NYC Day 4 - On Our Own

Today was Nathan's first day of orientation, so I'm left with the girls to look for places.  

Needless to say, it's a bit of a reality check for me.

At first, I didn't want to leave the house.  But, as the day waxed, I gathered up my courage and went out.  I had three appointments lined up to see places in Bushwick and Bed-Stuy, so I packed up the bags and off we went!

I didn't use the stroller today, just the baby carrier and the backpack, and it was a little toasty, so I packed water.

Olivia said that I was like Mary Poppins, because I fit two water bottles in the side pocket of my bag:

 

We took the L train to the Aberdeen stop, and walked down Broadway.  We saw lots of construction - many old buildings being gutted and remodeled.  Hooray for urban renewal, but boo, because the people who live there can't afford the new stuff.

Still, we decided we wouldn't mind living in this blue building:

and we passed a little community garden:

The first broker was running late, so we decided to miss it and get to our next appointment.  However, the guy, Ed, called and said he could give us a ride to the next place, so we changed our minds and waited for him.

While we were waiting, we saw the power of patient growth:

 

The first apartment was listed for $1850 and was nicely done, but reeked of polyurethane and paint - they were still working on the building.  Also, there was no oven, and only two burners on the counter.

Mama needs a proper stove.

Our broker then showed us another apartment, listed for $1725.  It was a railroad-style, which meant you walked through one bedroom to get to the other one, and had two doors. But it had no closets whatsoever in any of the rooms, and no real living space.  Plus, the bathroom was so small that the door hit the toilet on the way in, and the little shower stall couldn't fit a mama trying to clean a baby.

Our broker drove us to our last appointment, and said he'd keep an eye out for us.

The third place, which was through a private listing, was very nice and spacious.  It was the first floor of a private brownstone row home, but it was very dark.  And the lady indicated that all five of us in the apartment would result in too much noise. She lived above and had a tenant in the basement.  Which gave me a good out, since I didn't like the place very much.  I don't want to be on tenterhooks every time someone makes noise.

By this time, we were sweating, so we stopped in at a little Cafecita on our way to the train station.  Eleanor and Olivia shared a juice:

And Elsie shared with me:

Eleanor was happy to run around inside for a while.

We caught the train back to the house and cooled off.  Nathan won't be home until late, so we will have dinner and go to bed.

Tomorrow is a new day!