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.

FAREWELL FOR NOW, MY LOVE! xoxo Kate

This blog highlights my day to day life in NYC, not the touristy bits. You can read a travel guide for that. 

Warning : The following is both indulgent & long-winded!

TOP TIPS for an amazing 3 month stay in NYC.

1. Have one of your best friends marry a New York resident in the first 2 weeks of your stay. This makes for a ready-made-family, a joining of friends from both cultures. Local mates who will look out for you, point you to the fabulous hotspots and invite you to Sunday Brunches!! I [heart] my NYC family and am so grateful they came into my life through the adorable Quinny & Laura.
2. Don't work. Either quit your job or better still, take extended holidays so you're still getting paid. This will free your time up to focus on the more important things in life – new friends, the NYC sights and your own dreams.
3. Join a gym as soon as you arrive in NYC. Even if you haven't stepped inside a gym for 4 years! This will balance out all the drinking and eating you will indulge in whilst in NYC. It means you can fully let go and enjoy every excitement NYC has to offer and still be a few kgs ahead at the end of your trip. 
4. Share your adventure with awesome people. They will be your company & support in the harder times and your fun & laughter in the good times. If you get the opportunity, I'd strongly recommend Tim & Bek. You will feel blessed every second you have them in your life. And miss them like crazy when you leave.
5. EMBRACE the city, even the not so good things. If your building is as noisy as hell, wear earplugs. If the city shuts down at 4am, devote your bedroom to an after club hangout. If you come across unscrupulous people - stand up for your rights and protest. Failing that, just call the NYPD. They are truly wonderful (and good looking to boot)! And finally, spend time at the beginning of your stay sourcing your immediate needs. A coffee that meets your standards may be hard to come by, but definitely worth the search! (Alternatively, just pop into Gimmee Coffee on Mott St.)

I spent the last 2 hours of my time in NYC wandering around my beloved downtown local area, taking in the sights and smells I knew so well and saying Good Bye to the local community I had come to know and love. Don't get me wrong, I love all of Manhattan, but this was my world for 3 months....

DOWNTOWN.

I LOVE and feel truly at home in downtown Manhattan. It caters to all of my needs. We were blessed to live on Mulberry St, a thriving street in the heart of Little Italy (and Little Australia.) Close enough to Soho to walk 10 minutes to Broadway to buy a dress for that wedding you have coming up (!!), on the edge of China Town so you can buy fresh fish at a quarter of the price of Wholefoods, a few blocks from Canal Street where you can buy designer rip off handbags and watches. (Just don't watch the movie Biutiful first, or that will put you right off this practice) and within walking distance of Lower East Side dive bars and clubs.

MULBERRY ST. TARTS

What an apartment. What a 3 months. Tim, Bek and I had lots of visitors come stay with us. Including our much loved friends Penny & Dave for the whole month of April. Apartment 2B was like a time machine, time inside would stand still, but outside the clock kept moving. From our DJ neighbor Ted, who kept me up with his late night, post-gig parties, to the restaurant owners and waiters downstairs, and the garbage that piled up in our entry area, it was a GREAT NY experience!

MY NYC FAMILY

I am blessed to have met an amazing bunch of people in NYC I quickly came to call friends. They certainly deserve a mention in this blog as they quite simply made my time in New York wonderful. Laura, Clairebear, Carly, Les, Yosie, Sophy, Evelyn, Val, Daphne, Jen, Aasha, Stephanie, Suz, Christian, Jessica, Paul and friends, Brendan, Meg & Froggy - thanks for the friendship, fun and laughter!! You're the best of the best and I know I'll be seeing y'all again soon! 

PAUL DEMPSEY

So… I may have taken Something for Kate, a little too literally. Tim and I first met Paul at the Bowery Ballroom (excellent venue btw) and were blown away by how tall and down to earth he was. For those who haven't heard of Paul, he's an Aussie muso who has just released his solo album in the US (Everything Is True). Tim and I are big fans, and my friend Claire had a crush on the drummer, so we went to Paul's gigs every chance we could get. I had a few embarrassing moments such as me air guitaring one of his intros, singing the melody IN FRONT OF HIM. (Sometimes my mouth goes before my brain.) Check out his album or better still, his gigs if you can. 

