The first week
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We actually do everything we do back at home.  I don't focus on housework.  I do work all day on manuscripts, proposals, a little research.  My husband has been a dick about letting me working at his work.

We checked out a local playground on Saturday: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/corporal-john-a-seravalli-playground
and had brunch at http://www.thedinernyc.com/.  Both were nice.

Sunday, we went to the American Natural History Museum.. yay for free corporate discounts!

We also had checked out the Union Square playground the week before.  Oh, and this past Thursday, we went to the Highline.  Very nice walk but tiring for our older son.

West Side Market is so close that we do most shopping there.   Gotta make it back to Trader Joe's.  Awesome that everything is so close.

pusteblumenyc.org had a summer camp that the kids LOVED.  
But now they're on to Bright Horizons Tribeca BACKUP CARE which my oldest HATES.
Telling him there's four days left... then no more.

My youngest likes it... which is good because he's there until Bright Horizons Chelsea opens up I guess.

No waiting -------------------------------------------------

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So, it's definitely a culture shock coming here.  I almost think that this sweet experience is lost on us since we have kids, stressed about our jobs, and have little enjoyment.

One funny thing that happened is the wait times.

We got delivery food the other day, and the order was 10 minutes late.  The company kept profusely apologizing, and the guy wouldn't accept his tip.  I was like "wow".  In Philly.. if it was 10 minutes late, the delivery guy would demand his tip for being early.  :O

And we were in Bed, Bath, and Beyond, buying an air conditioner, which they didn't have the price for.  This ended up backing up the line.  People started freaking out:  "None of these lines are moving!"

The lines at Trader Joe's, Whole foods, etc. are amazing... you wait in line and get doled out to tons of cashiers.  There is usually a person hired just to keep the line orderly, like at a TSA line in an airport.

New Yorkers are serious about time.  I guess I had heard that... but it is a culture shock to see it.

When did we move?  Depends on whom I'm talking to....

So, the last you knew, our move-in date was July 15th, but because our lease said July 1st, we got our son G&T tested and registered for his new school.  Well, by July 15th, the landlord was saying that she STILL couldn't get the dishwasher in, which we had conditioned upon our move.  So, I believe we fumbled to August 1st move-in date, and then, when the week before she was still waffling and started talking September 1st!!!  Well, that made us decide when was the latest that WE wanted to move.  And that's 2 weeks before school starts.  We wanted to start the process on August 20th and told the landlord that.

OK.. so this may sound like a huge inconvenience, but actually, we actually saved like $6000 in rent.  Yeah, we didn't get to live there, but technically there are two factors in our move:

1) My son's start of elementary

2) saving my husband commute time

And the second is only temporary anyway.  So, really, we just wanted July 1st to get the school process started, and we were able to do all that with the lease but didn't have to pay the rent!  So, this is somehow the luckiest and most perfect situation.

Let's hope this move stays that way.

So we moved this past Thursday....

The luck of the apartment search -- our timing for the school process

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OK -- so, why did we aim for this apartment that had a July 1st start date?  The NYC school process!  I believe in trying to give my child the best start as possible.  Our oldest is 5, will be 6 in September -- so, in the state we're moving from, he will be going into Kindergarten due to Sept. 1 cut-off.  In NYC, the cut-off is Dec. 31st, so he should be going in 1st grade there.

You would think, skipping a grade would be enough -- but I notice that there is summer gifted and talented (G&T) testing.  We just need to apply by June 19th.  We barely managed to secure our lease for July 1st by the 18th, after getting the process started in early June.  They say they will accept it because your child has to be a resident by July 1st to take the G&T exam.  I have my husband go to the office and submit the form right on June 19th, the last day to apply.

Whew!  Then testing is on July 6th.  And as you know, the landlord had delayed our move-in to July 15th, so we're still out of the city for that, but that's our little secret (NYC doesn't have to know).  I book a hotel the night before and we enjoy a nice day in the city on Sunday.

I underestimate not having breakfast at the hotel -- husband is super-cranky and we're running behind schedule that morning... we have to get to the testing site by 10 AM.  We get there after nixing one of the places we wanted to go that morning.  I made sure my son had protein and was ready-to-go!

Will he pass the 1st grade G&T, given he did not attend a kindergarten?  We at least tried.  All this work and money just to give him opportunities.

