Today everything was finalized and I'm moving to Astoria, very close to the Astoria Park.
Housing problem has been weighing on me for a while now - when I first moved to New York last year, I was making next to nothing "intern"ing and could only afford to share a basement one bedroom apartment with a roommate, and with the lack of both sunlight (my bedroom doesn't have any windows) and privacy, I was getting pretty depressed.
I'm going to be paying more than DOUBLE the rent of what I'm paying now, but I decided to take the plunge because I'm quite the homebody (not just from the joint problems, but that makes it even more important) and the environment at home is something I get affected by very easily.
My old Home Sweet Home, on the other side of the continent.
I had this airy 1 bedroom + 1 den apt in the city all for myself and paid half of what I'll be paying sharing an apt with 2 more girls.
I know it's just not healthy to compare, but I can't help it, I'm human!
Even with the bunch of money I ended up schlapping on the problem to upgrade my options, the decision still left me with many problems that I had to try to solve.
The biggest compromise I had to make, and what will probably be the biggest challenge of all is the stairs. The Ditmars (N,Q) station I will be using has 2.5 flights of steep stairs (as apposed to 1 I have now), and my new apartment is on the third floor. (3 flights of stairs, albeit carpeted) *cringe fest*.
Yes, I know it was rash of me to go for this, that I am taking a gamble here. But it is near impossible to find a good sized, well-kept, first floor apartment in a nice, quiet neighborhood that gets any privacy and also has good commuting options to my work(subway/bus/bike) in my price range in New York.
I had been looking everywhere (Initially I had wanted to move into Manhattan, just so that I don't have to bike over the bridge) for several weeks and knew that this place was in a prime location, was extremely spacious for NYC standard(I really need some extra space for doing my physical therapy/body rolling at home every morning and night), everything is being remodeled by a nice, clean owner family who lives there, so there won't be problems with rats or bugs, and it has the nice home-like feeling that my old apartment did.
I had this gut feeling of relaxation and domestic bliss as soon as I first walked into my old apartment, and even though it was on the second floor (2.5 flights of stairs actually, I had high ceilings) I took it, and I ended up being sooooooo happy there. I eventually reached a point where I was living pretty much pain free for over a year while I lived there!
I had the similar feeling in my gut when I walked into the new apartment, like I could relax and breathe in there, spread my limbs out and bathe in sunlight, and just live comfortably. I felt that my gut feelings- ergo, my mental health- affect my joint health greatly enough that it just might work again.
We will find out what happens!
So, I'm working on my New Game Plan to help me succeed. I'll have to tweak/re-prioritize my schedules to make sure that there will be absolutely minimum stairs/walking strain on my legs.
So far I've got.. (It's not complete yet, and I'm sure it'll change again after I move)
Exercise Plan
1. Swim - At least 3 times a week. Front crawl with pull bouy for cardio, breast stroke, stretching and floating.
2. Weight lifting - At home for now. (my gym has concrete stairs..) I do basic stuff with 5 lb. dumbbells, and sometimes the Jillian Michaels Kettlebell workout (I like that it engages core, but don't love the pressure on my knees).
3. Something for core! :( Aerial silk is on hold since it's a bit of a walk to get to the place.. a sad compromise for now.
Physical Recovery Plan
1. Yamuna body rolling - Pelvis/upper legs routine every day (I've been having tremendous results with it lately, since I started going to the studio to improve my "rolling skills"), Studio class every Thursday after work. (Still gotta work on the transportation here..)
2. Bodywork or Massage every 4 weeks (Definitely getting one right after the move!)
3. Lots of Sleep, Rest and Water.
Diet Plan
1. Pre-plan FreshDirect grocery deliveries. I'm not sure if they'll deliver to my door (my apartment door will be inside the front door of the 3-family house) but I will try to arrange it, it'd really save my knees.
2. Some groceries/stuff I can get from the fruit cart everyday just outside of work/subway station
Work Plan
My goal remains - Efficiency, Speed, Leaving work on time.
Condition of Living Plan
Furniture shopping - Good Dining chairs. Maybe get a cushioned bench for my room to do exercises on?
Feel-Good Life Plan
(Making Friends, Socializing, Family Stuff, Volunteering, Artist's Dates, Beauty Regimen, Dressing well, etc.)
Building them around where I will be living, biking to Astoria Park/ Costco is definitely on the list.
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