1001 Reasons Why We Love New York

Just kidding, you probably wouldn't have time to read all that.  But here are a few!

1. There is always something to do.  Concerts, musicals, plays, community events, food, sight-seeing, museums, parks, shopping, etc.

(The view of Ground Zero from our friend's office building down town)

 (We won the Wicked lottery when John's family was visiting!)

 (Famous Jackson Pollock at either the Museum of Modern art or the Met-- I can't remember)

(The Brooklyn Bridge)

2. The FOOD.  I always heard that people in New York never cook and I thought that was so weird.  But now I understand why!  There is good food everywhere.  Anything you're in the mood for--from any country you can think of.  And it's pretty easy to find it for cheap.  We really like a Chinese place around the corner where we can both fill up (with left-overs) on $4 each.

3. People live in small apartments.  Can you imagine?  We know a family of 7 that lives in a two bedroom apartment (all 5 kids in the same room) and they ALL GET ALONG!  This is just one example.  Many families in New York live like this.  It appears to be good for the family.

4. Another result of small apartments--we spend a lot of time outside and less time sitting around inside.

 (The view from the Henry Hudson Park trail near our house.  George Washington Bridge above, going to New Jersey.)

(Central Park in the fall)

5. Doggies everywhere!!  It seems to us that having a dog is the thing to do in New York.  It is really fun for John and I because we love dogs and we get to pet them and play with them, even though we can't have any for ourselves because of allergies.

(The Halloween doggie parade in the Village!)

 (Can you believe this?)

 (So cute.)

5. NO CAR!!!!!!  Not having a car has been a luxury for us.  We have no car payments, no insurance, no parking, no driving in snow or ice, and no being stuck in traffic.  What a dream.  Everywhere we need to go, we can get there on the subway or the bus.  The public transportation in this city is amazing.  We are loving it.

6. Our neighborhood.  It is almost like living in a small town.  There is a library, post office, clothing/furniture/shoe stores, Goodwill, Staples, several groceries, cheap pizza, laundry, pet stores, bike stores, pharmacies, restaurants, and a movie theatre within walking distance of our apartment.  Quick and easy access to all the essentials.

7. Bike lanes all over the city.  New York has been getting serious about this over the past few years.  There are physically protected paths, bi-directional protected paths, buffered bike lanes, green painted bike lanes, and shared lanes all over the city.  Not to mention all the bike paths in the parks.  We love it!  John has access to special indoor, guarded bike parking area at his work.

 (Biking across the George Washington Bridge for cheaper groceries in New Jersey.)

8. Having a grocery around the corner, with cheap produce. This has been a huge convenience for me.  In Atlanta I drove 20 minutes to the grocery store and stocked up for the week.  Here I can just run over and get what I need for the day.

9. Our ward.  We are really enjoying our ward.  It is full of the most friendly and outgoing people we have ever met.  Before we even moved here we had friends.  We are always going places and hanging out with our friends from the ward.  There are also dozens of professional performing artists in the ward. And I mean the serious kind, that perform on Broadway and with the Met.  It is a little intimidating for me but really awesome.

Ok well, nine's enough for now.  Please come visit us.  We have plenty of floor space.  It will be so fun!