P90X Workout
Yay or nay?
July292009
July92009
My First SLR Picture: Oatmeal. Sets the tone for my exciting new hobby.
July62009
Blast from the Past: I remember reading this book when I was in Kindergarten - I was so jealous of the kid… Haha, is it messed up if I keep watching 1:33 over and over again?
July52009
Jumping On The Bandwagon - Inspired by the July 4th weekend with the MAF in Brambleton, VA, I finally took the leap and bought a “Nikon D40 6.1MP Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens”. Hmm… whatever that means. ETA: July 9th!
July12009
First Post: It's Moving Time! (Again)
So nearly one year of living in Kew Gardens Hills in Queens, NY, we’ve decided that its time to move on and get closer to the city. Don’t get me wrong - I loved the close proximity to the dirt cheap (but incredibly amazing) Asian food in Flushing and the short, 15 minute drive to my mom’s house in Long Island, but for the money we’re paying for our current apartment, I think that we can do better. Everything is fair game. Astoria. Long Island City. Lower/Upper East Side. Lower/Upper West Side. Murray Hill. Chelsea. Bring it on - but hopefully not too expensive! I am more than confident that we can steal a 2 or 3 BR for under $1,000 each. Apparently, however, from what real estates agents have been telling me - its too soon to start looking. But with only a few weeks until our current lease expires, it’s never too early to get the ball rolling. Here’s what we’ve checked out so far… Long Island City, Queens Two weeks ago, we checked out a place in LIC called the “Fusion Condominiums” (http://fusionlic.com/), right near the Queensborough Bridge and literally 2 blocks away from the E/V Subway Line. When we first walked into the place, it was seemed incredible - all modern appliances (which we probably would never use) and a 4200 square foot roof deck that would’ve been perfect for hosting parties. And it was right in our price range! The catch? They converted a 2BR into a 3BR and basically eliminated the entire living room. No thanks. While we were in the area, we also looked at some other apartments including the Arris building (http://www.arrislofts.com/), where we were greeted by two bellhops and a massive lobby with a waterfall as the center piece. When we told the real estate agent our price range, he laughed at us and we walked out with our heads hung low, feeling poor and unwanted. Our final stop was a Packard Square (http://packardsquare.com/) penthouse. This was probably the best offer for our money - the complex was loaded with amenities, it was near several Subways, had a great view of the Queensborough, and it was the freakin’ penthouse. In the end, we decided even that was way too much to pay for an apartment in Queens. + LIC has a ton of luxury buildings with sick views and lots of amenities + Convenience to Subways and so close to the Bridge that we could walk to Midtown on foot! + Some parking - Way overpriced for Queens living - for that much, might as well live in the city! - B.I.D. - Big Industrial Dump - Small space - I hate convertible 2 beds! Financial District, NYC If you’re doing any kind of apartment hunting in Manhattan like I’m currently doing now, you’ll probably notice a billion different listings for luxury apartments all over the downtown area (and more specifically, the Financial District). When the economy plummetted, so did the prices in this area. While the pictures look incredible - it seems like each building has its own sweet gym and a rooftop deck with a crazy view - most of these bedrooms were converted from 2’s into 3’s and there is very little space to do much of anything other than sleep and eat in a cramped environment. Although there were a couple of rooms we were able to look at that were right within our price range, we are definitely leaning towards a different section of NYC. + AWESOME area - close to all the Subway lines and near Southstreet Seaport + Nearly every complex was a luxury building and had amenities including roof decks, full gyms, pool tables, wi-fi and pretty girls! =) + Drastic price drop from last year - Tiny spaces - both bedrooms and common areas - Probably too many tourists to handle - I know its NYC, but that would probably get annoying sooner or later - I still hate converted apartments Stuyvesant Town, Lower East Side After taking a peek at the luxurious Financial District, we arrived at… Stuy Town. Although the buildings were nothing in comparison and the project-like buildings has been with a lot of criticism (see http://stuytownluxliving.com/), the complexes were actually more like our style. Our first reaction was, “damn, is this really the city?” There were actually grassy areas and a lot for free parking - almost unheard of in this part of the city. We got that nice, community/college dorm feel walking around - there were a ton of amenities, including fields for having a catch or throwing around a football, a hockey rink, basketball courts, a movie theater, and even a lounge area with a bar. The rooms were just okay - pretty small, in fact (especially if converted), but I think that the location and everything else probably makes up for it. And now the turnoff: on Craigslist, real estate agents were advertising these buildings for about $800 a person, $1600ish total for a 2 bed. Imagine the shocker when they offered us the place for a whopping $2800. Um, pass. + Great location - walking distance to all those crazy downtown bars + A parking lot + Community atmosphere - college throwback! - Way too much money for an apartment the size of a walk-in closet - The apartments get cheaper as you move further from the leasing office… walking through half of Stuy Town took us about 10 minutes! Imagine trying to brave that cold on a nasty winter morning The search continues! Any feedback would be amazing.
Page 1 of 1
