New Year, New Home!

First off, L'shanah tovah! Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year" for all my goy friends) starts tonight!

Second off, I am no longer crashing on my cousin's couch or Sarah's floor - I got a place of my own! How did I do it, you ask? Here are my steps to finding a home of your own on the East Coast:

1. Schedule an apartment viewing in Queens. Go to it. Have the guy promise to call you back.
2. The guy never calls back? That's fine. Schedule another in Brooklyn.
3. They want you to sign a lease you're not comfortable with? It's okay. Brooklyn is huge. Try another one.
4. Too expensive, huh? Let's give Harlem a shot.
5. They picked someone else? Try a few more places in Brooklyn.
6. Rejected, rejected. Get stood up once. Try Harlem some more.
7. Rejected, rejected, rejected.
8. Break down. Cry. Then get back on Craigslist.
9. Give up and move to New Jersey instead.

I'm being somewhat facetious. Truth is, the place I found is in New Jersey. In fact, it's in Weehawken, just a short walk from where Alexander Hamilton was shot. My story begins where his ended. Poetic, isn't it?

But I don't feel as if I failed in any way. Actually, for how much shit New Yorkers give Jersey? I love it here. I love the house I'm staying in - it's an old (supposedly haunted) Victorian boarding house that has been converted to apartments. Sarah saw it and agrees it's perfect for me.

And as my boss said, "new year, new home!" It's a fitting time to move into such a lovely place. And it's actually really close to Manhattan - check out the view from the front porch:

A ten minute bus ride through the Lincoln Tunnel, and then I'm in the middle of Times Square. (I hate Times Square but it's a convenient transportation hub...) And, you know, I've always dreamed of someday living in a Victorian house. I just never expected it would happen at this point in my life.

Now, obviously, for privacy reasons I can't show you what the outside of the building looks like. Rest assured it is very cute. However I can give you a small home tour...

First off, pardon how out-of-focus this photo is. But this is right in the front entryway. One of the best parts of living in a historic building is all the old period details. A lot of historic buildings have had renovations that remove such things. Not this place. These? These are pneumatic letter tubes, which were common in the late Victorian era but fell out of use by the early 1950s. They aren't functional anymore, but I just love that this building kept them. It's like living in a museum.

I live on the second floor, here is the view going down the staircase to that entryway. The textured wallpaper on the wall is not Lincrusta - it's a cheaper version - but I can pretend that it is. Back in the late 1800s, during the Progressive Era as American historians call it, Weehawken was a factory town. This building was built to house the unmarried female factory workers, which is just... super interesting to me. Those women walked up and down these stairs each day and now I'm following in their footsteps.

It's a bit dark in the photo, but right when I come in, this is the kitchen I share with my roommate. Can you see the tin ceiling?! Isn't it grand?! And what's that by the window?

It's Frankie! This is the other really cool part about finding this place. I had to leave my beloved Momo back in San Jose, and I'm not used to living without a cat. A house (or apartment) just doesn't feel like home for me without a cat - I've kept cats all my life! Luckily, my roommate has a cat, and her name (the cat's name, not the roommate's) is Frankie and she is soft and I love her.

This is my closet - a rarity here on the East Coast. It still has the old Victorian-style latch on it. Actually, a lot of the cabinets back at the Winchester Mystery House had latches like this, so I feel right at home with it. I often feel somewhat 'homesick' for my old job which I loved so much, so this helps. And this isn't the only detail that reminds me of Winchester...

 ...there are LOTS of historic details, from decorative corners on the doorframes and window frames (they're not daisies but the idea is still the same) to giant keyholes on the doors (not functional anymore but I am delighted that they've been left in - my bedroom door also has a latch lock for privacy) to that charming tin ceiling I showed you in the kitchen, this building is apologetically historic. I love that.

When I was 7 years old, I wished hard that I would live in a Victorian house by the time I turned 30. Guess what? I'm only 26 and I've achieved that dream without having to give up my New York dreams. (Since I work and spend most of my time in Manhattan I'm still gonna consider myself a New Yorker as well, so there. Lots of people do it.) Oh, and one more thing:

Last but not least? The bathtub is pink!

I love this room. My roommate is very kind as well, she's treated me to lunch a couple times and she gave me a housewarming gift and a dresser and is letting me use her air mattress while I wait for my bed to ship. I love this building. I love this neighbourhood. (Check out what the library looks like!)

And overall? I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I love living in New Jersey.

-Nym-