LYNS LAUNDRY (Broome and Mulberry St)

Who says money can't buy you love? When I first encountered Lyn, she was embroiled in a rather angry confrontation with a customer, fighting over whether the price of dry cleaning was $8 or $10.50. One thing I'll say about New Yorkers is they don't mind a confrontation and will always endeavor to keep each other honest. I am not really that way inclined, so when faced with this angry woman, I pulled out the big guns. A huge smile, an enthusiastic hello, how are you! And for the finale, a tip. From my very next visit, I was welcomed into Lyn's Laundry like a long lost relative. Lyn and her team went out of their way to have my washing, drying and folding done in less than 3 hours. All for approx $12 p/week. 


So what if my clothes shrunk a little more each time? I was going to the gym. I just hope she doesn't have to pull her kids out of private school now that I'm gone....

I miss you Lyn. It's no fun doing your own laundry.

PINKBERRY. (Mulberry and Spring St) http://www.pinkberry.com/products.html

Pinkberry is a bunch of franchised stores that sell fat-free, frozen yogurt. I always got the same thing: original & mango side by side swirl without toppings to go. Pinkberry visits made my heart sing a few times a week. I will confess: in times of after hour’s desperation I stole my flat mates pinkberry’s out the freezer and consumed them. (Sorry Bek, I still owe you one. But how you can keep it in the freezer for more than 24 hours is beyond me??!) 

My name is Kate, and I am a Pinkberry addict. I have the thrice- weekly cravings even now I am back in Brisbane. 

GYRO VAN (Prince Street and Lafayette Street - directly outside the Duane Reed) 

$4 of satisfying deliciousness. Will SAVE YOU in times of hangover. NYC has vans set up on the side of the road selling hot dogs, chicken kebabs (on a stick) and my favorite Chicken Gyros - a generous serving of hot chicken and salad wrapped up in pita bread. I'm embarrassed to say, the Prince Street Gyro man got to know me very well. We'd wave hello as I passed him on my way to the gym and he learned how to make my gyros exactly how I like them. With hot sauce and a bit of garlic. I recommend privacy as you eat them though, they are very messy. 

THE NAIL PLACE (Spring & Mulberry St) 

$9.50 manicures. They also do pedicures and massage. Due to the cool weather in NYC, my feet were stuck in enclosed shoes daily. This is a far cry from working at home in Brissy, where my feet are in thongs (flip-flops to you Yanks) or barefoot 80% of the time. My feet cried at the daily imprisonment, so I frequented this place. The nail ladies were sad to see me go. I almost cried when on my very last visit, they gave me a free massage, and told me they believed and hoped I would come back very soon. 

WHOLEFOODS - (East Houston & Bowery)

This was our main staple grocery shop. Expensive? Yep. But the produce was quality & organic. And they had quite cheap and delicious fresh, ready-made meals. The creamy mushroom soup is to die for. 

PRINCE ST BOOK SHOP http://mcnallyjackson.com/

I am a huge bookworm and it was a joy to stop into McNally Jackson on my way home from the gym and soak up all the books amongst the hipsters hanging out with coffees and carrying literary conversations. They always had authors in for readings and book signings. My friend Quinny thought this was the perfect place for me to find a husband, but alas, I was too focused on perusing all the wonderful books to check out men.

GIMMEE COFFEE (Mott St between Spring & Prince) http://www.gimmecoffee.com/static/about_coffee.aspx

Tim and my favorite coffee house. Great coffee, super cool barista's, great music. Plus they are conscious of the environment and support the farmers producing their coffee beans. The only disappointment was that you couldn't sit inside with the NY Times and enjoy your coffee. 

DUANE REED

Duane Reed (pronounced Dwayne Reed) is a chemist / supermarket. Our local Duane Reed was the best in the city. From the street level, the interior looks more like a fancy department store with 30 foot ceilings than a pharmacy. Best of all it was open 24/7 and just the place to buy beer at 4am. I had a few lost in translation moments there but my favorite one was when I was there at 3am with a friend buying beer and the girl at the register asked me if I was old enough. (I never quite worked out whether they were stupid or just very compliant with the law.) I thought she'd asked me if the beer was  cold enough, and proceeded to applaud her good thinking (cold beer is VERY important to Australians) and ask if they had any colder... before my American friend set me straight and I quickly produced my ID…

SARA D. ROOSEVELT PARK (Chrystie St, Lower East Side)

NYC has hundreds of parks, and this was the one I'd most frequent. Just to sit, eat my sandwich, think about what I was doing with my life, and watch kids play basketball or hockey. It was by no means the prettiest park around. But it was a few blocks from where I lived, had benches I could relax on and read my book in peace. 

