It’s hard to believe that 6 months ago I packed up my life in boxes, boarded a plane in Auckland, New Zealand and headed off to start my new life in New York City. I was nearly 6 months pregnant, living in Manhattan, sending my husband off to work in SoHo everyday, missing family and friends far away in New Zealand, adjusting to being closer to family and friends in Canada (but still 11 hours away by train!), and adjusting to life as a stay-at-home mom (again!) with a 4 year old monkey.
So much has happened in such a short amount of time. From our family growing from 3 to 4, moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and trying to establish my new normal. The last 6 months have been some of the most memorable months of my life, in part because I brought my daughter into this world in November and in part because of where we are now calling home – New York.
It is not all been a bed of roses, by far. Their are some things that I definitely do not like (yes, I’m giving the side eye to you grumpy MTA bus driver. Most of you are super nice, but when you’re mean, boy you are mean).
So without further ado, to celebrate 6 months in the Big Apple, here are some of the ways I love you New York.
- Awesomely priced fresh fruit and vegetables literally every 2 minutes, and at almost every street corner
- The Brooklyn Children’s Museum is uber fun, not just for kids and is a great space to let kids just be kids
- You can put your name down for free tickets to live tapings of so many shows
- You can take a free ferry to IKEA from Manhattan to Brooklyn and back
- You can see dinosaur remains at the Museum of Natural History and then pinic in Central Park
- Home of the country’s largest all female Half Marathon (which I am running in 2012!)
- Shopping and drinking coffee from within a container has never been cooler
- Curb Alerts have to be the most organised way of offloading your crap. Leave a message in your neighborhood YahooGroup with a description of the item and the time you will throw it to the curb. Within 5 minutes of tossing it, it will be gone
- Great tasting coffee for $2 at the local food truck or the bodega
- You can hear many languages in just one block. My son’s soon to be school boasts students that speak a total of 24 languages
- Because winter is not as cold as winter in Montreal where I was born
- Because the humidity in August makes you just stop and do nothing
- Because the author of this book lives in Brooklyn #HowToBeBlack
- Because Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store sells something for every occasion
- That you can jump on Twitter and find out where TV show and movie filming is happening around the city. And that there is a need for that service is aaah- some!!!
- The subway is always entertaining
- I can walk 10 minutes and get a traditional Guyanese Roti, a couple subway stops away and I could probably get a Bajan one too
- I can easily get young coconuts, perfect for smoothies
- Being able to take the train to my parent’s in Montreal – the whole family for less than $200
- Watching men playing dominoes on the sidewalk in February
- Being able to eat the best chocolate in the world within 3 days of arriving
- Where else can you get caught out losing your nut in front of Sigourney Weaver as your toddler has a full out tantrum at her feet but on Madison Ave
- Because when I sneak out of the house looking like a hot mess, someone else will always look crazier than me
- Because streets like Amsterdam Ave and Broadway on the Upper West Side and 7th Ave in Park Slope make it easy to still feel cool with kiddies in tow
- Watching the Christmas windows at Macys alone can be a day trip
- Because not only do we do great street meat in New York, but we also have fantastic street cupcakes, so much so New York Street Food has its own website
- Times Square is always exciting
- Because within 5 minutes of my house I can find Desi rice dishes, Thai curries, Japanese sushi, Russian blinis and Polish perogis
- $1 slice of pizza longer than my arm and sooooo great tasting
- Urban living while still being able to walk to the Brooklyn Zoo from my house
- Central Park, Prospect Park and all the playgrounds in between
- Stumbling across Spike Lee signing autographs and selling his old skool swag is just a regular Sunday
- Linsanity. Nuff said
- By September 2012, not only will I have the Knicks to cheer on, but the Nets will be in my backyard too
- I know the Brooklyn Car Service is just a cab service, but when the long black Lincoln pulls up, I feel like a diplomat
- Where else can you see the Queen Bee of living Martha Stewart tape her live show
- I have a love-hate relationship with the Subway. Overall, I love it. I only wish more lines operated on the weekend (bangle pin)
- New York subway artists equal Awsome Sauce. I love the sounds of a mariachi band when riding the subway and then arriving at my destination to hear the sounds of a steel pan band
- Subway art is beyond cool (metro card bench)
- Home of the seriously good Crack Pie, addictive yummy goodness
I’d love to hear what you love about New York in the comments. If you can’t think of anything nice to say about the city, keep it to yourself 🙂 If you’ve never been here, what makes the city you live in special?
Check out my Best of the Big Apple board on Pinterest and my board for Black and White Brooklyn.
Source: mooiezinnetjes.hyves.nl via Ghada on Pinterest
So interesting how you moved to NY from NZ! What a change!
It has been a nice change. I’ve always loved New York, so when the offer came up we had to grab it!
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Welcome to NY! What a distance to travel and pregnant! My emotions would have been in overdrive I would be crying about leaving home. You must be a strong woman!
Gladys P
Aw thanks! I don’t know if I am strong or stupid! LOL I would have never wanted to give birth here in NY if she was my first. Hubby and I felt pretty confident that we could handle it sent first birth went smoothly. I did have a mini breakdown though when I could not find a doctor, midwife, anyone at all to take care of me when we arrived.
We do not get to go to the city as much as we would like, but my all time favorite thing about New York is the street vendors. Oh man you can get some awesome food really cheap!!! It is always large portions and yummy. There is a greek gyro guy in times square that we ate at every meal the last time we were there!!! Sooooooooo good!!!
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Street vendors seem to be getting classier and classier, or at least more selection. Yep, you gotta watch out for those big portions 🙂
One day one day
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Love the manicure! Hopping over from Stumbling Silly.
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This sounds so wonderful. Someday I hope to visit as my daughter was able too. I Love my city as I am in Fort Worth, Texas and there is just so much to do here you should come and visit sometime.
Hmm give it time LOL. I’ve been here all of my life. I live in Westchester but I used to live in NYC and I work in NYC. I hate how dirty it is and I really dislike how crowded transportation is.
I’ll never get over those two things. If I could stay in westchester always and just drive places I’d be happy.
Back to reality.
Sooo are you going to BlogHer or what? Babysitting available!
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Hey Michelle, I’ve lived in many cities around the world and I know the shine always wears off. I guess its human nature to always think the grass is greener on the other side (or in another city!)
I remember, how dirty NYC used to be 10 years ago, so I choose to see how much its improved 🙂
Yep, I’ll be at BlogHer…see you there!
I’m a country girl, Upstate born and raised, and can’t stand the City, but this almost makes me want to take a day trip and check it out a little more closely. I’ve only ever ridden through on our way to Long Island to visit relatives, so I’ve never had an up-close-and-personal look at the core of the Big Apple.
Sounds like you’ve made the transition and are settling in. Good luck!
-Mary
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I have never been to NYC. I want to go see some shows off Broadway, though. Hey, my friend Diana Warner has a boutique in the Flat Iron District. Check it out. 🙂
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I’ve never been to NYC and could never live there, but I do hope to visit someday! I enjoyed reading your list.
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I myself love new york..i love to see the vendors outside everywhere we go you see one..i love that it’s a busy city..I love all the lights at night during the hoildays.and i love their stores..