At the turn of 2008, Erin and I were fairly certain we were going to pack our bags by February and be on our way to a new life in Denver.  Plans change, as they always do.  There was a reason Denver wasn’t happening.  We narrowed it down to that we needed a change in venue.  Our apartment in Cliffside Park, NJ had more than worn out its welcome with us.  On paper the apartment looked great.  We had a lot of room, parking in the back, not that far from bus transportation, and rent that was $850 a month (a total steal to anyone who knows NYC rents).  The Cliffside Park apartment did fail, however, in person.  Sure there was a lot of room, but it wasn’t used that well as it still felt small and cramped.  It was located right on Palisade Ave which is a superhighway for noisy trucks and cars, so if you opened the window, you couldn’t hear yourself think.  The sun constantly blazed through all of the windows heating the place like a greenhouse.  Then there was the town of Cliffside Park.  It was just kinda there…. no personality or vibe (except the vibrations of 18 wheelers barreling by)

So maybe it wasn’t Denver we needed, but Cliffside Park we needed to get away from.  We started our apartment search in our price range.  We still wanted to say in Jersey to keep the car, make paperwork easy and pay cheaper rent, but needed a cooler place.  The first place one thinks of is Hoboken.  I love Hoboken, but its just as crowded as Manhattan and almost just as expensive.  Then come the people that say Newark or Jersey City.  These aren’t horrible locations but not really nice either.  Newark is just plain ghetto, and although Jersey City is getting better, it doesn’t feel solid yet.  Erin found the answer on craigslist in a place 1.9 miles away called Guttenberg, NJ.  You’ve probably never heard of it, and there is a good reason.   It’s only 4 blocks wide!  Thats right, its a little town crammed in between West New York and North Bergen.

This apartment on paper looked worse than our other place.  It was less floorspace, only street parking (if your lucky) and more money!  Its charm, however beats any number on paper.  It was less floorspace but it uses it great in its open layout.  Most of the windows are shaded and the apartment stays naturally cool.  The neighborhood is dead quiet yet a block in any direction will get you to the police station, post office, minute marts, chinese food places, bars, pizza places, etc… Its a cool neighborhood.  And as a bonus, we were allowed to have a dog.  (see the Blue pictures)  The new place is also less than 1/2 block from Blvd East, which is not only breathtaking for views of the city, but every transportation vehicle in the area goes down it, so catching a bus into the city takes 10 minutes tops and only takes about 20 minutes until your in Times Square.

We’ve been here officially since  April 15th and have never looked back.  Our lives have completely changed for the better.  It amazing what can be just around the corner.  We’re not in no rush to move anywhere for a while.  Being in a place like this makes New York a wonder place to be near.