Sunday, January 20, 2013

A Grand Adventure

I am in the midst of an grand adventure and am likely to be scarce for the next three months. 

I am moving to the New York Metropolitan region.

Let me back up a bit and fill in the details.  I am currently living in Cleveland, Ohio and working a job that is mostly satisfying but not something to be done long term. It has been a great learning opportunity and I have largely enjoyed it. As I never envisioned this as a long term job, I applied for and was offered a really great job that puts me on the career path I have mapped out.  Even better, the job is in Newark NJ, i.e. well within the NYC Metro area.  I have lived in many large cities in the U.S., however, I have never had the opportunity to live in and explore NYC.  I am doubly excited- a great job and a great place to live.

This past weekend I drove to NY/NJ and searched for an apartment.  On the way there I made a bit of a wrong turn at an exit and ended up at a small inn: Turkey Hill Inn, in Bloomsbug PA.  The price for a room was more than reasonable, they even offered me an on-the-spot discount, and because I must be on a lucky streak, they then upgraded my room.  Let me add that small businesses have this capability and that is just another reason to patronize them.

My upgraded room included a fire place:
Fire place in room at the Inn at Turkey Hill
The upgrade, as is usual in most hotels included a bed, with a very warm down comforter and a nice desk.  Oh, and radiant heat floors.  I want radiant heat floors when I win the lottery.
Desk and entry at the Inn at Turkey Hill
Mostly, the upgrade had a jacuzzi tub- excuse me for sounding like a teenager, but OMG was this wonderful.  Huge, deep, and a welcome plus at the end of an unplanned long trip.
Jacuzzi tub at the Inn at Turkey Hill

The pictures are from my phone, after the sun set and taken in a bit of a rush.  If you are ever in the area and need a place to stay I highly recommend this bed and breakfast.  Clean, friendly,  comfortable, a great value, and a small business.  What else could you ask for.

Next, was apartment hunting.  The last time I visited NYC was in the early 1990's.  I know nobody in the area.  As I said, an adventure.  I narrowed down my choices to Jersey City and Bloomfield NJ.  In all honesty I pretty much narrowed the choice down to Jersey City as it is between NYC proper and my office and is an easy commute by bus or train.  Jersey City, like a few other places I have lived, is in transition.  I arranged to see a handful of apartments while I was there.  They were all small by any American standard other than NYC.  I just could not imagine how I was going to fit in my books and furniture - my beads were already going into the second bedroom.  (Actually, one apartment would have had them in a windowed walk in closet.)  Then there was the kitchen table, my favorite hang out at home; which was also going to be a tight, if not impossible, fit in some of these apartments.  The last apartment on my list was the biggest and the one I had the highest hopes for.  It is also the one I am renting.  It is huge!  Everything will fit.  It is also the one apartment with the least updates.  Luckily, it is not a dump and it was actually on the best street of all the apartments I visited.

Below are some quick pictures, right after sunset, with my android phone.  Better pictures will be available after I move in.
Living room window with child safety bars in my new apartment
A separate dining room, a real luxury
Kitchen, with dishwasher!
Bathroom
Did I mention that this was an adventure?  While I was waiting to see one apartment, I grabbed lunch at a very tiny fish and chips place named Tanty's Fish and Chips:
Tanty's Fish n Chips store front
Now, this place is tiny.  I was the only customer.  There was very limited seating- 2 bar stools and 4 chairs.  Raggae music was playing when I walked in the door.  Tanty was a wonderful host.  She made suggestions on what to choose, asked me how spicy I wanted the fish, and cooked my fish and a huge serving of french fries to order.  I barely touched the french fries, but I ate all three pieces of fish.  It was delicious.  This is 11 blocks from where I am renting and I will visit again, and if you are in the area, and you like fish n chips, you should visit too.
Tanty's card
 If I had all the time and money in the world, I would likely live in NYC.  I decided on Jersey City instead of Bloomfield because if I am going to be living in the NYC metro area I want to actually feel like I am living in the NYC metro area and not a suburb.  Bloomfield is really nice, it has charm, and I would have been very happy there.  Jersey City, on the other hand, is filled with small store fronts like Tanty's.  It is diverse, not only in people, but in the businesses.