That day, I also stop by PS340 and sign him up for our zoned school.  Everything's set and we're not really living there yet because the landlord cannot get her act together and get the renovations done!!!  Is this normal for NYC?

It felt so good to have all the school stuff done (made the G&T test and registered at local school) and not have to move yet.

Third Time is a charm! or is it?
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Ok... so browsing StreetEasy, my apt. site of choice (it is really good), I find a "2 bedroom".  I put "2 bedroom" because any two bedroom in our price range is usually a one bedroom that is convertible to 2.  This one is a true 2-bedroom -- advertised as 760 sq. ft. on the site but is really 643 sq. ft. on the deed, but who's counting?  It's listed as $4300+fee, which of course is $1K/month more than our original rejection.

I send the hubby there to check it out.  He likes it... which I dunno if this is good cuz he always likes the first one he sees.  I basically told the broker we liked it but will get back to her later because we were moving on our second choice.  So, of course our second choice fell through.  So, I call her up again, and somehow this place is still available a month later (she claims because tons of college kids with bad credit are stringing her along).  I see it -- it looks a little less stellar than the others, but it has a lot of light.  We will need to put in AC units, kitchen is same from the 90s... ah what the F --  we take it -- on one condition -- they put in a dishwasher.  Also, she comes down to $4200+fee per month.

No prob, the broker says.  They are doing renovations anyway.  So, they say they can't get the renovations done by July 1.  They say we can move in July 15th, even though our lease says July 1.  Today, I called again --  they still don't have approval from management.  What?!!

The broker is a trip.  Constantly saying she wants to marry each of us because we make steady incomes.  She's so used to giving excuses that she just yabbers.  Tells me her bathroom isn't working.  TMI and stuff I don't care about it.  Should probably save another post about her.

Rejected: Apt Hunting

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Unfortunately,  I have probably missed the most fun parts of our move to NYC, but I will start a blog now because we're not moved there yet.

We're from Philadelphia, and we're moving for a year to NYC.  And not just anywhere in NYC but lower Manhattan.  This made it so we got rejected from our first 2 apartments.

We had heard that the apartment search would not be easy, and it wasn't.  We are specifically looking in the PS340 zone.  Why?  It is close to my husband's work, and I had this idea that since it's new, it would be easier to get into than PS41.  Our broker:  "Oh, you definitely want this apartment, PS41 is nearby, and there are many artists who send their kids there."  OK -- but umm, broker, this apartment is zoned for PS340, so good to know that you have no idea what you're talking about.  But I'll save the broker post for another time (since we're still dealing with her).  Just a hint on the experience -- watch Broad City's Apartment Hunters.

Place #1 on Fifth Avenue, a 1 bed/1 bath ($3850 but no fee):  My husband was excited that it was 5th avenue.  They had 2 apartments free for our way advance timeframe -- which was mid-July to August, and we were looking in early June!!!!  First apartment was spatious but kind of dark.  Second -- when we got to the apartment, there was smoke practically billowing out the neighbor's.  So, I didn't even go in the second.  The super's wife, who was showing us the apartments, was super-nice.  She disclosed she had two kids (a little older than ours) herself and how she fit the family in this 750 sq. ft. apartment.  So, I thought -- "this is perfect… she has kids and understands."  We wanted the first apartment we saw.  This was a no-fee apartment that had a leasing office.  I called the office, and they were like "well, we're only 15 minutes away.. why don't you come here."  Went down there  (took 40 minutes since it's upper-east side and the apartment is lower manhattan), plunked down $200 for the credit-check/application.  I was too honest with disclosing we had kids.  She got back to me "No-go" because we have two kids.  I wanted to say "ok.. but your super does too."  But hey, I'm not a snitch, plus I doubt they care.  To get our app fees back, I had to go back to their office.. which took like a month for me to get back there from Philly.

Place #2 The Victoria ($3700+fee): So, it had a broker which meant it was effectively $4250/month, but hey, it had AC and everything.  There was an extra bathroom in the laundry room, etc.  (which is important should one of the three potty-trained people of the household need an extra bathroom).  We were sold.  The guy took $120 for credit checks (which we never got back).  We took a bucket load of money for the signing since it's a Co-op.  Then after we sign everything, the landlady sets up a phone interview.  It comes out that we're just moving for a year.  She freaks out, and the deal is off, even with the lazy broker trying to convince her to accept us.  The lesson is "don't be honest", but I didn't feel like not being honest.

We are now accepted to a third place, which I will detail later.