Expanding my Definition of The City

We're back!  In NYC that is.  Back in our NYC apartment.  And why is this blog worthy?  Because this is our last real weekend in Manhattan.  We are moving to Brooklyn at the end of the month, and between now and then we will be gone on vacation.  So this is it.

We love our apartment, but it's an overpriced rental and we cannot take it anymore.  It's time to build equity.  But we will remember this apartment very fondly.  It's big by NY standards - about 1200 sq ft, open plan loft.  High ceilings.  Big windows.  Great neighborhood (East Village).  It has cool features like the elevator opening directly into the apartment.  There are downsides - we have no bedroom, no closets and two of the windows don't open, but no matter, it's all about location and SPACE. 

But we are just about done with sacrificing things like bedrooms, so we are moving to Brooklyn.  We are crossing the mental bridge/East River hurdle.  This is a big step.  We have each lived in Manhattan for nearly 13 years.  I know it like the back of my hand.  I know what is around most corners.   I have a feel for which streets are good and which are icky.  I know which blocks look terrible but are full of hidden gems.  I fell in love with NYC when I was five, and even then NYC for me meant, Manhattan.  It's so awful, but we are those terrible Manhattan-centric people that say things like "we live in The City" assuming everyone will know that means Manhattan.  I had an I Love NY t-shirt when I was in sixth or seventh grade, and I think I wore it at least once a week.  And it really to me meant, I Love Manhattan.

Brooklyn is a different story.  I am a Manhattanite moving to an outer borough.  Brooklyn is not only big sky country (low buildings) but the land of mystery.  I don't know where to get milk, where the paper arrives the earliest, where to get a nail, where to grab brunch, where to run out late night for band-aids or pizza.  I may as well be moving to Idaho.  But there are upsides - there is a lot to learn.  It will be full of surprises.  For the first time in my NY existence, I/we will have outdoor space.  Outdoor space in NYC?  GOD SEND.  We will do things like grill.  It will be so...suburban.  Brooklyn is a huge place full of culture and history, good restaurants, boutiques and things like "neighbors".  Time to expand how I define "The City".

Time to embrace 718, I suppose.  Though, before we start packing, before we turn our apartment into an about to move mess, we will enjoy it for one last weekend.  Our apartment, our life, in The City.

Comments

[Mark Baillie]

Rest at ease, the East River estuary is not that wide, nor are the cultural differences that great. Coming from a fellow member of the Manhattan diaspora, Brooklyn is the best lifestyle improvement my wife and I have made since getting Tivo!

Pizza - better.
Prices - better.
Driving time to LGA and JFK - better.

[tismoi]

Thanks for the reassurance! We are excited...just have to stop defining myself as a Manhattanite. I am sure that will be very easy as I sit in the comfort of my larger apartment, that we can afford, thinking about what to throw on the grill in our backyard.