SHARK BAR (Aka Spring Lounge) http://springlounge.ypguides.net/

This bar, 2 blocks up from our Mulberry St residence, was voted the Number 1 Bar to drink at before noon. Need I say more??

We called it the Shark Bar because of the shark paraphernalia everywhere. I swear we asked the bartender every visit why this was so... unfortunately I could never remember his answer. Although we frequented many bars over the 3 months and I have a number of favorites in the lower east side, Shark Bar was definitely my constant, drop in for the last one before going home type of bar. Generally crowded with college students and late night revelers, Tim and Brendan even saw John Mayer there one night. (Brendan had no idea who he was :)


To my aussie friends, this bar reminds me of the Courthouse on Oxford street in Sydney. It has a duke box too. I have yet to be called Shark Bar Kate however. 

24 HOUR FITNESS

Thanks to my gym buddy, mentor and drill sergeant Bek, I made it to the gym on a regular basis. With the help of my personal trainer Jennifer, I managed to go from barely being able to squat (with or without weights), to challenging my friend to a squat off in Italy Sep 2011. Progress for sure! And something I'm definitely going to keep up with.

OK CUPID. 

OK Cupid is an on-line social network to make new friends or potential dates. With the help of my girlfriends, Carly, Bek & Laura (and lots of wine), we created my OK Cupid Profile. Along the lines of 'I'm a happy, outgoing Australian girl, keen to meet new and diverse people in the City.' 


Low and behold I was quite popular on the site. I'd like to say it was because the rest of my profile seduced and my picture captivated them, but in all honesty I could have just said 'Australian girl', posted no pic and gotten the same results.

So from there my NYC dating life began. I had some really fun dates, including dinners, walks, brunches, coffee, concerts, drinks, all over Manhattan. I didn't meet my future husband on the site (nor anyone I was really into), but had some great experiences all the same. As Bek told me every time I was ready to quit - it's all good training Katles...

Well done if you made it this far and feel free to contact me if you are planning a NYC trip. I'll gladly tell you about all of the amazing places in which I ate, drank and danced.


I now hand over the reigns to my beloved Tim and Bek, so they can continue to blog about the next phase of their NYC adventure.

See you soon NYC!!!

Kate xx

WEEKS 7 TO 11 - OOPS WE DID IT AGAIN!

Please forgive our lack of blogs of late.  As a token of our remorse we thought you might get a kick out of a themed post where all sections are headed by a well known song title.

OOPS I (WE) DID IT AGAIN! by Britney Spears

Time flies and week after week we let the blog deadline get away from us.  Now faced with only one week remaining with the Mulberry Tart crew intact we thought it best that we publish a catch-up blog.  So here goes...





BIG JET PLANE by Angus & Julia Stone

Like a true gentlemen, Tim met his mother at JFK Airport and its a good thing he did because Delta Airlines lost Miriam’s luggage between LA & New York.  Unperturbed by this hiccup, Miriam was the ever enthusiastic traveller.   After calling the following morning to advise us that the missing bag had been located, Delta didn’t attempt delivery until 11pm that night.  Shockingly they delivered a grey bag, and not the red bag that Miriam repeatedly described.  The situation got worse, because it then took another two days for the real bag to be located.  At which point we discovered it had been tampered with and travel cards removed.   After finding out the sheisters had taken almost US $2500 Tim & Miriam lodged a report with NYPD.  One to always find the silver lining, Miriam & Tim later entertained us with a story of a “perp they saw getting booked at the station”.  Thankfully Miriam has since been reimbursed by CBA.

Tim with his energizer bunny Mum

BIG MAN ON MULBERRY STREET by Billy Joel

In March, Tim Daley was the lone male in our Mulberry Street pad, which meant he was exposed to more women’s issues, bad reality tv, make-up lessons and shopping than the average male can endure.  As a result of which, poor Timbo became a little starved for man love.

