So after being prepared for an all-out real estate battle, I found the actual process of procuring an apartment in New York City to be surprisingly easy. I think the key is a lot of research; we looked at neighborhood blogs to see what realistic prices were and where the "good" parts were and we were also very careful not to set up appointments to view places that were farther than two blocks from a subway. This meant we passed on a lot of almost-good Craigslist ads, but in the end it meant that all of the four places we looked at were true, feasible options for us.
We ended up with a lovely three bedroom place just north of Dyckman Street, in the Manhattan neighborhood of Inwood (which I had never heard of before this adventure). For those that aren't familiar with the island, it's on the west side of the north-most tip. But thanks to an A train express stop on the corner it's only 25 minutes to Times Square. It's also close to beautiful parks and restaurants, of which I'll write more later.
Most of our furniture has been purchased through Craigslist as well, and that's lead to some bizarre and funny times. Take, for instance, the sofa bed we got from a sweet man named Eric. I've never seen a man so buff and so knowledgeable about how to remove spots with Woolite. ("Do NOT use water, sweetie. Ya just gonna rub it in.") Between the two of us, we managed to finagle this couch down a narrow three flight walk up - and now we have a perfect bed for visitors! There was also the adventure with the (free!) kitchen table that we got down a five story walk up, only to discover that it was too large for the car. After lugging it back up the five flights, we managed to shove a kitchen storage unit into the backseat. At least, we almost did. The door wouldn't quite shut. But that's not a huge biggie, right? So, we set off. It seemed fine at first, but after a few blocks we came to a hard stop and whoosh, the door was open wide. So, with my roommate navigating the crazy traffic, I stuck myself halfway outside the car and held the door shut, sometimes with my body, sometimes with sheer force of will. The constant laughter from the drivers seat paired with the stares from pedestrians was not helpful.
We've also discovered a lot of wonderful little spots in our new neighborhood, like The Cloisters (picture). This beautiful Spanish Castle was relocated block by block from Europe to it's current home two streets down from us. It sits high atop a hill overlooking the river, and makes a great place for a picnic! The Garden Cafe has also quickly become a favorite of ours. Located at Broadway and 207th, it has gorgeous outdoor seating and terrific service, not to mention fabulous food. For our first visit we had pear and zucchini soup, pumpkin and sage raviloi, strawberry and mango stuffed chicken in chipotle sauce, chocolate cake, and white sangria. Delicious! And speaking of delicious... the Inwood farmer's market is full of great produce and smiling faces. This past Saturday we purchased a local blush wine from the friendly couple that owns the winery and were very impressed.
Some other activites we hope to check out soon include...
Sunday garden tours at Ft. Tyron Park
Triva night at Coogan's bar
Kayaking on the Hudson River
http://www.washington-heights.us/calendar/
That's all for now; more to come on Inwood adventures, plus the life of an MTC intern!
