THE NEXT CHAPTER.....

Moving to New York - the how to guide

Step 1 - Travel to NYC on the 90-day visa waiver

Step 2 - Find jobs


http://www.wpaonline.org/



Step 3 - Fly to London to finalize your E3 working visas

as part of the visa process, Australian's who travel to the United States on the visa waiver must leave the country to re-apply for a new work visa (outside of US and Canadian borders)

Step 4 - Apply for social security numbers and the wait 6-8 weeks for Homeland Security to determine whether you are a threat to national security.  Does anyone else think this is redundant considering our work visas have already been approved and we are living on US soil? 

Step 5 - Find the perfect NYC apartment

Our bedroom door adorned with Tim's favorite New York sites:
Brooklyn Bridge, Flatiron Building & the Chrysler  Building

Step 6 - Breathe.... then pinch yourself because this is actually happening

It's hard to believe that all the little pieces to our New York puzzle are finally coming together.  It certainly hasn't been easy though and given the opportunity to do it all again with the knowledge of how hard it is..... we might still be at home with our beloved family & friends.

What's That Smell?
We found a sweet little 1-bedder in Chinatown only one block from our beloved Mulberry Street pad.  Apartment is cutely furnished and even shares some visual similarities to our Bowen Terrace place that we rented from Bec D.  However like everything in New York the apartment is rustic (a.k.a. old) , needs a little love and alot of cleaning.  We actually think this is the bermuda triangle for dust in New York.... somehow it all ends up here.  Apart from that it is pretty much perfect except for....... what's that smell?

Living in Chinatown has plenty of perks; cheap eats, an easy walk to the Lower East Side or the East Village where all the best bars are, an even easier walk to Soho where the best shopping is and I don't have to ride the subway to work because I can walk there in 25 minutes.  That said, there is one significant downside to living on a busy Chinatown block above authentic food markets..... if the food market below you sells seafood your apartment building smells like fish.  That said, our actual apartment is fine and fish-free however the stairwell is staaaaaaaaanky!!!

Yukky!!!  They sell live toads downstairs.

Casa Daley-Pak

Mum's The Word
No-one can fix things better than your Mum!  Tim & I were both feeling a little out of sorts because we were homeless and were starting to feel the pangs of home-sickness when Mummy P came to the rescue.  Mum came armed with a bag full of aussie treats; Tim Tams, Lipton Teas, Dove Tanning Moisturiser, macadamia nuts, Scotch Finger biscuits, garlic & horseradish tablets (they don't sell these here), applicator-free tampons (see previous blog), and of course Vegemite. 

I am so proud of my Mum who equipped with her ipad 2 navigated this city like an old hat and accomplished more in 10 days than most people do here in a year. 




Walking the streets of Williamsburg

Drag Queen Bingo



Priscilla Queen of the Desert Broadway show
Are we starting to see a theme here?

Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village
Bob Dylan had his first gig in New York here

State of Origin - Game 1 was played live at 6am
at The Australian Bar near Times Square



So much shopping at Century 21

It was a shame that our Mum's schedules clashed and they couldn't have come together.  They both share an intense passion for shopping, sightseeing and spoiling us.  Miriam and Jo start saving for your next trips together - we miss you both so much already!


Just because....
Remember the hilarious collection of images that circulated on the internet a few years ago of funny unintentional penis-shaped images?  Chances are Sam B sent you this email.

Well Tim found this bridge in London.  Unfortunately it was the wrong time of day to get the shadow, but it was definitely the same place.