Moving on and moving in

Over a year ago I sold the "old homestead" and downsized from a ten and a half room house with full basement and attic into a five room condo overlooking NY Harbor.  I recently told a friend that when I was much younger, I watched all those cheesy Doris Day-Rock Hudson romantic comedies set in Post World War II New York City.  Doris always had a drop dead gorgeous Manhattan apartment with a drop dead view of , take your pick: The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Plaza, the East River, the Hudson River, or the Statue of Liberty.

Now, on an intellectual level, I understood that Doris who was working as a secretary or assistant to someone did not, in reality , make enough moola to rent even one third of that dream apartment, in my adolescent mind I thought, "One  fine day I am going to have a hot Manhattan apartment."

Well, it almost happened.  It is a Manhattan apartment on Staten Island.

After the death of my long time spouse, I realized that I just could not keep up with all the maintenance of a large house.  In particular the thought of falling leaves and falling snow gave me heart palpitations.  I was heating rooms I seldom used, and thinking about the leaky windows and long growing grass in both the front and back yards  kept me up at night.

I began my search for an appropriate apartment with the help of a great realtor, Rene, and my cadre of real estate companions, my daughter Tara, my friend Joan and her husband Bob, and my late-husband's cousin, Charles.  They came with me as I looked for a place I could call my own on the North Shore of Staten Island.  I had a few "must haves".  I wanted two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a parking spot, a washer drier preferably in the unit, and most importantly, a water view.

V-Z Narrows Bridge from the deck

Some apartment were just too small; others needed a tremendous amount of work.  One in particular, a former model apartment in a water front condo/coop complex had peeling greyish paint on the ceiling, a nightmarish kitchen, a bathroom dedicated to the family cat, and a wall of smoky mirror tiles that reflected a drop dead harbor view.  Unfortunately, I just felt, although it was a great price and interesting layout, it was too far gone for immediate occupancy, and I did not want to tackle a huge makeover.  So I passed on that one.

Others had great harbor views, but were very close to a rather dangerous housing complex, and allotted parking was not available until another owner moved out or died. It was also a coop with arcane rules and a laundry in the dark, dank basement.

My building The Pointe
 

Finally, after looking at 23 apartments, I settled on my present place. It has two full baths, one with a spa tub which I have never used.  There is a washer/dryer in apartment, which is very nice. There is indoor parking for one car per apartment.. a problem for some who have more than one  car, but not for me. It is a two bedroom unit, but I made the master bedroom into a family room/office since it opens out onto the roof deck that overlooks the Narrows.  The living room/ dining room combo has a sliding glass doors and a huge window that opens onto a balcony overlooking the harbor. 
The kitchen is compact, opens to the living area and its granite countertop stretches out to a breakfast bar with, as my granddaughter Erin calls them, the "grown up seats"...three high bar level chairs.

I think I made a good choice, plus no more falling leaves, and I am not responsible for removing fallen snow.

Balcony from the deck

Erin snacking on the "grown up seats"