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.