NYC vs. LA

Being a certain age (20s-30s) and working in certain industries (PR being one of them), it's easy to forget that any cities exist outside of New York and Los Angeles. While I'm clearly obsessed with life in New York (see my post from a few days ago... or pretty much any of them since I've moved to the city), I always wonder what it might be like to live in LA at least for a little while. I'm sure it'll happen at some point... the weather is clearly way more my scene (fortunately for you, dear readers, this blog stopped existing in the winter or you would have heard lots of whining from this girl), I could still do my job there, and it would be a new adventure which I'm always up for...

So when I do have the opportunity to visit LA, I always spend the majority of time thinking about what it would be like to live there and picking up on the subtle... and not so subtle... differences between the two cities. Here are some pros/cons I observed on my last trip:

• Nobody walks in LA. Well at least not as much as they do in New York.. I'm quite enjoying life sans car, so I'm not sure how I would adjust to driving/sitting in traffic again. We'll call this a con.
• Strangers talk to you in LA. I've found myself in situations on my last few trips where strangers just strike up a conversation about whatever they can think of. It always catches me off guard and then I remind myself that only in New York are people too mean or self absorbed to realize that there are other people on the street they're walking on. Let's go with pro.
• Bars close really early in LA. Not that I'm a huge party girl or anything, but I'm always up for a late dinner and night out on the town. Apparently this is not something people do in LA since last call is at 12:45 a.m. That would take some getting used to/strategic planning, con.
• People care what your zodiac sign is in LA. Okay, I'm a Cancer... aside from the fact that I was born in early July, I have no idea what that says about my personality. Apparently people in LA do know and judge you for it. Creepy, con.
• Cost of living is lower in LA (or anywhere). As much as I love throwing my life savings away on rent every month, I wouldn't mind living somewhere a little bit cheaper. PRO!
• Cabs don't take credit cards in LA. Well, most of them don't. I don't believe in cash, this would be a problem for me. Con until I learn to start going to ATMs more frequently.
• There are real beaches and palm trees in LA. I miss nothing more about Florida than the palm trees. Humidity I'm okay without, but growing up with palm trees was the best and I definitely haven't seen any since I moved to New York. I don't even think they exist in the Hamptons. Pro.
• Before I get too carried away with my list, I think my parents would disown me if I didn't mention how much farther away LA is from home than NYC. Pretty sure they're just getting used to the fact that I'm no longer a drive away, and really can't just go home on a whim. CON (happy Mom and Dad?)

From my limited knowledge I acquired over the last few days, it appears that the cons still outweigh the pros.. although I'm sure I could continue the list endlessly :)

The real reason I'm not moving to LA any time soon is because I want to feel like I've really done New York before I leave. As much as I loved growing up in Sarasota, I was so ready to escape by the time I graduated high school I was almost running for the Florida/Georgia border. College was an amazing four years and I loved Athens while I was there, but by the end of it I knew it was time to grow up and move on. I may stay in New York for the rest of my life, or I may just wake up one day and decide I'm done. Who knows... but for now I have many more streets to wander down, museums to lose myself in, and of course restaurants to eat in before I'm anywhere near done with the city.

There's No Place Like Home

Wow I'm not doing very well at keeping this thing updated am I? Guess it's been a busy few weeks..

Fortunately I was able to escape to Sarasota for some much needed family time and pampering over the weekend. My brother and I both got to be home for Mother's Day, which was a huge surprise to our amazing mother (my ears are still ringing from her squeals when little bro snuck in late Saturday - she wasn't expecting him home until this morning). Somehow in the less than 48 hours I was home I managed to soak up everything amazing in Sarasota and unwind a bit from hectic city life.

Siesta Key Beach

100+ SPF sunscreen... who even knew this existed?? What's the point of even going in the sun?

After minimal sleep the night before (who was I kidding about calling it an early night on a Friday?), I wasn't too thrilled to be up at 5 a.m. to catch my flight home on Saturday but it was definitely all worth the lost sleep. First stop was lunch at a cute little cafe, and next stop was definitely the beach (no I didn't use the 100+ SPF, and yes I'm sunburned). After a mini nap on the warm sand, Mom and I headed off to mani pedis, and then I was off to the massage that I managed to schedule at the last minute. With my newfound food obsession in mind, Mom and I decided to check out a "new" restaurant in downtown Sarasota (well new to us), Mozaic. SRQ friends, you must go. The menu and service was absolutely amazing.

Sunday morning we had a yummy Mother's Day brunch with my grandparents and aunt (Mom even bought Lox after I took her for the most amazing bagel of her life at Ess-A-Bagel). Great to see extended family in my quick trip and catch up a bit.

Brother/Sister love

After a little quality time by the pool, Dad took us out sailing. I have to say, I expected it to be much more relaxing then it ended up being... I think when I hear sailing I picture myself lounging on a huge boat, margarita in hand, watching the palm trees go by. Sailing is apparently much more than that, as I've now learned, and I managed to add a few new words to my vocabulary in the process (winch, tack, keel - who knew sailing had its own language). All in all, still fun to be out on the water with the fam.

The weekend ended with a delish Mother's Day dinner at our favorite (well mine and Mom's anyway) restaurant in Sarasota, Roy's.

