichuan restaurants. And though transit access can be a problem in the neighborhood’s eastern reaches, the eventual completion of the Second Avenue subway will solve that problem. The league-average hood is mostly bereft of bars and restaurants despite being rebranded as the more fashionable “NoMad”. The houses and apartment buildings around the park are some seriously coveted real estate, since ownership is still the only way to make it through the gates of the park; Rockefellers and their ilk live here. The area north and east of the park (Murray Hill) is residential and not particularly interesting to tourists, though the Morgan Library, with its spectacular new renovation, is to the northwest.

Financial District:

Chambers St. to southern tip of Manhattan, East River to Broadway

is a little more expensive but has nicer buildings. I don't think the neighborhood has the charm some other places do. As quiet, safe, and conveniently located as Tribeca, but without much neighborhood life; it can feel abandoned at night.

Upper West Side:

59th St. (excluding Columbus Circle) to 110th St., Central Park West to Hudson River

is great and super cheap and safe if you stay below 116th. Alex Schwartz lives up there actually on 106th. Mimi lives here near Lincoln Center. Some of the most desirable property in the city is on Central Park West, but Amsterdam Avenue is a morass of mid-rises and much of the neighborhood lacks street life. Historically the heart of liberal, intellectual, political New York (the home of Bella Abzug and John Lennon), the Upper West Side has undergone considerable gentrification in recent years, with the influx of chain stores and the advent of the Time-Warner Center (the grandly named Shops at Columbus Circle is just another upscale chain mall, though it has some fabulous restaurants hidden away in its upper reaches). Still, the neighborhood remains funky, cranky, and relatively diverse--not to mention family-friendly (it is, perhaps, the stroller capital of Manhattan). Bounded by Riverside Park (overlooking the Hudson) to the west and Central Park to the east, the neighborhood is exceptionally culturally rich, even for Manhattan.  Watch Shakespeare in the Park , or hang out at the  Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon, in Central Park opposite the Dakota, where the Beatle lived and died; while away an afternoon drinking a glass of wine, listening to music and watching the yachts, the roller-bladers, the walkers and runners and dog-walkers in the Riverside Park Boat Basin; check out the Children's Museum and the American Museum of Natural History (with its fabulous dinosaur exhibits and the gorgeous Rose Planetarium); watch ballet or opera at  Lincoln Center (in summer, you can dance outside on the plaza and watch performances by artists from around the world). Juilliard is located here; so is a campus of Fordham University. Foodies will want to check out Zabar's and Fairway , two of the city's most renowned culinary outlets. While the architecture is often gorgeous (check out the Ansonia , on Broadway north of 72nd Street), it's the people-watching that's really great here--but be prepared to keep moving or get out of the way, as the crowd moves quickly and this is still the domain of sharp elbows and sharper retorts.

Upper East Side:

59th St. to 96th St., East River to Fifth Ave.

Famously safe, charming, green, and beautiful, but other neighborhoods offer those same virtues while also being cheaper and more densely packed with entertainment. A historically elite bastion of old money, the Upper East Side (59th Street to 96th Street between 5th and York Avenues) remains conservative and upscale. Quiet cross-streets are lined with  beautiful apartment buildings (as is the "Gold Coast" of 5th Avenue facing the park, home to some of the most coveted addresses in the city); the avenues (particularly Madison Avenue) are dotted with posh hotels, upscale restaurants and high-end designer boutiques. Visitors find easy access to Central Park as well as the fabled “Museum Mile” section of 5th Avenue, home to the Metropolitan Museum of Art , the Guggenheim , the Whitney , the Museum of the City of New York , and the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design .  This is a great neighborhood for dream-shopping and people-watching, if the luxe life is your thing; cruise the high-end shops on Madison Avenue, have a cappuccino and a salad in a cafe with tables facing the street. (If you want to do some actual shopping but can't afford the stratospheric prices, you might check out Bloomingdale's). At night, much of the neighborhood goes dark (safe but very, very quiet) with the exception of restaurants; but from Third Avenue over, far from the convenience of the subway and the elite status granted by Central Park proximity, the Upper East Side turns into one big frat party, rife with bars packed with preppie post-collegiate types.

