Biting the Big Apple!

"Start spreading the news 
I am leaving today 
I want to be a part of it 
New York, New York 

These vagabond shoes 
They are longing to stray 
Right through the very heart of it 
New York, New York 

I want to wake up in that city 
That doesn't sleep 
And find I'm king of the hill 
Top of the heap 

My little town blues 
They are melting away 
I gonna make a brand new start of it 
In old New York"

-Thank you Frank for reading my mind.  

 Well if my musical hint and post title have left you wondering, let me explain.  New York was not on our radar for jobs that long ago.  But when Adam started networking with some great attorneys up there, we began to wonder if the Big Apple had room for us. I especially did not think Adam would like it as much as he did.  But when he started to get a surprisingly amount of call back interviews, we took a closer look at it.  So off he went to NEW YORK CITY! He was impressed with how nice some of the firms were, and even left one firm saying that he felt like they could all be his best friends.  (Seriously, Adam said that he had to fight the impulse to give some of them hugs!)  Relying on all of the crazy networking he did earlier this year, he had connected with a lot of people and lots of firms he was hoping to get offers from.  But even at this point, we still were not sure if we could actually move to New York and if it would be the right decision for our family.  I mean, it's New York: it's big, it's expensive, and it's maybe a little intimidating for two kids coming from the Western suburbs.

So Adam decided to keep all his interviews he had in Dallas just to compare.  And while he really enjoyed lots of firms, and had several call backs interviews offered, in the end we decided that he fit in more with the New York firms and we are just not ready to settle down.   

Also, since my former company is based in Long Island, I have been there several times and have to admit that I did not love it there, which I've reminded Adam about throughout this process.  So we decided to take a last minute family trip and check it all out together, to really see if it would be something we think we could a) actually pull off as a family, and b) be happy with. Adam had a couple more interviews that lasted 3-4 hours at a time, so on those days, Solana and I went and explored the city.  

Here are the quick highlights:

Thanks to the lovely firms, our trip was all paid for, and we were put up in nice hotel right on Central Park.  This was a view from one of the rooms in our suite.  We loved it there!

(Haha, just kidding.  We had a nice, but small "street view" room with no view of the Park, but of course, we loved it.)

The first day we got there, we ran around Central Park, and Solana had a blast chasing birds, climbing rocks, and playing on the playground.  Honestly, she can just chase birds, running full speed in circles, for like twenty minutes at a time.  It is really impressive.

"Daddy, good luck on your interview!" Adam and I stopped outside of a busy office building on 5th Avenue so that I could take his picture before he met with another firm.  We parted ways and wished him luck. 

p.s. Who is this chic mad doggin' me?! psh!

This is the moment I wished I could buy her everything.  

While Adam was at interviews, we headed over to FAO Schwartz, and oh she had so much fun, she played with all the dolls, and got to run around on the floor piano, and played with lots of stuffed animals that were bigger than she was. Of course the fun didn't stop there, we then headed to the 3-story American Girl Store! It was fun for me because I grew up with American Girl dolls, but it was especially fun because Solana thought she had died and gone to baby heaven.  The whole 3rd floor is all the bitty babies, and she ran from room to room playing and make-believing and it was the sweetest thing to behold. 

Hanging out in the subway on our way to Brooklyn. 

  I became a giant germaphobe in the city.  Solana hates sitting in her stroller, and she doesn't really have a walking speed, so anytime she moves it's either jumping or running, but in the city I could just not do that.  So she was strapped in tight and actually did pretty good holding in her energy, waiting to release all of it on the birds in the Park.  

Our last day there we headed out to Brooklyn (we heard its the best place to live for families in the city)  and we had so much fun. We could not believe that we were still in New York — it was so quiet! They had lots of parks and not just city parks, but like huge parks surrounded by trees and walking trails. She ran wild and it was great for us to see a place for us to possibly live next summer. 

This is how we kept Solana busy on the subway, we let her take pictures with my phone.  It worked for like 5 minutes out of a 30 minute ride, but hey, it makes for some fun memories.  

Now on to the fun part, making a decision for our future!! Adam has a deadline to make a decision by September 3rd, so it looks like soon, we'll know exactly where we're going!