Searching for a New Apartment

In New York, one does not simply reside in an apartment. One resides in a neighborhood. 

Even after all the postwar construction of interstate highways and massive public housing towers, much of New York City--and even a fair portion of the Bronx--remains unscathed. Each neighborhood has its own identity, its idiosyncrasies, and its own charms that make it special.

I think we'll pass on this one.

It is also one factor of many that makes finding a place to live so darn hard. That's okay though. We loaded up our bikes and set to explore.

Traveling by bike is usually the fastest and most cost-efficient way to travel through the city. So this Saturday, we rode through the northeast Bronx and gathered some information as we searched for our next new home. We did find some interesting, potential places to live. We also stumbled upon a horse farm. No horses though. Odd.

Other apartments looked promising, and we gleaned some information if we were fortunate enough to find a tenant who happened to walk by and answer a few questions. Word of mouth is far more effective than any other means of finding an apartment in New York, even in the 21st century. After examining our fifth potential apartment building of the afternoon, Nicole was ready to throw in the towel. "I feel like I'm going to die!" She said. She tends to exaggerate, but I got the point. All right, I said. We will head home.

The Bronx River basks in the light of the setting evening sun.

Except our route home brought us into dangerous proximity of an Italian ice vendor. And by "dangerous" I mean, Nicole saw the vendor and I was powerless to stop the inevitable confrontation
that followed.

"Two mangos, please," said Nicole.

That will be two dollars."

The pick me up the Italian ice provided, though, definitely proved worthwhile, as we found ourselves energized and enjoying the scenery of the Bronx River Bike path. I can't remember the last time we were riding our bikes on unfamiliar territory. We saw a goose swimming in the river, black squirrels leaping from tree to tree, and an assortment of robins, cardinals and blue jays. Some bunny rabbits were on the side of the path, chewing away. For us, it was an cap to an exciting day. For the rabbits, it was just another day in the park.

Whatsa matter? Ain't you ever see a bunny in the Bronx before?

What This Blog Is About

Ah, to be young, in love, and recently married.

Here's the backstory:

In 2010, my future-wife Nicole and I embarked on a bicycle sojourn from the mountains of Maine to the sparkling sands of Corava Beach, North Carolina. The following year, we got engaged, settled in New York City, and got married.

Ironically, even though we had moved all the way from the rolling hills of Manchester, Connecticut, all the way to Big Apple, we still live a stone's throw from the East Coast Greenway. Literally. From our apartment window in Machester, we could peer through the trees  and see a cyclist traveling along the Charter Oak Bike Path. We found our current apartment in New York through perhaps fate: The East Coast Greenway is just a block away. A sign of something? Perhaps.

Even before settling in New York, we had gotten engaged on the Farmington Canal portion of the East Coast Greenway. We had our ceremony on the shores of Long Island Sound at Rocky Neck State Park. When we moved to the Bronx, we found ourselves just a city block away from, you guessed, the East Coast Greenway!

It is fitting, perhaps, that we live where we do. I like to think that Nicole and I had a past before we even met each other. Her grandparents, like mine, lived in the Bronx. And my Bronx-born and raised grandfather framed a fine copy of John Donne's "No man is an island" sonnet and mounted it in his dining room wall. So perhaps it is here that we shall put down roots.

After all, no man or woman is an island, entire of itself, but a part of a continent. So true: We live far away from Brooklyn and the hipsters, and a world away from Manhattan and the celebrities. The latest star sighting or artisanal handbag store is not the world of New York that we care about. We like the combination of elegant human structure and harmonious nature, side by side. We like living in a city where we can always explore and find new things, yet always can seek comfort in the familiar when we need to. It is nice to live near friends and family, and also have a place where we can dream and chart our own course. And while we wait and plot for our next exciting adventure by bike, we take the every chance we can to enjoy everyday activities in our own backyard, in what is perhaps the last affordable region in New York City. We get to see the things that are easy to miss if one isn't looking carefully.

And we argue. Sort of. Here's a typical conversation:

"Honey, I think we can relate this neighborhood bike trip to our Atlantic Bike Tour blog!"

"I think you need to start a new blog."

"Maybe I can rename the existing blog."

"I think you need to start a new blog."

And just like that, it's settled. With this simple example of marital bliss, we move on to the next phase our lives. And since I just can't help it, we share some of the musings that, for one reason or another, we just find interesting.

Enjoy!!

~ Kevin & Nicole