Relocating from New York City to Raleigh, NC

After 8-ish years in New York City, we are leaving for parts South. We've talked about it, mulled it over, changed our minds, changed them back again. But it seems it's actually going to happen this time. We used to be comfy in our good-sized (for NYC) one bedroom apartment, but that was before we birthed our tiny daughter, who from the second her six and a half pound self came through the door, has ruled the roost. The place now looks (to quote a poster at another website I frequent) like the Collyer brothers opened a day care. Not to mention the fact that our rent has shot up more than 33% in the last two years, so we're now paying enough for 2 or 3 mortgages in many parts of the country. And we don't even have a doorman. And we can't afford even a modest 2-bedroom in the city. (What a deal!!)

We've had a tremendous amount of fun here. We arrived, separately, as single people, met through the magic of the Internets, married, held various jobs, reproduced, and kept the peanut alive for more than a year and counting. In the meantime we've had many memorable moments here, from the weird and awesome (meeting, for example, Morgan Spurlock, Crazy Legs Conti and Frank Spangenberg, all during random strolls through the East Village), to the weird and traumatizing (collision with a bicycle messenger, apartment building becoming part of a crime scene, citywide blackout, sprayed with blood on the job, banned from video store after altercation with Kevin Smith-esque clerk).

So that's it. So long neighbors banging on the wall when the baby cries. So long black slush coating our boots & our stroller. So long spending $11 on a pint of ice cream & a box of cereal. So long takeout delivery options from 30 nations within a 20 block radius. So long spontaneous playdates just one apartment down. So long Broadway, Met Opera and the Yankees.

Hello....? I have no idea - stay tuned...

Tomorrow I go house hunting!