There Goes Somebody's Miracle...

You know, I'm praying for it.

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Explore

  • All Reviews
  • Movies
  • Books
  • @ Third Coast Review
  • Film Work

Connect

City Stories · May 11, 2014

From Midtown to Williamsburg (in 5 days flat)

Some women post birth stories – those detailed, moving chronicles of how their child entered this world. This is not that story. Not exactly. This is the story of how a new apartment birthed a whole new version of daily life for a single girl in the big city, and how it all happened astoundingly fast.

With a lease expiring at the end of April, I’d started casually looking for May 1 available apartments early in the month. But between how busy I was (see previous post) and how quickly real estate goes in this city, it really didn’t make sense to start looking in earnest until closer to the end of the month, when I could both devote the time to going to see spaces and had the added urgency of needing a roof over my head as April wound down.

Enter the mother of all networking efforts. They say finding an apartment in New York is a full-time job – this is why there are so many brokers in this city, prepared – for the small one-time fee of a month’s rent or more – to find you the perfect apartment with resources not available to the common man.

This is also why when looking for a new apartment, you’ll see New Yorkers posting, texting, calling, emailing anyone and everyone they know, to see who knows of something coming available. I had coworkers referring me to building managers and supers. I had friends in other states emailing their friends in New York. I had a tab permanently dedicated to Craigslist, PadMapper and NYCBits, tailored to my needs (budget, pet friendly), refreshing it several times a day to see what’d come up.

For about a week, nothing jumped out at me. In my price range, I was looking at the far side of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, heading out to “up and coming” neighborhoods – which is really just a nice way of saying you may or may not feel safe walking home alone at night. So desperate did I get at a certain point that I nearly put a deposit down on a truly beautiful one-bedroom in a neighborhood I didn’t love (the space felt intimidatingly luxurious!) before the broker emailed to say someone else had snapped it up.

Blessings in disguise.

Then, it happened. I refreshed the Craigslist tab and there it was. A tiny dot in an unexpected neighborhood – Williamsburg, that hipster mecca known far beyond the five boroughs, and known for being far outside the price range of the average Jane (self included).

And yet, this space fell squarely in my budgetary comfort zone (less than my Manhattan studio!), accepted pets and, as the ad said, “won’t last long. Location! Location! Location!”

I arranged to see it the next day. I put a deposit down before I left.

photo

A 4th-floor walk-up, it’s easily 2.5x the space I had in my first apartment. There’s a full kitchen (a freezer!), three windows that flood the space with sunlight, and despite a small-ish bathroom and limited closet space, feels practically cavernous compared to where I came from. It’s two blocks from a park, surrounded by restaurants (and across the street from an adorable cafe) and on a more residential street than you’d ever find in Midtown.

One major hiccup in getting into a new apartment in NYC is the dreaded application process. Management is at the advantage when it comes to tenant selection, able to approve or deny interested parties as their bank accounts and letters of recommendation paint a picture of the kind of renter you may be. I gathered items I’d had on hand for my last move, forwarded them on to the broker and the next day had word – the space was mine.

Which was a good thing, seeing how I’d already arranged for movers and started forwarding my mail!

I do not recommend moving in the span of 5 days – from finding the apartment to moving into it, those five days were easily a few of the worst of the last year. I spent one horrible weekend packing up everything I’d crammed into 200 square feet (quite a lot, actually!), not even leaving the box-filled space that Sunday. Moving day was not just gray and overcast, it was the day New York got more rain than we typically see in a month. And the million trips up and down 3 flights of stairs into the new place had my legs sore for days afterwards.

But all’s well that ends well, as they say. Just over a week in the space, I’m settling in quite nicely. I hung new curtains in the windows (sunlight = good. privacy = also good.), shifted furniture around a few times to find the set-up I like, and actually unpacked my kitchen into cupboards rather than leaving my pots, pans and measuring cups out for the world to see on make-shift, baker’s rack storage.

With boxes (mostly) unpacked (and between shopping for some of the new furniture I have the square footage for!), I’ve started exploring the neighborhood more, too. I discovered this weekend I live two blocks from Brooklyn Brewery, and there’s a market around the block I’ve claimed as my new go-to for produce. More on that in a future post.

For now, suffice it to say there’s a reason people flock to Williamsburg, rent-stabilized apartments or not. It’s charming in every way, and I can’t wait to make it home!

