What’s better than Christmas presents? Getting boxes of your own things mailed to you from coast to coast! Today’s arrivals? RAIN BOOTS!!! My Oregon duck rain boots to be exact. You can bet I’m going to be repping my ducks to and from the subway every rainy day from here on out! 

It gets even better though.. Guess what other surprises were in the box? DAVE’S KILLER BREAD!!! Aww, I’d say today was a good day and that my Mom is pretty darn awesome! There was also some random things of mine, earrings, pens, a coffee tumbler, and lots of fruit snacks. Scooter was pretty excited about the fruit snacks too I think, because I caught him trying to run off with more than one package. Which brings me to another discovery today. My dog is a total hoarder, but that can be its own blog post in itself.

Another reason today was a great day was because it was my one month anniversary of being in New York! I am officially surviving the New York life and doing it well! After a month I think it is a good time to reflect on some of the biggest misconceptions I’ve come before and during my move here and let you know how they are rolling out.

1.) “Why would you want to move to New York, it’s soooo expensive!”: I will not deny that New York is definitely not the cheapest place to live. I won’t try and tell you that the statistics are wrong, but what I will tell you is if you have a steady job and realistic expectations it can be totally doable. Apartment standards in New York are different than anywhere I’ve ever lived. You will probably pay double the amount for half of the space you would be used to in a typical Portland or Seattle apartment without the added luxuries. Most of the buildings that are more affordable are in Pre or Post WWII buildings that are not always equipped with elevators, microwaves, or dishwashers but realize that your friends are all probably living in about the same situations too. It’s been a month though and we have been completely fine without a microwave, dishwasher, and cable tv at that. What I’m trying to say is yes, rent is very high in New York, but it is still possible to find a cute, small apartment in a safe neighborhood and still manage to have some money left over for food and exploring.

If it is something you want to attempt though, my advice is to have realistic expectations. Prioritize what is important to you in a living situation and set a realistic price range. Rent is the highest price difference when moving. Food can be expensive as well, but if you minimize the amount of take-out food you order and score deals by trying different grocery stores (like Trader Joes) then it won’t be such a huge difference. The great thing about New York too is that there are a ton of events going on all of the time (a lot of which are free). My final point being, yes the city is expensive, but if you set a budget and are smart with your money then you should have no issues.

2.) “But New Yorkers are so mean!”: Another misconception I faced when moving was that all New Yorkers were rude and mean people. Over the course of the last month, I can truthfully say that I think the opposite is true. Granted, this is my personal experience and I am by no means saying that the “mean New Yorker” stereotype doesn’t hold true sometimes. From my experience though, I have yet to have an awful experience with anyone. People in the city are busy and might not always talk to you in passing, but if you give a smile I have always gotten one back in return. I can honestly say that I’ve felt more welcomed by New Yorkers here than I often did in Portland. If I stop to pick up an outfit on my way home someone is chatting up with me in the dressing room and asking for my style advice. If I’m grocery shopping alone the employees are sure to strike up a conversation with me. Even when I meet people at a party or out people genuinely seem interested in meeting me and are excited about hearing my story. I don’t know if I’m the only one who has had this experience, but I really think that New Yorkers get an undeserving bad rep sometimes. Again, I’ve only been here a month, but I can tell you I’ve been shocked of how friendly the people have been to me during my stay.

3.) “You’re not taking your car?! How will you survive!”: I’ve had a car since I was 16 years old and a month ago I can admit I was a little apprehensive about not having a car either. Truth be told though, New York’s public transportation is great! Besides my occasional mix-up on a subway stop I feel like I have a good handle on getting myself where I need to go. Of course I still need some help from websites like HopStop to ensure I’m getting on the right train or bus, but overall the system is pretty easy to figure out. 

After not having my car for a month too, I can’t say I miss it too much (and I definitely don’t miss paying for insurance or gas). I’ve been on enough cab rides, and bus rides to realize I probably wouldn’t be the best New York driver anyways. Besides, rides by cabs can actually end of taking longer than a subway ride because of traffic. So although I probably wouldn’t be okay with not having a car in the Northwest in New York it has been perfectly alright. I have yet to meet anyone here that does actually drive either so I don’t feel like I’m missing out on too much.

Well there you have it! One month down, three misconceptions addressed and many more experiences and lessons to come. Stay tuned for more.

Cheers!

As an ongoing effort to give you the best imagery of my move to New York, I’ve decided to add some more senses. So this one is for your ears! Here’s my attempt to adding to your experience by giving you a peak to my “Subway Mixing” playlist for my commute.

Today’s preview: Imogen Heap- “Tidal”

Look for a new song for your daily dose.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Weekend number 4 in New York City and still loving it just as much as day 1! After a week filled with tornado and flood warnings (both of which we never got) the weather decided to give us a break and show its sunnier side (at least for a couple of days). I cannot express my excitement for my rain boots to come in the mail tomorrow! It only took a week of getting to work with soaking wet feet to realize that needed to change asap. I think my feet would agree.

Here were this weekend’s locations that were hit. SVA photography studio, Empire State Building, Five Guys, The Playwright Irish Pub, and Trader Joes. After a long and productive week I was looking forward to having a “low-key” weekend. It’s kind of hard to stay true to that though when you’re living in this city I’m finding. So anyways, here is the rundown.