As much as I love life in New York, it's always great to get away for a few days - especially when the getaway involves home and family. Despite getting up at 4 this morning (I'm on my flight back now, gotta love that in-flight wifi), I feel so refreshed from the weekend and ready to take on the week! Thanks Sarasota, always a pleasure. And it's exciting to know the next time I see my family will be in Buenos Aires! Counting the days until that trip... Until then, it's back to city life for this girl.

I'm on a Boat!

How I've lived in New York for almost a year (and technically two summers including when I interned here in college) and NOT gone to Frying Pan until yesterday completely blows my mind. For those of you who haven't been, it's a huge bar/restaurant comprised partially of an old pier in the Hudson and partially of several random boats (one of which looks like the Titanic inside.. more on that later).

It's a completely genius concept that really makes you feel like you're on a cruise/living somewhere much more tropical than the city. Since I moved here I've complained that I miss the water (and cringe when people snarkily inform me that Manhattan is an island... yes, I've noticed). Growing up, I've always lived on the water and had boats. Granted I rarely actually spent much time on the boats (sorry Dad) but having them in the backyard and knowing they were there if I wanted to take advantage was enough. And after 18 years of living in Florida, I definitely fell in love with all things beach/ocean related.

So yesterday being the first real day of summer (not officially, but in my mind yes), it seemed like the perfect day to finally venture to West Chelsea and check this place out. Oh, that and the fact that about 15 people we knew were having birthday parties there. And I can see why.

As much as I love being outside on days like yesterday, it ended up getting cold and some point and we drifted over to the pirate ship/Titanic as we were calling it for one of the aforementioned birthday parties. It's literally a sunken ship (or its expertly made to look that way) that is docked and available for private parties. Knowing only a few people at the party, we took it upon ourselves to explore rather than socialize...

Oh the things you'll find on a pirate ship... Anyway, the last thing I have to say about Frying Pan is props on having your very own foursquare badge.

New Yorkiversary

So after my post yesterday I did a little research (via google, duh) on various opinions about when you become a New Yorker. Obviously there is no correct answer, however I did stumble upon this article on Examiner that kind of rained on my parade of celebrating a certain number of years in New York (but doesn't the fact that Sex and the City 2 comes out on my One Year New Yorkiversary seem like fate??)...

I guess it's true that you can't arbitrarily pick a number of years and decide at that point you'll become a New Yorker, and I'm sure it varies from person to person how quickly they adjust to life here. I guess I have to agree with the author of the Examiner article that there are just moments that you realize you've become a New Yorker. This is my favorite from the article...

“...it's the little things that really make you know you're a native... I decided I was a real New Yorker, when my friend Reid drove me home from dinner one night and, upon arrival, I instinctively reached into my purse to pay him. As though he were a taxi."-- Lara Naaman, quoted in the New York Post

Even after my mere 11 months (and 1 day!) here, I do feel like I have these moments where I really feel like a New Yorker rather than a tourist, like when I'm visiting my family in Sarasota and I can't sleep because it's too quiet, and when I come back into the city after that weekend in Florida and am comforted by bright lights and honking taxis. And I definitely feel like a New Yorker when I'm shocked that my friends in other cities pay "only" $800 for rent, or a Cosmo is "only" $8. I know you can't become a New Yorker in less than a year, but I do feel like I've adjusted to life here much better than I would have expected...

I'm curious about other people's "I know I'm a New Yorker" moments though, any to share?

One Month and Nine Years to Go...

They say you're a real New Yorker after living here for 10 years... Who is they? Great question. I feel like that's a relatively widely accepted statement, although I'm sure native New Yorkers would disagree... Regardless, I like to think it's true because one day I can really claim to be a New Yorker, despite growing up below the Mason-Dixon line (although let's be honest, most Floridians seem to be blissfully unaware that they're technically in the South).

Well, I've been here 11 months. That means I have 1 month and 9 years to go... think I can make it? I guess only time will tell :)

Happy Spring Break

I'm off to the beach for 12 days, so adios my loyal followers (...bye, Mom and Dad)!  I'll be in Panama City for work (tough job, I know), and I'm sure will return with some great stories.

Hope everyone has a safe & fun Spring Break!!

Snow Day!

So today was my first real SNOW DAY!  Growing up in Florida, the most excitement we got as far as school being cancelled was hurricane days... but those were mostly spent putting up hurricane shutters and taking them down 24 hours later since Sarasota never got a bad hit (knock on wood).  In my four years at UGA, we've had class cancelled maybe once for ice on the roads, but nothing could compare to the snow storm that hit Athens yesterday.  According to the Athens-Banner Herald, we got 6.5 inches but I'd be willing to bet it was closer to a foot! 

It was pretty and exciting at first, but I'm not going to lie I lost a little bit of my love for the snow when it took away my power last night, and I still had yet to get my internet back until a few hours ago.  If nothing else, this snow storm made me realize how much I truly rely on technology!  With no internet access, I had to call my parents to check on school being cancelled today.  I barely knew how to use the phone book to look up our cable company to check on repairs because I'm so used to looking everything up online!  Also, once the novelty wore off I wasn't too excited about being trapped in my house since I was scared to drive on the icy roads.

All complaints aside, Athens is beautiful covered in snow and I'm looking forward to many snow days in my NYC future.