bethlet.net

Six months on

This morning as I was getting ready for work, I realized that Monday marked our six-month anniversary of living in New York. I couldn't really believe it. This time last year, James had already had a month of gardening leave. In a few days, we would leave for Australia. When we came home, the waiting for the visa would begin.

So what has happened in six months?

• We got the visa
• We flew to NYC
• We moved into the Marriott ExecuStay in Chelsea
• James started working
• My brother got married
• We found our flat here in Battery Park City
• We moved into said flat
• I got my first real job in a very long time
• James has taken four trips to India: October, November, January, March
• Somewhere along the way, I picked up about ten pounds of comfort weight :)

It's been... eventful. Stressful. Crazy stressful. Our lives were put on hold for six months while we waited, then within a period of three weeks, we prepared to move, packed up, got all sorts of grief about the move, then finally did it. It was insane, as you all know, because I bored you to tears with it for months.

We're only finally coming down from all of that. Things are only finally normalizing. We're getting into our routines, getting into the swing of this city. Yesterday, for the first time since we moved, I came out of a shop and was disoriented about which way I was supposed to be walking. A testimony to how easy New York is to navigate.

People keep saying to me: Oh it must be so good to finally be home. It always strikes me as a funny thing to say. I'm not home. I'm in a new city I've never lived in, thousands of miles from home. London was the only place I had ever lived as an adult. People will say: How does London compare to Chicago? I have no idea.

That doesn't mean there aren't things about the States I'm loving, though. To name a few:

• Delivery food
• Cheap cabs
• A healthcare system that works (if you have insurance)
• Our gorgeous amazing beautiful apartment
• Living on the river
• Having family close
• A proper office job
• A husband that I actually see in the evenings... more than before, at least

And things I'm missing about the UK:

• The Eagle
• Knowledgeable cabbies
• Hoxton
• All of my awesome friends
• Having a routine
• Oodles of free time
• My niece
• Everything

Okay maybe not everything, but sometimes it feels that way. Even after six months. I don't really have any profound conclusion to this rambling. I just wanted to sort of take a moment to mark this little anniversary. I guess, to sum it all up:

Do I love it here? No.
Will I love it here? Yes, I can see that I almost certainly will.

These things just take time, y'know?

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