Upper east Side is Sub-divided into 3 areas. All walking distance to each other but all different in history. You have the Yorkville Section Which is above 72nd Street to 96th Street between Lexington and 1st Avenue. Carnigie Hill Section above 72nd Street to 96th Street between 5th and Lexington Avenue. The Upper Yorkville Section, Above 96th Street to 106th Street between Park Avenue and 2nd Avenue

East Village:

Houston St. to 14th St., East River to Fourth Ave.

Trendy and young but east of Ave. A can be sketchy, its still fine but there are safer places. The neighborhood with the highest concentration of bars in the city (if not the world) scores off the charts in all the expected areas: retail diversity, restaurant density, proximity to nightlife, and desirability to the creative classes, with only schools and affordability truly lacking. With a typical two-bedroom running at about $3,300 per month, it’s expensive. But thanks to nearby NYU, the East Village has more income and ethnic diversity than most of its neighbors. The East Village once was part of The Lower East Side has undergone gentrification and has lost its former edge. However, it is still a culturally diverse area with significant Polish and Ukrainian immigrant history and the restaurant row dubbed “Little India.” If you walk its narrow side streets, including St. Mark’s Place, you will discover numerous funky shops, and people-watching is especially fun in this colorful neighborhood.

Chelsea:

14th St. to 29th St., Broadway to Hudson River

Charming in some places (especially its 400-gallery art colony) and less so in others, including some pockets with high crime. Historically a residential area known for its writer and artist population, Chelsea (15th to 39th Streets between the Hudson River and Sixth Avenue) was the epicenter of the city’s gay life for quite some time; but as the neighborhood has become increasingly upscale, it's changed considerably. New York's hottest gallery scene inhabits the area's western edge, with haute restaurants to match. The Chelsea Market attracts foodie types from all over, despite its dark, dated design. A clutch of trendy clubs have taken up residence on and around 27th street and on the western edges of the neighborhood. Practice your golf swing or try a little rock climbing, or bowling  at Chelsea Piers Sports Complex. Or, enjoy a harbor cruise on a warm summer night on one of the historic vessels of Classic Harbor Line. Once dangerous, then quietly residential, Chelsea has become very, very downtown. 

Lower East Side:

Canal St. to Houston St., East River to Bowery

Reasonable and trendy but its filled with all the bars where everyone goes out so you're always in the middle of it which is good and bad. Suppose we told you about a neighborhood with some of the city’s best nightlife, along with outstanding restaurants and shops. It’s conveniently located in Lower Manhattan. It’s vital and energetic, gentrifying but reasonably diverse. And a two-bedroom apartment costs around $2,300 a month. Sounds too good to be true, but the numbers tell the story. Yes, the Lower East Side has some prominent warts: Its housing stock is fairly run-down. It’s noisy. And not everyone wants to live where they go out. But few other neighborhoods offer such a complete New York City experience at this price point.

West Village: Everything you want New York to be, but it is definitely expensive.

Sunnyside:

Greenpoint Ave. and First Calvary Cemetery to Northern Blvd. (along the census tract), 44th St. and Locust to Van Dam St.

Sunnyside is a hidden gem if there ever was one—though its communities of Armenians, Romanians, Indians, Bangladeshis, Chinese, Koreans, Colombians, and Ecuadorans have known about its attributes for years. It’s flat-out cheap (and not just by New York standards): A typical two-bedroom costs $1,300 a month. And that’s in a safe, quiet neighborhood with better-than-average schools that’s just sixteen minutes to Times Square on the 7 train. Although it’s a bit lacking in restaurants and nightlife, it’s a quick livery ride to both Greenpoint and Astoria.

Midtown West:

29th St. to 59th St., Madison Ave. to Hudson River

More cultural cachet than Midtown East, but much grittier, with modestly high crime rates (especially around Port Authority) and a high incidence of air, asbestos, and noise complaints.

