Well, moving to NY has been an adjustment for sure. Our drive went great! We kept our expectations low, so that helped a bit. But cpc did a great job the whole way, and we didn't have too many delays. The worst part was running out of cash to pay tolls before we even got to NY. Rather than searching for an atm that wouldn't charge fees, we dug into the truck to find pmc's change jar. We're glad there's usually a way to avoid the toll roads now that we're here.
As for the arriving/moving in part. We'll just say things have not gone so well. The townhome we lined up turned out to be much worse than expected. We only wish we'd thought to take pictures so you could see how bad it was. It was in a bad area, and in awful shape. We quickly cruised out of there, and called the one family we know in the area. They were kind enough to have us over for dinner, which had been planned before we came.
We've been here ever since.....
Which is both fantastic (much more homelike than a motel, FOR SURE!!!), and depressing (we haven't found a place to live).
Syracuse is an interesting place. We need to do some picture-taking to really explain it. But basically the idea is this. Drive down a street, and for three blocks you think "this is a nice street." Then you hit the next block and think "what happened, how are we suddenly in the ghetto?" There is NO rhyme or reason to it, you simply have to drive by any place to know if it's safe or not.
The rental market is great for 2-bedroom apartments. But try to ask for one more bedroom/office space and the rate jumps from 500/mo. to 1200/mo. Oh, and there's only a few of those available in the first place. Or, if it is the right size, it's in an unsafe neighborhood. The school districts seem to determine the area here. Which is frustrating because if you want to be safe, you have to pay more to be in a good school district....which would be just fine if we had school-age kids.
Anyway, we are so grateful that we have the H family to stay with. They have been more than generous to us! They just left on a big family trip around the country for 3 weeks in an RV. So we get to share the house with Lala, their grandma. We finally unloaded the truck this morning into a rental unit, and feel much better now that we aren't in a time crunch to get the truck back. We've accepted the fact that it's going to take a little more time to find the right place. There are a few places opening up Sept. 1st, so hopefully we'll have a home soon.
We are also extra grateful for all the advice from family and friends, it's really helped to keep our heads on straight. The only advice we've received that hasn't been helpful is to "lower our expectations." I think in any other city, that would be perfect advice. But all we want is four things: a safe place, room for me to teach so we have income, enough space for the piano, and to stay in our budget.
We have a slight amount of hope for a place we just found today. They won't let us come see it until tomorrow, so we have to wait a bit more. But it looks like it would be more than perfect for us at the borderline of our budget....but within the budget is within it right?
As for the arriving/moving in part. We'll just say things have not gone so well. The townhome we lined up turned out to be much worse than expected. We only wish we'd thought to take pictures so you could see how bad it was. It was in a bad area, and in awful shape. We quickly cruised out of there, and called the one family we know in the area. They were kind enough to have us over for dinner, which had been planned before we came.
We've been here ever since.....
Which is both fantastic (much more homelike than a motel, FOR SURE!!!), and depressing (we haven't found a place to live).
Syracuse is an interesting place. We need to do some picture-taking to really explain it. But basically the idea is this. Drive down a street, and for three blocks you think "this is a nice street." Then you hit the next block and think "what happened, how are we suddenly in the ghetto?" There is NO rhyme or reason to it, you simply have to drive by any place to know if it's safe or not.
The rental market is great for 2-bedroom apartments. But try to ask for one more bedroom/office space and the rate jumps from 500/mo. to 1200/mo. Oh, and there's only a few of those available in the first place. Or, if it is the right size, it's in an unsafe neighborhood. The school districts seem to determine the area here. Which is frustrating because if you want to be safe, you have to pay more to be in a good school district....which would be just fine if we had school-age kids.
Anyway, we are so grateful that we have the H family to stay with. They have been more than generous to us! They just left on a big family trip around the country for 3 weeks in an RV. So we get to share the house with Lala, their grandma. We finally unloaded the truck this morning into a rental unit, and feel much better now that we aren't in a time crunch to get the truck back. We've accepted the fact that it's going to take a little more time to find the right place. There are a few places opening up Sept. 1st, so hopefully we'll have a home soon.
We are also extra grateful for all the advice from family and friends, it's really helped to keep our heads on straight. The only advice we've received that hasn't been helpful is to "lower our expectations." I think in any other city, that would be perfect advice. But all we want is four things: a safe place, room for me to teach so we have income, enough space for the piano, and to stay in our budget.
We have a slight amount of hope for a place we just found today. They won't let us come see it until tomorrow, so we have to wait a bit more. But it looks like it would be more than perfect for us at the borderline of our budget....but within the budget is within it right?
6 comments:
Yikes! Hopefully you find a place that isn't quite so skeezey soon. How nice of the H's to take such good care of you though! And hey, it may have some slummy parts, but lots of Syracuse is beautiful. Just remember how pretty campus is. :) We'll have to come visit one day.
I'm sorry for all the trouble you've had in moving. I hope you're able to find a good place soon. this just happened to a teacher I worked with that moved to Omaha, but they were able to find something quickly, so I hope you can too! Good luck!!
oh...how I do not envy you guys! NO FUN!!! Things have got to work out to your advantage eventually though! And thank heaven's for the H family. Keep up the good spirits!
Oh man, I hope you can find something soon. I'm starting to realize that most places out of Utah have that nice street/ghetto around the corner feel. I realized once I moved from home that I definitely wasn't in Kansas anymore!
That sounds like it's been very discouraging. You know that it will workout but I'm sure that it feels like nothing is happening the way you want it to. Just remember that you are loved by everyone. :)
Hey you guys...what an adventure! I just found your website off of
Charity's and can't believe that you're tryly homeless! I'm sure that will soon be over so enjoy it while it lasts. Count it all up to adventure! You just never know what's around the next corner! We'll be praying for you!
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