Fortunately we were befriended by Paul A and his merry crew of Aussie & English larakins who live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with whom Tim was able to share beers, talk sports and reclaim his manhood.  Paul recently invited us on his second annual “Walk of Legends”, which is a colossal 12 hour trek around the island of Manhattan.  Did we do it?  Nah....we chickened out but will endeavour to try it next time.

Paul & James enjoying a lager

Distillery at the Brooklyn Brewery

THE VAMPIRES OF NEW YORK by Marcy Playground

April was the month for house guests: Miriam, Megz, Nancy, Kirra-Lee, Brendan & our fellow Mulberry Tarts Penny & Dave.  Because New York is the city that never sleeps, it means that guests and residents alike adopt a vampire like existence.  It isn’t uncommon to have dinner at 10pm and more often than not your head won’t hit the pillow before 1am even if only hanging out in the apartment.  Truth be told Dave, Kate & Tim’s heads don’t often hit their pillows before 3am each morning. 

It hasn’t been the sunniest Spring so far, but we were lucky enough to get perfect weather on the day we saw the New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers.  Sadly our beloved Yankees didn’t perform too well and were beaten by the visiting team.  Fortunately the outcome of the game did little to detract from our enjoyment.  Our focus was on the food & merchandise.

Dave eating a giant pretzel

Toll In2store were represented at Yankee Stadium

Take me out to the ball game

Penny found a Yankee toaster - WTF???

Blue skies at Yankee Stadium

WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY by The Ramones

It’s official...Tim & I are wed.   It was a rainy Tuesday in Manhattan, but the bad weather did nothing to dampen the day.  Flanked by fellow Mulberry Tarts, Kate, Penny & Dave, as well as Tim’s Mum Miriam we officially became man & wife on our 4^th year anniversary.

Moustache wedding

Cake & champagne

Mother-of-the-groom & wedding planner Penny

Groom & Dave having pre-ceremony drinks on Mulberry Street

Meet the Groom Tim Daley & Bride Bek Pak (no name changes here)

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE by Luther Vandross & Janet Jackson

New York City is regarded as one of the most expensive cities in the world, so we eagerly welcome any activity that is free.

Courtesy of our new Tarts, Penny & Dave who waited for 6 hours to get tickets, we went to the opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival.  Elton John opened the 10^th Annual Tribeca Film Festival with a free concert to promote his new documentary “The Union” which highlighted the contribution that Leon Russell made to rock music.  The documentary was directed by Cameron Crowe of “Almost Famous” notoriety. 

Highlight of the night = Elton singing all his best tracks (Tiny Dancer, Rocket Man, Your Song) and only two of the new ones.

Lowlight of the night = 2 of the Bangles opening the concert with a lacklustre version of “Walk Like an Egyptian” accompanied by a kids choir.  Let’s just say, that whilst the years have been kind to lead-singer Suzanne’s looks, they have not been kind to her voice-box.  She only croaked out a single verse before letting the kids take over.



Leon Russell may look a lot like cowboy Santa now, but back in the day he was pretty darn sexy.



Elton John & Leon Russell



MOVING TO NEW YORK by The Wombats

Finalizing our move to New York is actually harder than we anticipated.  The waiting time for our visa appointment in London is three weeks, considerably longer than normal.  We blame Kate & Wills!  Our visa appointment is May 5, and we fly out the night before, which means we are leaving US soil on the day our 90-day holiday visa expires – by the skin of our teeth.   Please send us all the positive energy you can all muster on this day!

If all goes to plan we will to return to New York in mid-May.  At which time Tim & I hope to find a cosy little place (shoebox) to call home.  Preferred areas: Lower East Side, East Village, Soho & Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

We are Downtown kids

THE STATISTICS FOR APRIL:

• No of job applications = too many to count
• No of job interviews = 4
• No of job offers = 1
• No of weddings = 1
• No of boys for Kate = 8
• No of special boys for Kate = 1
• Average no of days we hit the gym each week = 5
• No of Personal Training sessions each week for Kate = 2

AN OPEN LETTER TO NYC by the Beastie Boys

It was bittersweet writing this blog because it is now officially our last week on Mulberry Street .  Worse than that, it is the last week with Penny, Dave and our beloved Kate who has partied, exercised, dated and enjoyed New York City with the enthusiasm of a jack russell with a tennis ball.

