October 6, 2013 - I'm Over New York

I feel that for many people there comes a time when you are just totally and completely over New York City. I know I've been ready to leave for quite some time, but I reached my 100% over it moment three weeks ago. Let me tell you why.

My husband and I were sick with a horrible stomach bug and our seven month old son spit up all over his last clean crib sheet (thankfully, he wasn't sick, just spitting up as babies do). Since we live in NYC and, like most of the population, do not have a washer/dryer, and we were too sick to make the multiple trips to the basement required to do laundry, I had to text people to ask if anyone had a spare crib sheet they could lend us. One friend, whose kindness I will never forget, actually came over and picked up all of our son's laundry and washed it for us, delivering it later that night in time for our son to go to bed.

This was it. It may seem trivial - I mean how often are both parents going to be sick and neither one able to do laundry - but the thing is, those situations come up all the time. How about when you and your partner or roommate both get food poisoning but there's only one bathroom? How about when you can't find the right size diapers at any of the stores that are nearby (because they don't stock many options because of size constraints) and the only place that should have them (a giant big-box baby store) is out. You know that saying, it's "death by a thousand cuts" - that's how I feel about living here now. Things that shouldn't bother me so much - well now they do because they're just another thing that you have to deal with for the "privilege" of living in the most over-priced, inconvenient city that the United States has to offer.

So New York City, I'm giving you my notice. It may be weeks, months or (I really hope not) years before I manage to get my family out of there, but one way or another, I will do it. I will leave. And when I do, I will look back fondly on all you offered for my younger, double-income-no-kids self. And I will be grateful for the memories and cherish them always. But then I will walk around my stand-alone house with my very own washer and dryer and smile.