New York
Guess what? I'm in New York!
Surprised? Yeah, I know. Pretty much no notice at all. Not even a week. But our interview is on Friday, and we'll have to prove, circumstantially, that I'm taking steps to re-establish domicile in the United States. Things the the INS believes qualify are selling your house in the UK or buying a new one in the US. Obviously that doesn't apply, and since there are no hard and fast rules about how this should be done, one of the things I'm doing is going on this scoping out trip.
Incidentally, James's new employer is footing the bill. Their relocation program is pretty cool. I got to fly over here business class (whee!) and am staying in a supertrendy hotel. The hotel is more a function of James's boss than the company - it's where he stays when he's staying at a hotel in NY - hence the uber coolness. My mini-bar has a brass mini cocktail shaker and all of the fixings for a cosmo. It's like it was made for me! ;) Not that I'd ever pay mini-bar prices for one of those.
So yesterday, I met with a relocation specialist. She picked me up in a limo (not stretch, of course, just a nice big Lincoln) and she and Roni (our driver) spent about three hours driving around Tribeca, Batter Park City, SoHo, NoHo and Brooklyn Heights. I got to see all of the types of housing available (on the outside, at least) - from brownstones, to old buildings, to brand new high rises. I got to take a look at what the dining scene was like and the commute scene for James and all that.
It was great, really. After finishing off with the relo lady, I met up with a friend (and a bunch of his friends) and did a bit of shopping, then we went back to his place to figure out how to use his new camcorder, and ended up going out to eat.
Although I've been to New York a few times, it's never been for very long (my longest trip was when I was like thirteen) and I've never got on with it, to be honest. It's not a place I've particularly liked. Well, after yesterday, I can gladly (and with much relief) say that's changing. I really enjoyed it. I liked what I saw. I liked the energy. I liked all the people. Manhattan has surprised me by not being as sprawling and daunting as I remember it. This is a good thing.
I met up with a high school friend (Joe) for cocktails last night and I have to say, we had such a blast. It's so nice to know that we'll soon be able to do this more often.
Today, I go to HSBC at 11:00 to open a bank account. Then at 1:30, I meet up with a real estate broker to look at flats. I'm not going to be renting, but I will be getting a lot of comparative legwork out of the way, so when we go looking in earnest we can just sign on the line when we find something good.
The moving day looks to be the 26th.
This Friday: Interview
Next week: James waits for his passport to come back from the embassy
The week after: James goes to India
The week after: Move on the 26th to corporate housing for 6 weeks
So. Fast. So. Soon.
2 Comments
Dude, the relocation specialist rocks.
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Beth Ballingall
food lover : world traveller : gamer : New Yorker : twenty-something : former Londoner : handbag lover : erstwhile soprano : geek
wow, cool... and hopefully with any luck I may be relocating close enough to at least visit. But it won't be till after the new year.
But I will write all about my week in upstate NY afterwards,