Home Sweet Home
Posted by Emily | Filed under Uncategorized
Last weekend Matt and I put a stop to hotel and sublet hopping and decided it was time to hunker down and find a new apartment. And we did! Goodbye Elizabeth Street and the East Village, hello West Village! Finding a new apartment in New York and then moving into it can be really tough and stressful. But, once you are settled, it quickly becomes a fresh start full of infinite possibilities. So I am using this time to appreciate all that our awesome new home has to offer.
For one, there is tons of light! Every morning I’ve been waking up to the sun pouring into our bedroom! I love it! [And I'm not the only one, one of our bamboo plants has grown three inches in one week!] We are also lucky to have a brand new kitchen. Since we just received so many amazing new kitchen appliances as wedding gifts, and we now have a huge space to cook, we no longer have any excuses not to cook more regularly! And starting next week, we will be getting fresh, organic fruits and vegetables delivered right to our door using a service called Urban Organic. I can’t wait! The apartment also has beautiful hardwood floors, molding, and fixtures, along with lots of storage space to tuck away all of our random things.
Directly below our apartment there are a gazillion restaurants and cafes with outside seating! (It is amazing to be able to walk by these restaurants and watch couples, friends and families enjoying the food and beautiful weather together!)
We are also a stone’s throw from the Hudson River Park, which has a great running area along the river. We’ve been waking up early most mornings to run and walk along the path. [It is inspiring to see so many people out there every day running, roller-blading, biking and walking their dogs!] We also discovered the High Line which is a park converted from a railroad raised 30 feet in the air that held freight trains, that stretches north from the West Village all the way up to Chelsea. It is such a beautiful place to walk through, or take your lunch and enjoy the views, sun bathe, meet up with friends or just appreciate the really cool design aspects of it. If you live in NY and you haven’t been there yet, go now while the weather is nice!
I could go on and on, but fear that this will start to sound like an advertisement!
After navigating through the stress of dealing with apartment listings, brokers, insurance companies, management companies, and more, moving becomes can be really exciting, it is like being plopped into a new world that is waiting for you to explore it. Although I have lived in NYC for eight years, the West Village is still a mystery to me. There are so many parks, restaurants, stores and streets I have never seen! It is a new journey, a new adventure leaving me to wonder about all the fantastic new experiences that are bound to happen in my life this year.
Our living situations are a central part in our health. Ask yourself: How comfortable are you in your space? Do you have good relationships with your roommates? Do you have enough room to enjoy cooking? Is it too loud or polluted outside? Are there too many rodents (teehee NYC)? Is it clean? Does clutter drive you crazy? Are you able to get work done? Do you sleep well? When you get home from work/school do you actually want to be there? Do you like/feel safe in your neighborhood?
These questions are important to consider when determining your overall health and happiness day in and day out. For example, you may realize you have been feeling crummy because you are not able to sleep comfortably. Or, every time you come home from a day’s work you find your roommates having a party, playing with your stuff, or eating your food. Small situations like that can build up into a big ball of stress that will inevitably take a toll on you over time.
It can be difficult, but trust me, find a place where you feel safe and happy in your own space! It can be incredibly scary to make such big changes like moving, but in the end, if you are not happy where you are living your overall health and happiness will suffer.
And FYI, if you are thinking about moving but don’t have anyone to live with, definitely use Craigslist. Everyone I have met through the site has been awesome! It is also worth mentioning that, often, it can be easier to live with complete strangers than living with your friends. I have so many great relationships in my life now from moving in with people I had never known prior to living with them.
What does “home” mean to you? Think about where you live and what would help to improve your happiness in your own space. For example, my last home on Elizabeth Street was right next door to a bakery and I loved falling asleep to the smell of bread baking through the night.
What is special about your home? If you could live anywhere, where would it be? What do you want in your home? A bigger space, big windows, new appliances or is it all about location? Maybe you want to leave the state? Or move across the country! Out of the country? Live a little bit! Take the plunge! Leap outside of your comfort zone.
Our new apartment is much more expensive than our last one, but this just means that I will push myself even harder to get my new website up and rockin’ and to make a killing with my new book! There are always sacrifices to be made, but in the end, it is completely worth it!
As the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is!”
Xoxo
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