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

Posted By: Lisa Trifone · In: City Stories

The Month That Was
I’ll go to Seattle tomorrow

You’ll Also Love

A Date with NYC: Post-script
History is Happening
img credit WEHEARTITA Date with NYC

Get on the List

Comments

  1. Jeanie martin says

    May 11, 2014 at 11:21 pm

    Can I mention that I’ve always enjoyed reading your writing?!

    Loading...
    • Lisa says

      May 11, 2014 at 11:36 pm

      You can mention that anytime, Jeanie! Thank you for reading. 🙂

      Loading...
About Photo
Hello! I'm Lisa, and this is—or rather I am—Somebody's Miracle. Explore everything I'm watcing, reading and baking, all my far-flung adventures and ones closer to home. Thanks for reading.

Connect

Get on the List

Subscribe for the latest posts, musings and updates directly in your inbox.

Categories

  • Reviews
  • Food
  • Travel
  • Just This
  • About

Search

From the Archives

May 2025
S M T W T F S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    

lisabeesa

Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until Two years ago today, I was coming off what - until that point - was the biggest adventure of my life. I bought a home. I turned 40. I spent a month in Paris. I’d hit a new career milestone. Life was every bit what I imagined it could be. 

Then I walked into a first date with a guy I met on the internet and very quickly realized my (our!) best adventure had just begun. 

Two years of getting my goat (and delighting in it), because you love to see me laugh. Two years of not just making dinners but plating them, too, because you know I like a pretty plate. Two years of grand gestures not because you’re big on gestures, but because I am.

I thought I had it all figured out, and I think I would’ve been fine if you’d never walked into my life. But good grief am I glad you did. ❤️
🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄 It's my favorite trad 🎄 Holiday Playlist! 🎄

It's my favorite tradition (of so many!) of the season: my annual holiday playlist. Twenty-four songs. Two hours of tunes.

Sabrina Carpenter and The Kinks. My Morning Jacket and Kacey Musgraves. Ben Folds and Bette Midler and Bad Religion. 

You can listen on Spotify at the link in my bio!

Happy, happy holidays to you and yours. Wishing you a joyful season!
I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint dry I’d watch Pablo Larrain’s version of paint drying, but thankfully his latest biopic of a famous, troubled woman (after JACKIE and SPENCER) is a far more engaging fever dream of passing time and missed opportunities.

MARIA, featuring a performance by Angelina Jolie that vibrates with vulnerability, is not perfect but it is fascinating. 

Now in theaters; on Netflix next month. Full review at the link!
My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out My phone yelled at me this morning that I was out of storage space, so over a couple cups of coffee I went back through this year’s photos and videos to purge what I don’t need on my device. 

Stumbled on this snap Brian took of me over dinner back in…June?…and honestly, I just love it. I love the way he sees me and I love the way I look when I see him. ❤️

Take care of each other. That’s all.
Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I w Eight years ago this week, @justin.f.brady and I went to see @waitressmusical on Broadway, and after the show we were treated to full band karaoke with die-hard fans. 

At the end of the show tunes lovefest, @sarabareilles—who wrote the show’s music and was hosting the karaoke—took to the mic to perform Brave, and it was more cathartic than I think any of us realized in the moment. 

It was the night before the 2016 election and none of us were (looking back now) as worried as we should have been. I had early voted, the wind seemed to be at @hillaryclinton’s back and we were ready for history to be made. 

I’ve thought about (and talked about) that moment a lot in the years since - it’s a great story! But especially today, as we’re on the eve of another monumental Election Day, I am imploring anyone reading this who may still be unsure or may not yet have a plan to be brave and vote for the person who is NOT a convicted criminal, serial sexual assaulter, con-man and dictator-in-waiting. @kamalaharris is the only way forward.

We can get back to debating policy in four years. For now, please vote for humanity, for democracy, for decency and for sanity. I wanna see you be brave.
Signs of life! 👋 I feel like I’ve been in a Signs of life! 👋 

I feel like I’ve been in a fog the last week or so, and it’s going to last at least through Tuesday…but I’m here, I promise!

Got to catch @musictheaterworks’ LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (with the lovely @yersha_la_la_la for company!) and it was delightful. Great production with just a hint of that community theater patina, a bit rough around the edges. (Is it just me or is that S in “Florist” totally upside down?!)

Full review coming soon at @thirdcoastreview!
This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew This one gets a spot on the grid! Congrats to Drew and Jean on a beautiful wedding day and the start of an exciting new chapter. (But really, thanks for such a great reason to wear my new favorite dress! 😉)
I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁 I absolutely love this time of year. 🍂🍁
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site Disclosure

Copyright © 2025 There Goes Somebody's Miracle... · Theme by 17th Avenue

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d