Astoria:
36th Ave. to Twentieth Ave./Con Ed Power Plant/19th Ave., Ditmars Blvd./BQE /Northern Blvd. to East River

Most Manhattanites know Astoria only for its beer gardens, but this large—about 170,000 people—and eclectic neighborhood has much more to offer, including reasonably priced housing, strong ethnic clusters that have weathered the first waves of gentrification, good shopping at both local markets and big-box retailers, and pedestrian-friendly streets. The downside is a lack of foliage and park access, as well as a commute that is reasonable to midtown but cumbersome to lower Manhattan.

Morningside Heights:
106th Street to 125th Street between Morningside Park and Riverside Drive
Bordered by Harlem and the Upper West Side, Morningside Heights runs from 106th Street to 125th Street between Morningside Park and Riverside Drive. A number of major educational institutions are located here: Union Theological Seminary, Jewish Theological Seminary, Manhattan School of Music, and, most famously, Barnard College and Columbia University. The neighborhood boasts a park promenade along the river ( Grant's Tomb is located here) and some spectacular architecture, including the flying buttresses of the Riverside Church and the perpetually unfinished but breathtaking Cathedral of St. John the Divine , arguably the world's largest Gothic cathedral. Less exalted but perhaps still more interesting to couch

After quite a bit of research, I thought I'd try something fun and took a neighborhood quiz. You can take the quiz here:

http://quizfarm.com/quizzes/new/futurebird/which-neighborhood-in-manhattan-is-best-for-you/

And, here are my results!

You Scored as Inwood. Inwood is located on the northern tip of Manhattan. Inwood extends from 200th St (Dyckman St) to 220th Street. It is banked on all three sides by huge wild parks.

Inwood- 67%
Chelsea- 67%
Financial District/Battery Park- 56%
El Barrio- 56%
Alphabet City- 50%
Upper West Side/ Morningside Heights- 50%
Stuyvesant Town- 50%
Hell's Kitchen/ Theatre District- 44%
Harlem- 44%
Kips Bay- 39%
Upper East Side- 39%
Washington Heights- 33%
SoHo/ TriBeCa- 28%
China Town- 11%

I tied for Inwood and Chelsea. After having Rob take the test, he tied with Chelsea and the Financial District. So Chelsea residents, what do you think? Ready for a new neighbor?

The Journey of a Thousand Miles...

It's late (somewhat) and I'm tired (somewhat), but this blog has to start at some point, so here we go. I find myself returning to writing every time there is, or about to be, a big change in my life. And, the next big change is about 6 months away. I'm planning to move to New York City. That's right, a small town girl taking a bite out of the big apple (I promise that is the last time I'll use that expression within this blog).

So how did this opportunity come about? That would be the result of dating a boy. This boy, driven and determined, was very recently accepted into Columbia University next fall for graduate school. This boy, named Rob, is also currently a captain in the United States Marine Corps and has a few months (can you guess? six) left of service. So, I've been presented with this opportunity. I can either stay in beautiful San Diego in a job that gives me a lot of anxiety where most of my friends have moved away since college, or I can move with Rob, whom I love with a crazy passion, and take my chances at a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience (and afford!) New York City.

Some people might think it's a little risky to move across the county with your boyfriend. And they're absolutely right! But if you live safe and comfortably your entire life, how will you ever find the thrill and excitement of the unknown? I like a challenge, and so I plan to take it on. Whether it all turns out in the long run, its my life, and I only get one shot at it- unless I'm reincarnated. But that's an entirely separate blog. :)

Has living in New York City always been a dream of mine? Not exactly. Well not at all. I'm not really a big city girl. But, in a way, I feel it's a challenge for me. And really, it's only two years (hopefully) of my life. Or maybe I'll end up loving it more than I think I will. Who knows?

So, finally, what is the purpose of this blog? Being a planner, writer and having slight (undiagnosed) OCD, I've decided to document the planning, questions, fears, hopes, dreams, problems and thrills of this entire journey. From the planning process, to the reality of it all, you'll find it in this blog. Hopefully, this can also be a road map to young couples, singles, or anyone planning to make the move to New York City.