magic on sunday: my 6ish nyc apartments
in my 6 years, 3 months, and 25 days in this city, i've had 6ish apartments. today, as my friend grazina and i were having a lazy sunday morning, i randomly just said out loud, “i love this apartment.” it’s a space that feels cozy and safe, and it feels very “me.” i’ve been thinking about it all day, so here’s a peek into all of the apartments that have led me here:
96th and 2nd: a studio on the upper east side, perfect for a naive 24-year-old, new to the city and who’d never lived on her own before. it was the best closet situation i've had in said six and a quarter years: two big ones, with shelves! i loved it, but all my friends lived downtown. duration: 13 months.
2nd and c: a luxury 1-bedroom summer sublet that belonged to a friend of a friend's friend (because, new york) who let me pay whatever i could for the month while they went on vacation to amsterdam. i finally lived near all of my friends and it served as a comfortable refuge in the wake of hurricane irene. definitely the fanciest place i've lived in nyc - it had a dishwasher and a gym! duration: 4 weeks.
3rd and c: literally a street behind my summer sublet. this was probably the most stereotypical new york living situation i've been in: a room measuring 8 x 8, my 26-year-old roommate, usually her beer-bellied, shirtless and tattooed 40-year-old boyfriend, no closet, and a window that faced a brick wall. big pete from nickelodeon’s pete and pete did live in my building, however. duration: 8 months.
attorney and houston: about a five minute walk from my previous apartment, this time back to a 1-bedroom. it’s the first apartment i bought real furniture for (a couch from cb2), making me feel really grown up. i lived here during hurricane sandy, and was alone the night the city lost power. in the morning i made coffee in a french press and put a sign in the stairwell of my building for my neighbors to swing by. the girls in the apartment below me became nice acquaintances. duration: 16 months.
withers and union: after years of spending most of my social outings in williamsburg, i finally moved across the east river with my friend tiffany to said neighborhood. it was an old 4-story building and our apartment was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom that actually sounds a lot better on paper. this is where i learned that living with a good friend is not always a good idea, despite how much you both like each other (hi tiffany, i love you). the neighborhood itself, however, was the first time i felt a sense of community in new york. my friends lived here, and even now, it’s where my community exists. duration: 22 months.
carroll and 5th: this is where i live now, nestled in the heart of park slope. after tiffany moved out, the girl who moved in had terrible energy. i took it as a sign to break my lease and live alone again, but because williamsburg is insanely overpriced now, i couldn’t find a decent 1-bedroom in the neighborhood. i set my sights on fort greene, but ended up finding an amazing (and affordable) little cozy nook in park slope. the weekend i moved in, my friends helped me for a day, and then all went on our annual trip to cape cod, which i had to skip. it was july 4th weekend, and i spent 8 hours of it crying while i put an ikea dresser together. the next day, my ex-boyfriend who conveniently lived down the street came by and we spent 7 hours assembling more ikea furniture. there wasn’t any crying this time. current duration: 15 months
let me tell you this: you’ll have to pry me out of this place. i’m not leaving until i live with a significant other. having grown up moving every few years in and out of the country, this nomadic behavior isn’t weird, and i’m not surprised that it’s taken me so long to find a place that feels right.
this week’s playlist is full of songs i want to listen to while cozied up in my little space. i hope it brings a bit of comfort and warmth to your space, wherever it is, too.
magic on sunday: 10.09.10 [spotify playlist]
rise – solange
worth it – moses sumney
puerto cabezas, ni – lewis del mar
masterpiece – big thief
jelly – magic potion
vocelot – caleb groh
ready – sondar
until sunday,
meghan
[magic on sunday archive]