Friday after work I was off to meet up with my roommate before heading to a friend’s art studio. I rode down on the subway to City Hall and peaked outside of the subway station before catching my next subway to the stop I needed to be at. The first couple pictures are from the City Hall area. I’m a sucker for old architecture and loved the pillars. After snapping a few pictures on my phone I was onto my final destination and met up with my roommate. Let it be noted that this was the smoothest meet-up with my roommate in the history of my time in the city. Usually when I try and meet up with her something usually goes wrong on my end and the first call she usually gets from me is, “Uh, I think I’m lost.” It’s kind of turned into a game of where in the world is Anna. Maybe my luck is turning around though because this trip was a straight shot.

After I met up with my roommate we headed back uptown to meet up with a couple of friends and check out their apartment before heading to the Gallery. After visiting a little, it was in a cab and off to SVA to check out one of our friend’s recent photography project. Her concept of her project was of time and of different photos and notes that she had kept throughout her life. She had a really great quote posted around her theme that I think is worth sharing, “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once.” Personally, I loved the quote and her work was fantastic! Personally, I’ve never been very artistic but I have such respect for those that are. Once we checked out her project, we headed back uptown back to our apartment to stay in for the night with a couple of friends. And, yes we actually “stayed-in” the whole night even after a failed attempt last weekend (back to it’s hard having low-key weekends). 

On Saturday I was off to meet-up at the Empire State Building. I don’t mind riding public transportation, but the scene was definitely a different place this weekend. You would think the subways would be a little bit more relaxed, but I’ve come to find the opposite. The trains are more crowded, more likely to be late, and the riders seem to be more irritated. My wait for the 6 train seemed to drag on and on before it finally arrived. If I wouldn’t have been on a mission I might have waited for the next train, but instead I nudged through the sea of passengers and into an already standing room only car. I’ve never been on a more crowded train, and between train traffic, the heat, and amount of people there were some not-to-happy passengers. I tried to just laugh at the situation though, but was pretty happy to get off at the 33rd Street stop. Up the stairs, and I was off to the Empire State Building. 

I’m still amazed at this city each day, but now that I live here I’m starting to get a different perspective than the tourists’ view so it was different being somewhere that is mostly tourists. By the end of our visit, it was funny to pick-out who in line was definitely visiting, or who maybe lived here. Tourist pick-out 1.) Gift Bags 2.) Excess clothing and 3.) Tourist Maps. Want to blend in like a local? Then avoid all of the following! Not that it’s bad being one, it’s just funny to be able to point them out now.

The view from the top of the Empire State Building is absolutely gorgeous! Just being able to look out from every direction and take in all of the city is something I don’t think I could ever get sick of. I got to test out a little of my new city knowledge with the buildings too. I still have a long ways to go before I stack up against a 5 year veteran.. but I gave it my best shot! 

After the beautiful view, we were onto another must-visit locations Five Guys! Their press is not under-rated and we had some delicious burgers and fries! For anyone who knows me well, I’m a self-proclaimed “condiment whore.” Especially when it comes to ketchup, and if you’ve lived with me you’ve definitely seen this first-hand. Anyways, you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you, but I actually wasted almost my whole little cup of ketchup… I don’t know what happened, but the burger and fries were so good I didn’t feel totally inclined to use as much ketchup I guess. Moral of the story? Five guys puts down a mean burger and I will definitely be back for more :)

After a fun day of exploring I needed to head back uptown to change into my duck gear, grab my roommate and head back downtown to the Playwright Irish Pub to meet up with some fellow ducks and yell O! I talked my roommate into checking it out with me with the expectations that there probably weren’t that many ducks in New York so we probably didn’t need to get their that much earlier than the game. Boy, was I wrong! The pub was two stories, with the second story reserved for ducks and the bottom a sea of yellow and green as well. Did I die and go to New York City duck heaven? I think so! It was a great game, the ducks conquered and it was a good night filled with celebration afterwards.

To wrap-up the weekend we headed to Trader Joes today. Normally, I wouldn’t consider grocery shopping blogging material, but this time it seems totally appropriate. Within the last month a new Trader Joes just opened up on the Upper West Side on 72nd Street and Broadway. It was a pretty big deal. The media noted people crying over how great the prices were. Yes, apparently New Yorkers will cry over great prices since they can be so far and in between. We’ve made our rounds in checking out local grocery stores including Gristedes, D’agastinos, and Food Emporium. All of which, well, meet New York’s prices of being pretty high. I’ve just gotten used to not buying some things I used to buy because the prices are just outrageous. Most of the prices are pretty comparable, but some things are double or more. We’ve been talking about going to Trader Joes since the last time we went grocery shopping to try and save a couple of dollars. Needless to say, we were pretty excited about the trip, hence blogging material.

Two floors of amazingness and great prices and I’m hooked. $3.49 for Swiss cheese?! $2.99 for orange juice?! The prices were great, the selection was good, and the people were very helpful. Downside? The whole trip ending up taking us about 2 and a half hours.. between walking and buses. Plus the store is super crowded! I guess I’m getting used to that as a New York standard, but there was definitely at least 150 people in the checkout lines that wrapped around the store. Surprisingly, the lines moved at a decent speed though and because of the prices, the commute or lines didn’t bother me too much. 

After grocery shopping I would complete the other part of my “relaxing” weekend with a little nap, cleaning session and a skype filled evening with some friends and family from back home. Sundays are my officially skype day, which seems to be working out pretty well at keeping me in touch.

Well, that’s that for the weekend wrap-up I need to catch a couple hours of sleep before I’m off to the start of another work week!