With our move back South just weeks away, I’ve been thinking a lot about our time in Hoboken. I really love this city and I will definitely miss it. As excited as I am, I can’t help but feel a little bit of heartache over leaving Hoboken. Its special because it was our first married home. Its also special because it has taught this displaced Southern belle some important life lessons. I thought I’d share them (and some fun pictures of Hoboken) in case you’re making a trip to the NYC area soon.
One.
How to parallel park. In a really tight space. On the right AND left sides of the road. I already knew how to parallel park but I did not realize how hard it is to do it on the left side of a one way street. It seemed you could just do everything backwards but that’s actually not quite the case. Now I can parallel park anywhere – no matter which side of the street that teeny tiny space is on.
Two.
Always carry cab-fare. In Hoboken, the rate is a flat fare so in my wallet as well as in every single one of the clutches I carry when I go out, you’ll find that amount plus tip. Just in case. You never know when it will start raining or you’ll get a blister and not want to walk home. Or when your friend will ditch you at 3 am to hang out with some boy and you won’t want to walk home alone.
Three.
Don’t be too nice. Shortly after we moved, Riley and I were headed to Cavalier play group and I was toting a purse filled with a bottle of white wine. We were waiting to cross the street when a woman came up to us and started talking about how cute Riley is. Finally, as we started to cross the street she asked if I could spare some money. I told her I didn’t have anything (which was the truth as my purse contained wine, lip gloss, and my apartment keys) and she said, “That bag looks pretty full not to have any money in it.” Then, she called me a profanity. I was so taken aback that Riley and I just stumbled across the street. Lesson learned: sometimes it’s best to just keep walking.
Four.
To navigate the NYC Subway, all you really need to remember is the Bronx is North and Brooklyn is South. And that Google maps can provide public transit directions. This is why I have refused to update my iPhone and my instagram no longer works with my ancient operating system. Another lesson: in NYC, google maps is more important than instagram.
Five.
If you don’t stick up for yourself, no one else will. There will be cabbies who will tell you the fare is higher than it really is just to see if you know better. There will be drivers who cut you off in heavy traffic. There will be valet attendants who are rude to you or try to cheat you. These are things that just happen so its important to stick up for yourself. Corey told me this when I came to him a blubbering, teary mess because our valet attendant backed my car into a wall. Its important to be your own advocate.
Six.
Don’t be surprised if you host a get together and someone asks how many square feet your apartment is, how much you pay for it, and if they can peek in your closets. Real estate is a commodity in the NYC area and to rent, you can expect to pay at least $3 a square foot and your brokerage fee to secure an apartment might be more than the down payment on your car.
Happy Monday, lovelies!
What a fabulous post. Great advice. Congrats on moving back South. I missed the announcement. I need to make sure you are bloglovin because I look at that more than Google Reader.