One year

One year ago today Rich and I landed at JFK Airport with our cats and a couple of suitcases and arrived in New York City, our new home. I wish I could say that I have taken advantage of all that this city has to offer and maybe getting pregnant two months later is a lame excuse, but it definitely cut into my nightlife. So here are some lists:

A few fun things I have done since moving to NYC:

• Christmas in New York - it really is spectacular. The tree and the ice skating at Rockefeller Center, the lights, the chill in the air, the insane shoppers, the craft fairs - it's all pretty incredible.
• Museums - MOMA, P.S. 1, the Museum of Natural History
• Brooklyn - Park Slope, Williamsburg, Green Point
• Enjoyed a massive snow storm. I haven't had one of those since I left Boston in 1996.
• Went to the ballet
• Have been to three Broadway shows and was inspired by one (Sweeney Todd)
• Been to DC, Philly and Boston for day/weekend trips
• Seen a lot of family and friends passing through town or who can now make quick weekend trips because it's closer and cheaper than flying to Seattle!
• July 4th - free live Belle & Sebastian and a rooftop party
  

Things I love about New York:

• The skyline
• Being able to get food from anywhere in the world and have it delivered
• Walking everywhere
• Donut Plant
• Gelato
• People come to visit you in New York (is Seattle really that far away?)
• The kindness of strangers
• The subway
• Its multiculturalism
• The shops
• Central Park
• The Arch in Washington Square
• Random celebrity sightings
• The architecture
• Walking through the West Village
  

Things I hate about New York:

• The smells
• Rude people
• People who don't know how to walk down a friggin' sidewalk
• The subway
• Not having laundry in my apt/house (this has become particularly apparent with the arrival of Theo the Spit-up King)
• Grocery shopping
• I can't afford most of the shops
• The price of real estate
• Not feeling safe enough to ride my bike to the bike trails!
  

So there's a rough summary. I think I have more positives than negatives. Is this where I want to stay forever? I don't think so. I should have lived here in my 20s. Now, with Theo in the picture, there is a lot to think about. Is it an even exchange for him to be able to visit some of the best museums in the world and be exposed to almost every culture in the world but not be able to ride a bike around his neighborhood or go play in the backyard? I'm not so sure. Maybe sometime in the next few years we'll be able to buy a weekend place in the country . Until then, we are here for the next few years at least so we will do our best to make the most of it and make sure we take more weekend trips out of the city so Theo gets a proper appreciation for the great outdoors and doesn't begin to believe what other native New Yorkers seem to think: that New York is the center of the universe.