Hi friends, welcome back! I shared in my What’s Up post that May marked my five-year anniversary of living in NYC and I thought it was worthy of a separate post. Growing up in the suburbs of Michigan, NYC used to be the last place I ever pictured myself living, but now I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m fully adjusted to life in the Big Apple and I’ve embraced the chaos and fun of living in a big city. I used to post more frequent updates after I moved, but I somehow haven’t done one since my two-year NYC anniversary. The world has changed a lot since my last update in May 2020, but the things I love about NYC have mostly remained the same.
The most obvious way to begin my favorite parts of living in NYC is with all the abundance of delicious food, and being able to get anything we desire 24/7. Jon and I are lucky to get to try out all different kinds of restaurants, and we’ve been having a blast! I love trying out new places and exploring new neighborhoods. We also love the convenience of having anything we need delivered within an hour.
HI! This is Jon stepping in for a second. I have to agree with Lyssy and say that the abundance of great food is one of the things that really sets NYC apart compared to other places that we have lived. We feel like we have barely scratched the surface of all that the NYC dining scene has to offer, which is one of the reasons that we rarely visit the same restaurant twice. You can follow our culinary adventures here if you would like to try and keep up!
Another favorite part of living in NYC being able to enjoy the holiday season for longer than a weekend. Christmastime is so magical here, and I love that I have the luxury of seeing it as much as I want and can easily retreat home when the crowds drain me.
In my last update I said Governor’s Island was my favorite spot in the city, but I’m changing my answer to Central Park. Now that I’ve had time to experience all the seasons, it’s the clear choice. The park is such a luxury in the city, I just wish it was closer to me so I could walk through it every day.
I also love walking everywhere (unless it’s raining, 0 or 100 degrees). There’s always something new to see or a movie set to walk through, it’s an adventure every time I walk out my door. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to get places on the subway. I’m a bit directionally challenged, so getting off at a new stop can get me turned around until I can spot the skyscrapers as my reference points. People ask me for directions more than they should so I either look very friendly or like I know where I’m going.
One of the best things to happen since my last post is that we’ve made quite a few friends in the city! Even though there’s so many people in a big city, it’s hard making friends. I’ve met just about all of them through my food Instagram and events I go to. I’ve become a little social butterfly since the lockdown much to the dismay of my inner homebody.
One of my goals from my last update was to make our apartment feel like home, and I think we accomplished that. We love our apartment and it feels like the perfect amount of space for us. We moved in at the end of October, so I’m already looking forward to decorating it properly for Halloween.
Of course it’s not all sunshine and rainbows every day living in NYC (although sometimes it is). There are days when I’m drained, the subway says the next one is twenty minutes away, and then I finally get on and it says it’s making local stops or someone is playing a loud boombox. Those moments I really miss being able to drive everywhere. We also enjoy golfing and hiking, and it can be such a pain to get out of the city that we avoid the headache and fun activity. Lastly, July and August can be pretty brutal with the building trapping the heat, and the heat magnifying the unique city smells.
Our eventual plan is to live in the suburbs near NYC so we can have a house and a yard, but a relatively easy commute into the city. We look forward to a home so we can have a golden retriever, Traeger grill, pizza oven, and an attached garage. Our current lease is through April 2024, so it’s anyone’s guess whether we renew or migrate. Until then, we are going to make the most of living in NYC!
If your lease is only until April 2024 can I suggest that you start looking now. It’s key to find the areas you’d be prepared to move to and then narrow it down to the roads on which you’d love to live. I’m pretty sure you could concoct an amazing spreadsheet. I’d agree with your comment about Central Park – my fave spot too.
You are absolutely right! We are going to rent before buying a house so we know we like the area, but we need to start spending our weekends visiting towns. We have a few ideas based on where Jon’s coworkers live, but the housing market is pretty crazy here.
The housing market is always crazy!
Happy Big Appleversary Lyssy. You have certainly explored your city well. Thanks for sharing. Allan
Thank you! It’s been fun getting to know my city. I always wanted to blog, but never knew what to write about until I moved here. Now the options are endless.
I just saw a FB post with a view of Central Park from a helicopter. Really put it in perspective (literally) how big the park is relative to the surrounding city streets. Also, tell Jon I thoroughly enjoyed his “visit”, and I can tell he has your knack for writing. If I asked my wife to add a paragraph to one of my posts, she’d spend an hour stressing about what to say, another hour stressing to make the words sound just right, and then countless hours stressing about what readers thought. Needless to say, I write the thank-you notes in this household.
It really is huge! He said thank you. I agree that he is a great writer, he has to write a bit at work but that’s about business investments, so I think he had some freedom and fun with his guest appearance. I ask him occasionally to do a guest post, but he usually just says he will think about it. There are some days I can’t write to save my life, but others it’s just pouring out.
Enjoy! I used to love visiting NYC but know I could never live in any city; I’m definitely a country mouse that likes to enjoy big city living on rare occasions.
Thank you! It is nice to visit and be able to retreat to your peaceful home.
Love the pictures of Central Park in different seasons, it is a beautiful place! Thank you for sharing. I was there in June 2005 and I really want to visit again and bring my kids! 🙂
Thank you! Yes come visit and bring the kids, that would be so fun!
Your photos and post just make me want to be there now, Lyssy!
It is a great city! Hopefully you can make your road trip up here soon 🙂
I’m so pleased you have both embraced life in the Big Apple and living where you do, it must be marvellous to have everything on your doorstep Does your apartment block have an underground car park or do you just use public transport and hire a car when needed Lyssy?
It is great, the convenience can’t be beat! We bought my grandma’s car back in 2020 and we keep it in a garage about a ten minute walk away. We don’t use it as much as we should, but it’s nice knowing we have the freedom to just go whenever we want.
That’s a perfect combination Lyssy!
Aw I loved this update and hearing from Jon too. I can see why you love NYC so much, and also why at the same time sometimes it’s exhausting. After a 5 day visit, I really struggle with it and am delighted to get back to my English rural fields and peace. That said….I can barely even find one takeout, let alone all these wonderful places to eat. Your apartment also looks wonderful, so homely and a great place to have settled. Let’s see what 2024 brings 🙂
It’s funny how you get used to city life easier than you think, and then it gets hard to finally make the move out. Our apartment is pretty quiet so it’s a nice way to recharge. I definitely crave nature though! I remember in Scotland we were on the Isle of Skye and the ice cream shop closed at 5, and we were like this would never happen in ny!
New York City looks like such an amazing spot! Your culinary, holiday, events, and park posts are very inspiring. It seems like there is always so much to do, which is pretty awesome.
It is definitely an exciting place to live! There is always something new to see, eat, and do.
As a native New Yorker who moved back after living in Virginia, I 100% agree with your pros and cons. Love walking everywhere and how convenient it is to live here, but it is annoying when the subway switches up on you and the city life gets too loud.
Glad you agree! The convenience really can’t be beat. It’s always the worst on the weekends when you go to the subway and the station is closed for maintenance.
The weekends are the worst!
Glad to hear that you’ve enjoyed your time in NYC so far. You’ve certainly not taken where you live for granted!!
I’ve really enjoyed being a tourist in my city!