The New York Trip

Happy almost-Thanksgiving, everyone! Brad and I aren’t traveling this year, because a) Brad is working The Stuffing tonight, and b) we just got back from New York on Sunday night.

We had SO much fun staying in Brooklyn. The apartment we rented was right across from Fort Greene Park, which is very pretty and full of dogs and white birches.

The neighborhood of Fort Greene is pretty great, too. We stayed right on the border by Downtown Brooklyn, so at first, we were like, “This is the charming little hood that we keep hearing about?” Then we walked a bit further east and got the attraction. Adorable.

Our first day there, we walked from Fort Greene to Prospect Heights to Park Slope, saw Prospect Park briefly and got sushi at a place called Yamato. We both ordered a lunch special that included two sets of eight-piece rolls, soup and salad for $10. We literally could not stop talking about it. Who says New York is expensive?! OK, I’m kidding, but seriously, there are deals to be had.

Other highlights included amazing Italian meals at Broccolino (ORDER THE BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD), visiting friends in Carroll Gardens and Greenpoint, lattes in Park Slope, dinners in Cobble Hill and Bushwick, a show in Gowanus and a visit to the Winter Flea in Crown Heights, during which I ate a magical burger with a bun made of ramen noodles.

We packed in a lot. I haven’t walked so much since … well, I’m actually not sure. My legs have felt like rubber since we got back. Despite the exhaustion, though, it was just really refreshing to see old friends and feel the cold on our faces.

The point of our trip, I guess, was to answer the question, “Could we live here?” And generally speaking, the answer is yes. Getting around is fine – I wouldn’t say I’m a huge subway fan, but I’m not a huge driving fan, either, and at least you can ride the subway drunk. (Priorities.) The prices are frightening, but we could adjust. The cold is frigging fantastic. I was a little worried about feeling trapped without a car, but obviously, that was a silly concern, considering how much is available on every block.

Still, though, I worry about the apartment situation. What we learned is that we don’t really want to live in an up-and-coming/was-dangerous-a-couple-years-ago-but-isn’t-so-bad-now neighborhood. We walked around a couple, and our suburban sensibilities just weren’t prepared. Baby steps, people. So, that’s fine – there are tons of quieter, safer neighborhoods – but unless we want to commute for 45 minutes, that probably means sacrificing space, which is terrifying. Our house has three bedrooms and eight closets. And they’re all FULL. Adjustments will have to be made. I think it’s probably worth it, though, just for the $10 sushi specials alone. And the bagels.

So, that’s the trip recap. Now, Thanksgiving time. This year, I’m thankful for options. If I find an amazing job in New York, we can get up and go, and that alone is something to appreciate, I think.