Online Ordering
THE GOOD:
I'm so glad that Google Express got here before I did. I can have delivered to my apartment just about anything that Costco, Target, Walgreen's, and other stores sell that's non perishable. If I realize I need something on Monday night, it can be at my door the next day, sometimes as early as noon.
THE BAD:
THE BAD:
Furniture delivery. Ugh! These can be tricky. Some items must be scheduled in order to be delivered, especially if they are bringing it into my apartment. If we bring it in ourselves, we have to pay a $500 deposit and let the building know 24 hours in advance. If we don't break anything on the way up, we get our money back.
I've been waiting on three large pieces from West Elm. I called to find out where they were. I discovered that 2 of the 3 items have been sitting in their warehouse for a week waiting for the third piece. While they are willing to deliver them to me one at a time, they weren't going to let me know that.
THE UGLY:
About 50% of the furniture we have already received has been damaged or broken. Returns are tricky in NYC, because you are responsible for transporting it back. When a certain Englishman bought a couch at IKEA, he paid $50 for a driver to bring it back to our apartment. He took the huge boxes upstairs only to discover that one piece was damaged. So he had to pay $55 for an SUV Uber to go back to Brooklyn to switch it out and then another $45 to get the right piece back to our place. This was over 10% of the cost of the couch.
DOORMEN
THE GOOD:I LOVE our doormen. They are really amazing. After our first meeting they know our name. With 548 units, I don't know how they do this. These are the most friendly, funny, New Yorkers I interact with on a daily basis. It's like having a loving family member looking out for you. I want to give them all a hug.
THE BAD:
While the doormen themselves are wonderful, it can be tricky having them. They aren't allowed to let anyone up to your apartment unless we tell them in advance that they are coming. So visiting and deliveries aren't anything like they are out in the suburbs.
THE UGLY:
Fortunately the doormen are there to receive all packages, 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, they receive TONS of packages every day. Each one must be processed, scanned, put into a computer, and then the apartment is notified of the package. They do this by putting your apartment number on a big screen, emailing you, and even calling you if it is Google Express. As you can imagine this takes quite a bit of time for them to do this. So a package that you desperately need may be downstairs but you can't pick it up because it hasn't been processed.
SUBWAYS
THE GOOD:I really like taking the subways. They bypass all the street traffic and can get you around town much more quickly than a bus or car. There are lots of apps that help make using the subways much easier. My favorite is Citymapper.
I don't know how I'd get around without Citymapper. It tells me how much an Uber would cost, how long it would take to walk it, which buses and subways I can take to get there. It even alerts me to delays. It was through Citymapper I found out about the explosion in Chelsea.
THE BAD:
Weekends are tough on subways. This is when most of the construction happens and you never know what will be open and what won't. A certain Englishman was an hour late getting to the airport to meet us because of a line closure he didn't know about. We have had to travel by foot long distances because of unexpected train delays or closures.
THE UGLY:
As convenient and inexpensive as subways are, they are also a popular place for the indigent. While illegal, many times someone will beg for money with a prepared speech. Last night as word of the explosion made its way to New Yorkers, many of us discovered that we are on a subway line that was shut down preventing us from getting home. Many people had out their phones and were trying to book Ubers or find alternate routes. While all of this was happening, a man who was trying to start his speech asking for money, started to yell at everyone to be quiet and to listen to him. He didn't realize what was happening. All he knew was that no one was paying him any attention. We finally stepped off the train so that we could hear each other, as did most people.
We had just bought our weekly groceries at Trader Joe's and had two heavy bags. We ended up walking about a total of 12 to 15 blocks at various points throughout the city so that we could find a line that was running.
Which leads me to....
Compeed
THE GOOD:
This pretty much is the best thing ever when it comes to blisters on feet. It comes in a carrying case that I keep in my purse.
THE BAD:
Shoes that have been really comfortable in Utah, are not so much in NYC. Fast walking to catch a train or get to a meeting, puts lots of stress on my feet and shoes. Ouch!
THE UGLY:
What my feet look like when I don't put on Compeed fast enough.
NYC Walls and Ceilings
This week our wall mount for a 55" TV came in. A certain Englishman set aside Wednesday night to install it. He finally got it finished Saturday afternoon. Here's why:
THE GOOD:
According to NYC code, all walls shared with another apartment must be double sheet rocked. This equates to about 1 1/4 inches of sheet rock. This means we can't hear anything coming from the apartment next to ours, even their yappy little dog. The ceilings are made of concrete and keep us from hearing anyone above us. We also don't have to worry about making noise and disturbing anyone below us.
THE BAD:
The screws and anchors that came with the wall mount, wouldn't work. NYC doesn't use wood studs in high rise buildings, they use metal ones. This means you have to use an anchor system with togglers.
THE UGLY:
As frustrating as learning how to navigate thick sheet rock can be, figuring out how to hang from a concrete ceiling is worse. This requires a special carbide drill bit and special anchors. And as we learned the hard way, a different drill. A normal drill can't cut it (literally). You need what is called a hammer drill. Fortunately, our neighbor already has one we can borrow. But it was a long afternoon figuring all of this out on our own.
Grocery Shopping
THE GOOD:
Grocery stores and fruit stands are everywhere. It's hard to walk very far without someplace that sells food. Trader Joe's has national pricing, which means while it can be expensive in some cities, it is incredibly low-priced in NYC.
THE BAD:
Grocery shopping is tricky because you have to be able to carry what you purchase. Lots of grocery delivery places exist, but some can cost $300 a year just in membership fees, and I'm just not ready yet to have someone else decide which bananas we want. A certain Englishman is very particular about the level of ripeness in his banana. So I like to make my own purchases. Which means weighing the trade off of getting the larger size with more savings versus having to carry it home.
THE UGLY:
Living with a teenager, we go through lots of milk. I found a market in TriBeCa where the milk is only $4.29 a gallon. (I can't believe I just used the words "only" "milk" and "$4.29" in the same sentence.) But the store isn't too close, and if we suddenly run out of milk, it would take a while just for one gallon. I decided to see what the market across the street from our apartment charges. I figured it would be more expensive, but maybe worth the savings in time.
Are you sitting down?
First of all the store only sells half gallon sizes. I guess there aren't too many teenagers in Battery Park City.
Secondly, half a gallon of milk cost $5.00.
That $10 for a gallon of milk!
Think about that next time you load up on milk at Costco.
And there you have it, the good, the bad, and the ugly of our first week in New York City.
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