Yesterday, as I was carrying the tenth box of books up the six flights that lead to my new apartment, I had a chance to count all the times I've moved in my life. Since leaving the familial nest, I've inhabited some 18 dwellings, almost two per year. That's a lot of boxes up and down stairs, but I suppose that is the price of being a vagabond of limited means (i.e. gypsy).
As you probably know, I was forced to leave my nice rent subsidized one bedroom this summer due to the shenanigans of the landlord and the subletters. (Well, actually, K was the one who got kicked out. Soz!)
And so I returned to the city homeless, throwing myself on the generosity of my kindly relatives and their lovely boa constrictor.
Finding something that allows one to get down to Princeton in a reasonable time on a grad student stipend is a difficult proposition. There are basically two choices: shithole in a nice location, or middling flat in a middling neighborhood. I have opted more for the former.
I give you: 175 Thompson St.
My room is small. Room for a full-sized bed, some bookshelves, and not much else.
The view is not too spectacular...
The kitchen is quite large by Manhattan standards
The bathroom is not
The living room needs a paint job, but has a pull-out sofa bed for visitors...
So as you can see, the place is a little worse for wear. Fortunately, my new roomie, "Ronny," is on the task. His job to make things fabulous for Ralph Lauren, and he intends to bring those skills to bear on our humble abode. So consider the pictures above a 'before' version.
Going back to living with strangers will be something of an adjustment after a time either having my own place or sharing with someone I knew rather closely, but so far so good.
The best thing about the apartment is, of course, not what it is but where it is. On the border between the Village and Soho. A short subway ride to Penn Station for when I work in Princeton, and an even shorter walk to the NYU library for when I work here.
Washington Square Park, where I'm sitting as I write this, is just up the street
Close to all the restaurant-goodness of the West Village and the bar-goodness of the East Village and Lower East Side. Soho covers shopping. Union Square farmers' market.
Yes, this should be a good place to stay a little while.
5 comments:
I cannot wait to try out that bed...!!! ;-)
Looks fabulous, and I think it was wise to abandon the snake-keeping relatives.
But unfortunately you seem to have omitted to show us the guest bedroom...?
Hurrah, snaps! Always go for location - you can lap up all that restaurant and bar-goodness, not to mention the libraries, which as you know, always gets me going. And no snakes can only be good...
I look forward to Le Ronny's Ralph Lauren make over. Can you film it like an American reality show?
The big REVEAL should have an obese woman screaming and nearly fainting.
You're welcome. A drunken guest drew smiley faces, suns, and trees on your eviction papers, so I'm not sure you would have been able to stay anyway.
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