Hi everyone! I forgot to bring my USB cord with me to New York, so I wasn't able to download my photos from my camera until I got back to Seattle. We had a sucessful trip to NYC---we found an apartment on our second day in the city. Finding an place to rent is all about luck and timing. We headed to 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where many of the real estate offices are located. We walked into a few with no luck finding something we liked or in our price range. The next office we went to had just received a listing from a landlord and fit our preferences and budget. We took a look at it and liked it, so then the rental process begins. Renting in Seattle is a piece of cake compared to what it takes to secure an apartment in NY. The landlord needed pay stubs, proof of employment, bank statements, tax forms, credit check, first and last month's rent, security deposit(one months rent) and a 12% of the annual rent broker's fee. Does that tempt anyone to move to NYC? :)
Here are the pics of our new place:
Here's the building, our apartment is on the left, 3rd window up. It's a thru-apt, so we have the whole left side of the 3rd floor. 
Living Room.....
The kitchen...
The bedroom...
The bathroom, complete with lovely turqoise tile...
Large closet, perfect for storing our bikes, camping equipment, books, and the computer. DSL ready! May become the "card-making factory"...
Decorative fireplace in the living room...
This isn't our street, but all streets in Park Slope look like this one. This is a few blocks over from us.
Our new neighborhood, Park Slope, is full of families, kids, neat shops, restaurants, laundrymats that wash, dry and fold your clothes for 99 cents per lb, grocery stores with aisles so narrow you have to squeeze past people to get by them, and even a few Starbucks. Our apartment is 2 blocks away from Prospect Park, which is a lot like Central Park, just not as huge. We will have bike trails to ride on, and grass fields perfect for bocce ball. We are vey happy with our new location and are excited to get settled in. Fun fact: We are moving from King County to Kings County. :)
We leave Seattle on Nov 8th, with the goal of reaching NewYork by the 18th. We have a few stops to see friends along the way---Devon and Chris in Spokane, Abby in Missoula, Cara and Ben in Madison, and Jim and Amy in Chicago.
Stay posted for more pics from New York---the touristy kind. :)
