Brooklyn Bound

It’s hard to believe I will have been in the city one month tomorrow. As of this weekend, I’m officially living in Brooklyn. I mentioned this in an earlier post, but I’ve been living at a place called the Webster since I’ve been here. However, now I am subleasing a room in a cute little Brooklyn apartment from a friend-of-a-friend. There are pros and cons to both living situations, but I’m excited to live in a New York apartment. Let me start by telling you a little bit about the Webster….

• It's basically an all-girl dorm in the heart of the city. Sounds a little sketchy, but it's not so bad. There are actually a few of them dispersed throughout the city. The attraction? You pay reasonable rent (for Manhattan), pay your rent weekly (no lease - frees you up to move if you find your apartment), and your rent includes two meals a day. 
•  You get your own room with a sink, but have a communal bathroom. 
• It's the perfect place for interns, students, or single women just starting out in the city. However, there are older women there as well, some of them who have lived there for decades. A little weird. 
• It's SUPER old school. They don't use email. You have to call and request for them to mail you an application, and then you fill it out and mail it back. 
• In addition to having your meals cooked for you in the cafeteria downstairs, you also have a maid who comes and cleans your room everyday. 
• There's a BEAUTIFUL rooftop garden with a stunning view of the city. I've posted pictures taken from it in previous posts. 
• No AC in the rooms. You can pay $250 to get a window unit installed for the summer, but since I was only going to be there a month, I decided to stick it out. I opened my window most days, and I had a fan to keep the air circulating. There were only two nights when I was super hot at night. It's very rare for apartments up here have central air. The majority of apartment buildings have window units, but it's not unusual for a building not to have air at all. 
• They have "beau parlors" for you to entertain men, who aren't allowed past the first floor. I told you it was old school. However, these little parlors are adorable. Here's a picture of one:

Here's a picture of my little room:

It's not much, but it was fine for the time being.

One great thing about living at the Webster was the location. It's located on 34th, and for those of you who aren't familiar with NY, that's the street the Macy's parade is on. Macy's is a few avenues away. 

Here's a picture of my new room in Brooklyn:

I love it. My Brooklyn apartment also has several window units, which I'm very excited about. It's extremely different in Brooklyn, but I'm excited to get to know another borough of NYC. It's definitely more of a commute, but I think I will get used to it. 

Living in an apartment means I have to buy groceries now. Buying groceries in the city is much different than back home. You only buy as much as you can carry. Also, like everything else, groceries are much more expensive up here. Trader Joe's is probably the most reasonable place, and their prices are about the same as back home. I made my first trip there tonight and was completely overwhelmed. Right when I walked in door, I saw a guy holding a sign that said "line ends here." He was standing right by the entrance, and I quickly realized the line wrapped all the way around the store. After trying to weave in and out of people in line, I found out the best method was to get the stuff I needed from the center aisles, head to the back of the line, and then pick up items from the outer aisles as I walked by them while waiting in line. 

In other news, I got to celebrate 4th of July in the city this week! To be honest, I would have much  rather been down South, soaking up the rays at the lake with my family. It was fun to be in NYC, but I miss having bodies of water nearby. It's still pretty hot up here, and I don't love spending tons of time in the heat if I don't have relief from the heat in the form of a pool, beach or lake. 

I did get to watch the Macy's fireworks show. It was really neat to watch, but there were so many people. Here's a glimpse of the crowds. 

Between trips from Manhattan to Brooklyn this weekend, I made time to go to Chinatown and Little Italy. My friend and I ate at a wonderful restaurant in Little Italy. The best part? We ate supper super early, around 5, and we were still offered the lunch menu. The restaurant was so cute, and tuxedo-clad waiters came and scraped the crumbs off our table when we were done.

Bread from our Italian lunch. Does that just look delicious? It was so yummy.

I also went to church in Brooklyn this morning with my roommate, and the pastor of the church actually grew up in Greenville! I get so excited when I meet people from the South up here, much less from my hometown. It makes me feel like the city isn't so big after all. 

My family comes in on Thursday, and I couldn't be more excited! I'm sure I will have some stories to tell from their visit. 

Hope you all had a great weekend!