NOT Homeless!

Amy and I found an apartment!!!!! We are so excited!!

After searching for almost three weeks, we realized that we simply could not afford to live in Manhattan. Prices are insane for even a one bedroom, let alone a true two bed. Amy and I would have had to stretch past both of our budgets for a miserable little space with few windows and we realized we just wouldn't be happy. After living in an apartment with no natural light we knew that was the one thing we really wanted.

So, we set our sights on Astoria, Queens, which is just across the East River. It's an up and coming neighborhood and filled with Fordham alumni. Most of our friends live in Astoria, so we've both spent a lot of time in the neighborhood, days, nights, weekdays, weekends. Just this past Saturday night Lindsay and I were out in Astoria with Liz and 3 other friends who live around there. While at the bar, I ran into the Fordham alum who helped me land my internship at Martha! She was there with a group of about 5 other Fordham grads!

After looking around at a few apartments in the neighborhood today, we landed on a gem of an apartment. Exactly in our price range (Amy will actually pay less than now!) and exactly what we were looking for. It is a true two bedroom with a true living room and kitchen. There are two windows in each bedroom, a huge window in the living room/kitchen area and even a window in the bathroom. The apartment is on the 3rd floor (no elevator), but it's only up two short flights of stairs. Both of the bedrooms face the street, which is great for natural sunlight. No tall skyscrapers to block our views!

It's two blocks from the subway, which is a shorter walk for us than we have now! It takes about 12-15 minutes to get to 59th Street in Manhattan, from our front door.

The neighborhood is fantastic - little shops, restaurants, bars, grocery stores and everything else within minutes from our front door. We will live right off of Broadway, which is a bustling street that has lots of stores and diners that are open 24 hours. The apartment is set back, down a residential street, so it will be quiet and away from traffic. The street is tree lined and you can tell from Google that it's gorgeous and lush during the spring and summer.

There's a Costco down the block, along with a Rainey Park, which is right on the water. We already scoped out the local gym, which is less expensive, more massive and has more amenities than our current gym.

Amy and I couldn't be more excited about starting a new adventure in this apartment and neighborhood. We love Manhattan and the Upper East Side, but it just isn't in the cards for us right now. Below are two pictures of the apartment I pulled from online (they don't do it justice!). We couldn't take pictures ourself because the current tenants are still living there.

 Living room! To the left is the front door, entry way closet and bathroom.

Behind is the kitchen with the window and to the right are the bedrooms.

The bedroom Amy will be in!! Look at those windows!

Unfortunately there is no picture of the bedroom I'm in, but its a bit smaller than this one.

Our move in date is April 1. Next weekend we're going to go in and take exact measurements and start planning out where we'll put everything. We also want to paint, so we can do that before we put any furniture in.