Stay tuned for Kate's final blog. 

Love to everyone xxxx

WEEK 6 - AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIES!

This week's blog is dedicated to our fav place in the world.......home.

There are many quirky differences in the way Americans and Australians pronounce words. Perhaps one of the most amusing differences is the way they say "AUSSIE" here. Australians say "ozz-ee" and Americans say "oss-ee". So when we heard the familiar chant "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" correctly enunciated, it was the ex-pat equivalent of tapping our heels together three times and being magically swept down under.

And you may wonder where in the Big Apple one would hear such a chant... the "Aussie BBQ" of course. Courtesy of our new friend Paul A, we found out about a mini-festival of Australian bands at the Bowery Ballroom http://www.boweryballroom.com/ and for the bargain basement price of $14 we were treated to a line-up that would have cost us at least $70 at home.

The Bowery Ballroom
(check out the huge front window)

Lineup included:

Katy Steele (solo) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTewDjqvWZU

Drawn from Bees http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbNCv8nMiYE

Deathrays (very raucousy 2-piece metal band)

Holidays http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P87Go331uyM

Paul Dempsey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cz0Dd6bxhk

Hungry Kids of Hungary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKw7G6n7U9M

Wagons http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEP34Oxf_8I&feature=related

The Jezabels http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0xtEmv-67w

Little Red http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoQwwcf2ERU

Blue King Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJVoslo_xdM

Bliss N Eso http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b33VWxdHrNk

Sampology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg48i8gfnbA

Drawn from Bees

Deathrays



Paul Dempsey

Hungry Kids from Hungary

The Wagons

The Jezabels

Bliss N Eso

Highlights of the day:

• The venue was very small and never reached more than 45% capacity. This meant we could always see the bands and we could get super close to the stage.
• Introducing our American friends to some great Aussie bands.
• Meeting our aussie music idols: Paul Dempsey & Bliss N Eso.

Paul Dempsey & Kate



Tim & Paul Dempsey
(who stands at 6.6ft)

(who we think is) Bliss, Bek & Paul



Bek, (who we think is) Eso & Paul

The Mulberry Tarts with our newly converted
aussie music enthusiasts

Lowlights of the day:

• $7 meat pies that did a poor impersonation of a traditional Aussie meat pie. Meat was minced rather than chunky.

LITTLE AUSTRALIA

Turns out you can walk from Italy to Australia in no time at all. Only a couple of minutes from Little Italy, is what the locals have colorfully dubbed "Little Australia". In the two blocks between Mulberry, Spring, Elizabeth & Prince Streets are businesses owned and run by very affable Australians.

Little Australia

Eight Mile Creek (down under bar underneath)

Ruby's Cafe



Ksubi Store

Dinosaur Designs

WHERE'S THE LOVE?

Sadly the camaraderie we anticipated from fellow Aussies living in this great city has not been as warm as expected. With exception to a friendly few (ie: those mentioned in this post), we have noticed that the reception from Australians living in New York is a little icy. The cold shoulder treatment was recently diagnosed by a cheery Aussie, who explained that Australians living in New York had harder shells than their counterparts who lived in Los Angeles because of the lifestyle. Our own conclusions about this phenomenon is simply that New York can be rough and sometimes treats you bad, so a little "toughening up" is normal. Please keep this in mind next time you see us! Example: don't judge Tim too harshly if you witness him pushing over the elderly to get on the train.

And for those who might be wondering..... yes we still call Australia home!!!

HALF-WAY POINT
We have now officially crossed the half-way point of our New York adventure. Unfortunately we haven't achieved our "job" and "husband" objectives yet, but every effort is being made to get to this point.

WEEK IN STATISTICS

• No of jobs that Tim & Bek have applied for = 24
• No of job interviews Tim & Bek have attended = 2 (both Timbo)
• No of dates for Kate = 5
• No of times we hit the gym = 16
• No of Personal Training sessions for Kate = 2
• No of rad new bars we have visited = 8
• No of new friends we have made = 9
• No of live gigs = 2

DOG OF THE WEEK

Gorgeous great-dane out the front of Tim's favorite
coffee shop - Gimme Coffee