Our new dwelling

It's been a while since my last message. The reason for this is that we moved from a hotel room to a permanent apartment in Hoboken, NJ. This message is going to be dedicated to the apartment and a bit to the city.

First, the numbers. The apt occupies the whole 3rd floor of the 3-stored old building on the corner of Park ave and 7th street, right in the middle of Hoboken. Living space is approximately 65-70 sq. meters, which costs me $1750 per month. Yeap, it's pricey, but if you want to know why it is worth it just keep reading.

A couple of words about Hoboken. It is a small 1 square mile (15 streets x 15 avenues) town with population of about 50000 people, the motherland of Frank Sinatra and baseball. The city located on the west bank of Hudson river and is separated from Manhattan by it. Therefore, it is closer to Manhettan than Brooklyn. Personally, it takes me 35-40 minutes to get from here to the office on 15th st and 9th ave.

Moreover the waterfront is nicely organized (more then a mile long only in Hoboken!), always kept clean and tidy, has several on-water parks:

It is actually bigger then it seems.
It even has a playground for kids and a couple of free binoculars to glaze at the city

 and lovely city views:

The proximity to the city attracts the young and energetic specialists, thus, the city can offer a great deal of bars, restaurants and clubs to satisfy everybody's needs. Generally, the city is occupied by young people with $80k+ income for household which makes it almost crime-free zone.

The architecture of the city is mostly 3-5-stored buildings some of which were build more than a century ago. That is why the city has its charm and beauty. The streets look mostly like this:

Chevy Corvette. Cool, isn't it?

Another contributor to the city's authentic character is an old ferry and train stations:

By the way the other side of the station is not even Hoboken.
It's Jersey City.

Such places remind you what the city was like, say. in 30s. Mafia (the game) always comes to my mind.

And a couple of more interesting details:

The owner of the gallery must be a fan of Sergei Fedorov's talent.
Or just a former Detroit resident.

I cannot think of a better name for the Brazilian waxing salon!

Our gym, which cost us just $100 a year!

Baseball stadium with World Trade Center view which seemed to be available
for general public. I mean, at least the gates were open and there even was a
couple playing some game.

Despite the size, Hoboken has baseball and football stadiums and even a professional football team.

Also, Hoboken proudly hosts TLC show Bakery boss. On a weekend lots of people queue in a huge line to attend the show which is kept in a bakery on Washington street, the main street of Hoboken.

The bakery itself. Not as busy as on weekends, though.

By the way, one more advantage of Hoboken is that it is located in New Jersey which saves you some money on taxes.

Definitely, we could have found something cheaper, but I believe it is worth the money. At least in comparison with other neighborhoods (Journal Square and Grove street areas in Jersey City) we have considered.

For more photos of Hoboken follow the link.

Finally, the apartment itself. There are five rooms.

1. Dining place

We have already bought some furniture

Dining place view from the kitchen.

2. Kitchen

Windows!

Kitchenware and furniture

3. Living room

Brand new futon sofa.

The other side

4. Bedroom.
We are not going to use it as a bedroom though.

Not much furniture yet.
There going to be a couple of shelves and a desk on the left

Lots of windows! All are with Manhattan view.

5. Actual bedroom.

Some computer nerd is sitting on my bed.

I can see Empire State Building lying on a bed head on a pillow. I know boasting about such kind of stuff is a bit childish, but come on... it's like living next to the Red Square!

One of the spikes on the horizon is the Empire State.

Actually, in real life it seems much closer. Especially at night, when it shines like a Christmas tree. Apparently, that is because human eye is much advanced an apparatus than a photo cam.

Extremely narrow staircase.
The main reason why we have problems with furniture.

Some religious statue

It reminds you of a church when you first enter the building. That's because landlord's wife is Italian and there some religious statues on the stairs. It also smells like church, by the way. But it also means that it is always clean and tidy, so we do not mind.

The building is more than a hundred years old

Street view

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and stay with us. There are some updates in the pipeline.