Apartment Hunting We Will Go

So, as you know, the time for us to leave our fabulous apartment is fast approaching. Our lease is up at the end of February, and unfortunately, they're raising our rent. We probably could afford to pay the new higher price, sure. But as it is, this apartment is a major splurge. I always say I advocate paying for experience, and that's what this apartment has been. I doubt we'll ever live somewhere nearly as awesome. I mean, you've seen the view, right?

But, it just isn't smart to keep spending our money on this experience. So, as I mentioned many months ago, we're looking into moving to Hoboken, NJ. We visited Hoboken last summer and just found it utterly charming. Rental prices are quite a bit lower, which would allow us to build our savings as we figure out our next step. Hoboken is right on the Hudson River, with great riverside parks to enjoy. The main street, Washington Street, is just adorable with tons of restaurants and shops. With its close proximity to the PATH train into Manhattan, Eric's commute to work would be comparable to what it is now (time-wise), he would just be on a train instead of walking. Basically, it's a very smart move for us, and one that we will probably even enjoy.

Our property management company has a building in Hoboken, and we are considering moving there. However, when we looked at it over the summer, they had one-bedroom apartments with an awesome Manhattan view available. Now, there are no more apartments with a view open right now. That's not a deal-breaker, but we did start looking elsewhere at other options.

This past weekend we went over there to really take a look. We looked again at the building I just mentioned, and also went a little bit south into Newport to look at some buildings there. Newport is another option for us - very close to the PATH train and ferry, just a 10-minute walk along the river from Hoboken, very convenient with tons of nearby grocery stores/banks/veterinarians/etc., and lots of apartment buildings to choose from. It's not nearly as charming as Hoboken, but it's very convenient.

The way I think of it is this: When we lived in the D.C. area, we lived in Crystal City (Arlington), Virginia. Crystal City was a great area, with all the "life" conveniences you could want - lots of apartment buildings, grocery stores, Costco, a mall, Target, close to the Metro, etc. It did have some nice parks/restaurants along the Potomac, but other than that, it wasn't a place you'd really spend your weekends wandering around. It wasn't a bad neighborhood or anything, it just wasn't particularly interesting.

However, 10 minutes by Metro south of Crystal City was Old Town Alexandria, which is where I worked. I loved Old Town. It was so charming, with beautiful row houses and tons of restaurants and shops along King Street. King Street ended at the river with a lovely boardwalk. We would go out there and wander around on the weekends or in the evenings, just because we loved the area.

In our current scenario, Newport is Crystal City and Hoboken is Old Town Alexandria. Both are great places to live, but Newport is more "life" convenient and Hoboken is just more fun. I'm not sure which is the better choice for where to live!

We looked at Newport first last weekend, and as we left there I was thinking, "this makes a lot of sense, it's so convenient." But then we got to Hoboken, and I just fell in love all over again. My feelings were solidified even further when I saw this on Washington Street:

People, that's a Grimaldi's Pizza (my favorite NYC pizza) right next to a Crumbs Bake Shop (my favorite NYC cupcake place). THINK OF THE MEALS HERE. I nearly died. Clearly, I was so excited, I felt compelled to take a picture. Who can not love a place where Grimaldi's lives next to Crumbs? It's food heaven. Plus 10 points for Hoboken!

Rental prices in both Newport and Hoboken are comparable, and although we weren't blown away by any apartments in particular last weekend, Eric is going back this weekend to look at a few more options in both areas (I'll be in Florida). I'm hoping he finds the perfect home for us!

We have to let our current building know if we're moving out altogether or transferring to their Hoboken building by January 20th, so we will definitely have to make a decision by then. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I'm just trying to wrap my head around leaving Manhattan. I know this is the right move for us, but man, do I not want to leave. I love it in the city. I love our apartment. I love that I can walk out my door and be in the midst of Midtown. I love that I can walk to Central Park and Times Square and Rockefeller Center. I love that I can look out my window and see what color the Empire State Building is lit up each night. I love that on his way home from work, Eric passes celebrities as they leave 30 Rock or the Letterman show. I love that movie premieres happen just blocks from our apartment. I mean, it's just an awesome place to be. We're in the middle of it all.

I know Hoboken (or Newport) will be great, but it will be an adjustment. Just to give you an idea of one minor thing we'll have to get used to, Eric and I checked Seamless Web late Sunday night after our day of New Jersey apartment hunting. Seamless Web is a hermit's dream come true - it's an online food-ordering service that delivers food from bajillions of local restaurants. You can order almost anything you want, whenever you want it. We've ordered diner breakfast before. We order Italian or Mexican or BBQ. We order sushi ALL THE TIME. Whatever you want, all in once place. You could order pie if you wanted. It's amazing.

Anyway, I had the thought, "what if there is no Seamless Web in Hoboken?" So we had to find out if there was. And, there is. Hoboken's Seamless Web includes 70 total restaurants (seven of those serve sushi, which is very important to me). Not bad, right? At midnight on a Sunday, five of those were open. That's not terrible.

However, compare that to NYC. The Seamless Web just in our neighborhood (not even Manhattan as a whole) includes 282 restaurants, 36 of which serve sushi. At midnight on a Sunday, 33 were open. I mean, that's just awesome.

And Newport is even worse than Hoboken. Newport's Seamless Web only includes 48 restaurants (four serving sushi), and only two were open at midnight on a Sunday.

Of course, Seamless Web is not a deal breaker. It's just an example of how we'll have to move on from our NYC luxuries and get back to regular life!

I know we'll only be a short train ride from Manhattan, but I will be sad to no longer live in the city. It has really been an unforgettable experience.

But now, our search for our next place continues. I'll be sure to keep you posted!