the dreaded manhattanite, straight of a sex in the city episode. you know he/she grew up in iowa, someplace completely dreadful, and to erase all memories of that, swear they are truly a new yorker, "i'd never move out of manhattan. queens. god. you've got to be kidding me. brooklyn!? isn't that by the bronx?" they seem to think that brooklyn is as far as connecticut. granted, growing up in long island, i have that jersey prejudice (although i must admit, i fell in love with two jerseyites, who both broke my heart, which is probably why i continue to avoid jersey!), but brooklyn, hello, i am a block and a half from the east river! i can see when there is traffic on the fdr (and it makes me glad i'm not on it!).
i used to be, "i'm never leaving manhattan." but when my boyfriend's grandmother passed away and he (with his brothers) inherited her house, i got to live in brooklyn rent free for nearly a year. having an entire house (four floors, including an attic, and a back yard, and a washing machine!) made me crave space, unlike the slovenly filth that i lived in when i was crammed into an east village apartment, or rather, very long space with a toilet, some furniture, two sinks and a shower. yup, the stove only worked some of the time, and the refrigerator was the size of the one i had in my dorm room in college. i'm glad to be beyond those days. i still miss it, i miss being near enough to walk to things, and being close to home...but at the same time, i prize my space and i love the distance i have from the tourists.
but i'm not supposed to be blathering about me. i'm annoyed at those people who are obsessed with hating the boroughs ("that's not even new york as far as i'm concerned.") and prizing their closets they call home. one guy i met was amazed; "you can afford a one bedroom?" yes, for slightly more than what he pays to share a small bedroom with another man (um, as far as i'm concerned, once you're past college years, you only share a bedroom with someone you are sleeping with, unless maybe it's your sister and she is broke and needs a place to stay or something like that) and was trying to get me excited by telling me how between his loft bed and the ceiling, there was maybe a foot and a half and how it can get really cramped during sex. um, yeah, i think i'll pass on that one.
so what is it? why are you so fearful of brooklyn? really, my commute to work, i hate to break it to you, it's probably the same as yours. in fact, it might even be shorter. *gasp* and even if it's not, i'm paying a lot cheaper rent for a lot more space and a lot less people...i'm so glad when i go running on the streets around here, i am not dodging crowds, but rather, dodging hipsters with poodles and polish ladies screeching in polish at me. yep, fun.
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