Flashback: NYC Love

Disclaimer: I did not find my love on the personal ads of craigslist, but I do thank craigslist for bringing us together.

It is true that I met my love in Brooklyn and... indirectly, I met him through craiglist! And, I think I will tell you all about it... it's not as creepy as it sounds.

I was living and working way out in Suffolk County Long Island. My company could have placed me anywhere in the country (because I agreed to that), but luckily, they placed me on the East Coast. I was happy about this arrangement because it was relatively close to home (in NJ) and because I had family in NY that I was never as close to as I'd hoped to be. I was living by myself in a one bedroom apartment. I had a Trader Joe's down the street. I had a membership to NYSC. I was pretty content until one day three months after finally moving and settling into my apartment, I got a promotion! Woo! This promotion meant that I would relocate to Seaford, NY which is in Nassau County and much closer to the city. I had always wanted to live in the city, and I knew this was my opportunity.

I was planning on moving to Queens because it is essentially part of Long Island. I was looking in Queens for a one bedroom and seriously having no luck. I lived in a really cute house in college, my previous apartment in Long Island, although small, had tile floors and granite counter tops... so I, admittedly, was a bit spoiled. My budget and my taste were not coinciding. I had spent days in Queens looking at apartments and countless hours on the internet searching, too. I was beginning to lose hope.

One weekend I was at home in NJ visiting my parents and there was a snow storm. We were watching the news and they showed Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The hipsters were helping one another shovel and open their stores and cute cafes and a light bulb went off in my head. Duh! Brooklyn! Why hadn't I thought of that sooner? Sure, the commute was a little bit longer, but it would so be worth it.

I started looking at rent prices and was outraged at how expensive it was. I was thinking this plan wouldn't work out either. Until one day, I was clicking around on craigslist and found a link for rooms and shares and that is where I saw pictures of a building I didn't think could be real. I decided to call anyway. The next day I was driving to Brooklyn and giving a deposit for the most beautiful apartment. There was a little bit of drama with the sketchy broker (this is a happy story so I'll leave all that out), but in about a week, I was moving into my brand new, never before lived in, 5 bedroom duplex penthouse apartment with views of the Williamsburg Bridge, the Lower East Side, and the Empire State Building. The apartment had hardwood floors throughout, 2 full bathrooms, 3 balconies, and 1 massive terrace. It had an Italian kitchen with an island, marble counter tops, stainless steel appliances, a dishwasher, a washer machine and a dryer. The building had a gym open 24/7! I was over the moon. I had four new roommates, too!

As you can imagine, that's where my love comes in... it was not love at first sight. It wasn't a romantic dream from the get-go, but it didn't take long for me to know...

We signed the lease, divvied up the rent between us, and then went about deciding on room assignments. My love was the last person to respond to the broker's ad on craigslist so it was only fair that he had last choice. We had already agreed on who would be in each room before he arrived. He tells the story differently, but I swear, I'm sticking to the facts (wink wink) when I tell it my way!

My love wanted my room. I can't blame him. I had a private balcony, a big bedroom, and a great big window. He said the broker had told him that would be his room. I explained to him that I had already decided on this room and the other roommates agreed. I explained to him that I had a Queen-sized bed already and I didn't think it would fit in the room we intended to be his. He had just arrived in the USA so his accent was thicker than I can imagine now but he said, "Ze bed is ze problem? I will buy you a bed." I assured him that I was fine with the bed I already had, and I wouldn't budge. He was to take the room downstairs or we'd find someone who would. After a little arguing between the other guys and him, he agreed to taking the downstairs room (which really had a much nicer view, a bigger closet, and was downstairs where the bathrooms were).

So, as you can see, I wasn't too enthused with having him in the apartment. However, he ended up being a really nice guy when it came down to the whole moving in thing. We were constantly taking trips to IKEA, moving furniture, putting furniture together, etc. I am not too handy, and he was super helpful. We started to really bond while spending our evenings making dinner together, putting furniture together, arranging our rooms, then rearranging our rooms trying to get everything just right. We would go out together (with our other roommates) on the weekends, and I just quickly started to really like love him.

                                                  .....And, I still do (but WAY more)!


We will always have love in our hearts for NYC, because it's where our love story began. We didn't do too many touristy things while living in NY but when friends visited or when we had some extra time, we did our best to do that kind of stuff. (I've previously posted about our trips to the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Central Park. We also went to see the tree lit up at Rockefeller Center in December and with his brother and friend to Times Square - which New Yorkers actually loathe - See below!)

it's his big brother visiting from France!

his brother and friend

3 french men in NYC!

Everyday isn't a fairytale, but no one can put a smile on my face as fast as he can. They say you know you really love someone when you love them for all of them - when you love them even with their flaws - and that's how I feel about him. It's mektoub.