Big Bites in the Apple

As Mark and I begin a new life in New York I have a few thoughts. It's said that moving is the second most difficult change for a relationship, following the death of a child. I have not lost a child, thank goodness, but I'm certainly capable of believing this statistic. Uprooting ourselves on average every two years has been the one really big challenge for Mark and me and our relation ship over time - even more than money. Just about the time one feels settled and has made local friends and business contacts - doctors, attorneys, pharmacists, even dry-cleaners, it is a big challenge to leave all those affirmations of a place in which you belong and venture forth to make new neighbors and contacts.

New York has proven to be a wonderful city in many was, but the vetting process just to be let into a building in this city's housing market is daunting. property owners require processes with their applications which resemble the sacrifice of your first born child - this even with a perfect financial picture. Ha! You can imagine how Mark and I feel after a bankruptcy. It is taking time to find a space to live/work, and time is what we do not have. the business, which provides our income, must be up and running as swiftly as possible. Many essential basics depend on an address, IP phone service, the placement of ads in the papers, a place to meet patients, etc. I turn it over to God - He can sort through all this mess!

The costs of keeping us in an hotel, eating out, traveling in and out of the city, including tolls and parking, take a huge bite out of our finances. Ouch! better have a hundred dollars in your pocket to park and eat for one day, and that is NOT a fancy luxurious day, but basic food, no shopping and no entertainment!

Well, all I can say is that the benefits of this magnificent and vibrant city are well worth the deluge washing through our wallets!