Today was a hot mess.
And I mean that in the truest sense of the term.
Nathan was home and had no Juilliard obligations, so we decided to check out a few areas in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is just south of where we are currently staying (Bushwick). Bushwick is becoming gentrified, as the artists slowly take over, and Bed-Stuy is the next area in development. So a lot of it is pricey, but there are a few places we saw that we could afford.
It was another hot day, but there was rain in the forecast, so we took two umbrellas with us, as we weren't sure how our day would go. We were met outside by an oppressive humidity - the heat index was over 100 degrees.
Out first appointment was at 12:30. We got to the neighborhood around noon (we took the L to the J to the J again (it was running express and passed our stop)), and walked a few blocks south. We found the house and decided to look around for a park - there was one only a block away, and so the girls played there in the water while Nathan and I sat in the shade on the bench and discussed the area.
The apartment was listed for $1850, and the photos online showed nice modern finishes. We had recently reduced our budget from $1850 to $1650, because we had forgotten to figure in utilities, and $1850 plus utilities would bring us to about $2000 a month. But what if we liked this place? We went back and forth, and I remembered that there was an apartment around the corner with newer updates as well listed for $1600. We decided to go ahead and see the place anyway, just to see.
We walked over at 12:30 and the door was ajar. I sent a text to the broker (who had listed it as no-fee), and got no response, so we went inside. Several workers were busy painting and repairing the apartments, and told us to come and see them. So we peeked inside. Aside from the modern grey paint color, nothing was really new about the places, and the kitchen in the photo on craigslist didn't exist.
Nathan chatted with the workers, and got the low-down, saying that the company was okay, the broker was actually a fee broker, and that the apartments weren't worth more than $1400.
We hadn't heard from the broker yet, so we just left. He texted later saying he was stuck in traffic, and had asked the super of the building to show us the places. We said no, thanks.
We waited in the hot sun for a while at the bus stop, grabbed some lunch from a local cafe, and then realized we were at the wrong bus stop. We walked down to the shade and ate, and then caught the correct bus to the next place.
We didn't have an appointment, but wanted to see the area while we were close. It looked a little desolate, which was of course amplified by the midday heat, and there were no parks nearby.
I have learned quickly that a good park is a precious thing in the concrete labyrinth that is New York.
We caught the C train here, and transferred to the L train, and got off at our stop. It was baking hot, but we ducked into the local grocery to pick up a few things for lunch.
It never rained.
We spent the rest of the day in the relative cool of the apartment, hemming and hawing about our next step. We liked the first neighborhood we had seen, but the price was too high for a place we didn't like. Also, I still felt a connection with Inwood, in northern Manhattan. I think it was the trees.
We decided to go up to Inwood the next day and check out places together. If we couldn't find anything there, then we would just let it go.
Tomorrow is another day.
And I mean that in the truest sense of the term.
Nathan was home and had no Juilliard obligations, so we decided to check out a few areas in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn, which is just south of where we are currently staying (Bushwick). Bushwick is becoming gentrified, as the artists slowly take over, and Bed-Stuy is the next area in development. So a lot of it is pricey, but there are a few places we saw that we could afford.
It was another hot day, but there was rain in the forecast, so we took two umbrellas with us, as we weren't sure how our day would go. We were met outside by an oppressive humidity - the heat index was over 100 degrees.
Out first appointment was at 12:30. We got to the neighborhood around noon (we took the L to the J to the J again (it was running express and passed our stop)), and walked a few blocks south. We found the house and decided to look around for a park - there was one only a block away, and so the girls played there in the water while Nathan and I sat in the shade on the bench and discussed the area.
The apartment was listed for $1850, and the photos online showed nice modern finishes. We had recently reduced our budget from $1850 to $1650, because we had forgotten to figure in utilities, and $1850 plus utilities would bring us to about $2000 a month. But what if we liked this place? We went back and forth, and I remembered that there was an apartment around the corner with newer updates as well listed for $1600. We decided to go ahead and see the place anyway, just to see.
We walked over at 12:30 and the door was ajar. I sent a text to the broker (who had listed it as no-fee), and got no response, so we went inside. Several workers were busy painting and repairing the apartments, and told us to come and see them. So we peeked inside. Aside from the modern grey paint color, nothing was really new about the places, and the kitchen in the photo on craigslist didn't exist.
Nathan chatted with the workers, and got the low-down, saying that the company was okay, the broker was actually a fee broker, and that the apartments weren't worth more than $1400.
We hadn't heard from the broker yet, so we just left. He texted later saying he was stuck in traffic, and had asked the super of the building to show us the places. We said no, thanks.
We waited in the hot sun for a while at the bus stop, grabbed some lunch from a local cafe, and then realized we were at the wrong bus stop. We walked down to the shade and ate, and then caught the correct bus to the next place.
We didn't have an appointment, but wanted to see the area while we were close. It looked a little desolate, which was of course amplified by the midday heat, and there were no parks nearby.
I have learned quickly that a good park is a precious thing in the concrete labyrinth that is New York.
We caught the C train here, and transferred to the L train, and got off at our stop. It was baking hot, but we ducked into the local grocery to pick up a few things for lunch.
It never rained.
We spent the rest of the day in the relative cool of the apartment, hemming and hawing about our next step. We liked the first neighborhood we had seen, but the price was too high for a place we didn't like. Also, I still felt a connection with Inwood, in northern Manhattan. I think it was the trees.
We decided to go up to Inwood the next day and check out places together. If we couldn't find anything there, then we would just let it go.
Tomorrow is another day.
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