The aptly titled article in nytimes.com called "The price 20-somethings Pay to Live in the City" sums about how I felt then when I was a younger yuppy working in New York City. Although, I never lived in NYC but it did hit a nerve on my apartment choices back then.
My first apartment was a 10th floor studio in an undesirable town in New Jersey. It was that bad that I won't even trust to park my car on the sidewalk and expect it to be there the next day. One of the amenities that I felt good about it was security. It was a gated community with manicured lawns with ample parking and has a decent gym, a mini supermarket and a laundrymat. It was half hour away from NYC either by bus or train. Perfect. At least till a new neighbor moved in next door. Suddenly, the undesirables started to show up and I didn't mean people. Let's leave it there. Once my lease expired, I am out the door.
The second apartment was a spacious basement, it is a one bedroom windowless apartment in Jersey City. It had a great location. But living in a city meant no available parking spot. More often I had accumulated a sizable amount of parking ticket fees to refurbish the sidewalk on my street. I digress. At one point, somebody tried to pry on my car's ignition key. The screw driver broke which led the guy to abandon the idea to looting my car. It cost me about $100 to get it fixed. It didn't helped that it rained significantly the next day that the apartment was flooded. I knew I need to move back to the suburbs.
Then, I found myself a one bedroom apartment that was a walking distance from the bus stop going to NYC. It was a great commute for me and my husband (boyfriend at the time). We lived about 3-4 years there till we got a townhouse further south.
As I stumbled some old photos, I am glad that I took some pictures of my most favorite apartment. I knew how it looked like by heart but it is always different to see it on pictures. It conjures up great memories.
Pardon the mess.
We bought most of our furniture except the couch from Ikea. At this point, I haven't started collecting books yet and most of items on the shelf were CD's. The couch was one of my oldest furniture, it was a hand me down from my Mom. It also converts to a full size bed where it came in handy whenever we have company staying over. I had this couch since my first apartment and I still have it sitting in my basement in my current house. Of course, all electronics are courtesy of hubby.
The second photo was my bedroom/workstation. I remember that internet back then was a dial up. As for my kitchen, it was spacious enough that I was able to cook my first turkey on the oven.
Looking at the photos, I wish I painted the walls. I knew it would be a hassle painting it back come moving out time. So why bother.
It was great going on memory lane with you. Please do share something about your old apartment.
My first apartment was a 10th floor studio in an undesirable town in New Jersey. It was that bad that I won't even trust to park my car on the sidewalk and expect it to be there the next day. One of the amenities that I felt good about it was security. It was a gated community with manicured lawns with ample parking and has a decent gym, a mini supermarket and a laundrymat. It was half hour away from NYC either by bus or train. Perfect. At least till a new neighbor moved in next door. Suddenly, the undesirables started to show up and I didn't mean people. Let's leave it there. Once my lease expired, I am out the door.
The second apartment was a spacious basement, it is a one bedroom windowless apartment in Jersey City. It had a great location. But living in a city meant no available parking spot. More often I had accumulated a sizable amount of parking ticket fees to refurbish the sidewalk on my street. I digress. At one point, somebody tried to pry on my car's ignition key. The screw driver broke which led the guy to abandon the idea to looting my car. It cost me about $100 to get it fixed. It didn't helped that it rained significantly the next day that the apartment was flooded. I knew I need to move back to the suburbs.
Then, I found myself a one bedroom apartment that was a walking distance from the bus stop going to NYC. It was a great commute for me and my husband (boyfriend at the time). We lived about 3-4 years there till we got a townhouse further south.
As I stumbled some old photos, I am glad that I took some pictures of my most favorite apartment. I knew how it looked like by heart but it is always different to see it on pictures. It conjures up great memories.
We bought most of our furniture except the couch from Ikea. At this point, I haven't started collecting books yet and most of items on the shelf were CD's. The couch was one of my oldest furniture, it was a hand me down from my Mom. It also converts to a full size bed where it came in handy whenever we have company staying over. I had this couch since my first apartment and I still have it sitting in my basement in my current house. Of course, all electronics are courtesy of hubby.
Looking at the photos, I wish I painted the walls. I knew it would be a hassle painting it back come moving out time. So why bother.
It was great going on memory lane with you. Please do share something about your old apartment.
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