Brooklyn

Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Surrounded by the furniture and artwork of home (after a heroic effort, most of the pictures are on the walls) that seems so familiar yet out of context, it is home and not-home.
The door of the apartment opens into one big room; only the galley kitchen and the kitschy-60's era bathroom are separate rooms. But there is an alcove, which we have walled off with three tall bookshelvs and put the bed behind to create a sort of bedroom. Our house in Raleigh was about 900 sqare foot; this apartment is about 740. It seems like we shouldn't be able to fit everything in, but strangely, we can. The 11-foot ceilings, vs 9-foot at the old place, lend a spacious feeling and much more wall space for art.The open space means you don't lose space to hallways, doorways and corners.
One big room. A window at only one end, which we have made into the living room area. It looks out onto a quiet, residential one-way street. But just around the corner are busy commercial streets.
Busy, but not busy like parts of Manhattan. None of the buildings are taller than three or four stories, and there is a feeling of a small town. (I am already seeing some of the same people and dogs.) But a small town where there is everything.What do I mean, everything?
Within a block or two of me there is: a subway station, a funeral home, a veterinarian, a bagel store, a firehouse, a Montessori school, a shop that specializes in ironworks, a taqueria, two bars, a barbershop, a church, a real estate agency, a Thai restaurant, a pet supply store, a sushi place, a bookstore, a Starbucks, a corner store with produce and fancy cheeses....And those are just the things I remember. Every time I walk outside I am struck by the vitality of the streets and the endless variety of human types that populate it. It's the sort of place I have always dreamed of living. And Manhattan is only a short subway ride away, should you feel the need to go there.
The bad parts: Nearly everything is jaw-droppingly expensive. The dog is anxious. It's gloomy, cold and gray, and the people seem rude and abrupt after North Carolina. I already miss people saying things like "Fixin' to" and "Do what, now?" and the warm North Carolina sun and our peaceful back yard. But enough about that for now.