I will likely learn that there were other choices I could have made.  However, I think I am going to get the best of it all.  I am really looking forward to this adventure.

I will be busy with training and a move for the next three months or so; thus, I won't be blogging much.  I will still be visiting every one's blog even if I am not commenting.  This is going to be so much fun.

P.S.  If you have a favorite spot in the NYC metro area, please share it with me, especially if it is of a beady nature.

16 comments:

  1. How exciting! You are braver than I - the thought of packing up and moving to a foreign place intimidates me. I have too much stuff! Good luck! What kind of work will you be doing?

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    1. I have too much stuff as well, although I must say not as much stuff as I had 10 years ago and not as much stuff as I had 2 years ago and yet again not as much stuff as I had 1 month ago. I have been getting rid of stuff. Moving makes you focus more on letting go of the things you do not use and do not need but it has been my goal for quite some time to own less.

      I work for the Veterans Administration. I will be developing claims. It is a different kind of creativity than making jewelry. I expect it will be boring and frustrating; but mostly I expect it will be a challenging opportunity for growth and very fulfilling every single day. When I started with the VA one of the people who trained me said she prays on the train to work everyday that she is able to help the Veterans she is in contact with- it was an attitude I have adopted.

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  2. New job, new city - how exciting! Do take an occasional pause from your grand adventure and let us know how it's going!

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    1. It is going to be a busy time. I will be in training for over 2 months! I don't know when I will have time to unpack.

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  3. Wow, I lived in Jersey City for more than 5 years back in the '80s (near Journal Square) Took the PATH train into NYC every day. Jersey City was "in transition" then, too. I think it's a perpetual state! Enjoy your new digs, new job and great adventure.

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    1. I had to laugh that Jersey City was in transition 5 years ago. I really like neighborhoods that offer a diverse environment, i.e. neighborhoods in transition. I am looking forward to exploring.

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  4. How exciting! I lived in NYC for six months during grad school -- loved it! Haven't been back in almost ten years for a visit, so don't really have any up to date places to recommend. But I can't wait to hear from you when you've had a chance to shop at York Beads and some of the other bead places down in the garment district area, for sure!

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    1. I have been bemoaning the fact that I am going to be living in the most exciting cities in the world and I am going to be broke! I think I need to stay away from the bead stores, but that siren is already wailing. It is like an addiction- I have more than an adequate supply of beads, I could tell myself I would just go and "look" but then I would find that perfect, unusual, must-have, will-never-see-again bead(s) and out would come the wallet. I wonder how long it will take before I go and have that "look."

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  5. Best of luck in JC/NYC! I hope the new job goes well and that you have fun exploring the City.

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    1. I am so far behind. Thank you for the well wishes. I am going to have a blast exploring the city.

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  6. What a fabulous move this sounds like it's going to be! I loved 'riding along' on your adventure and I agree entirely with your decision to 'experience the city' by moving to Jersey City.

    Looking forward to hearing more over the next few months! Best wishes. :)

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    1. Thank you so much Karen. I am sore, tired, and after all the packing and more to come still very excited. I am ready.

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  7. Congratulations, Kathy! I'm so excited for you. I imagine you'll be blogging a lot once you move. New York is the most inspiring city I've ever visited. I was there for six weeks a long time ago and still cherish the memories.

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    1. I keep saying over and over again how excited I am because it is true. I love cities and I have lived in some of the best. I have never had much chance to visit or explore NYC; that will change next week. A friend told me that even if I am broke that just walking around in NYC is exciting. I hope she is right.

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  8. Wow ! So this was the start of the amazing adventure that I somehow totally missed the post on. Sounds wonderful and the tiny inn sounds lovely too.
    With the move, apartment hunting, and job training, I'm surprised you have time to breath, let alone blog. :)
    Take care and wishing you an exciting and happy New Adventure. :)

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  9. How are you doing lately? Is there anything new at your apartment? Your living room window caught my attention. It seems that the building owner have considered all the proper measures to ensure the safety and comfort of his occupants. Putting safety bars on the window is handy, especially when you have kids living with you. What I like about it is that it wasn't an obstruction; you can still see the view outside.

    Josie Moretti @ North West Exteriors

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Thank you for sharing. I had to turn off anonymous comments because spam was being posted.