On living in New York City with a baby

NYC is a great place to live. The parks, museums, cultural events, shopping, and did I mention the protests...the protests are lots of fun. With a baby, however, these benefits become burdens. To get anywhere in the city, one must take a subway, bus, taxi, or walk. Taking a bus, or taxi, I need to first take Caroline out of her stroller. Then, I must remove any diaper/shopping bags from the stroller, without letting the stroller tip over backwards. Next I must, while holding the baby and the shopping bags, fold the stroller which, I must then carry in my third arm. I don't take buses or taxis.

To take the subway, I must carry the stroller down the steps (sometimes there are several flights of them) before boarding the train. At the big stations, there are elevators. If you can imagine what an elevator at the 34th and B'way station smells like, you'll understand why I avoid it. I'll admit, most of the time someone offers to help getting up and down the steps. I really appreciate this. Next time I get the chance to repay the favor to someother frazzled mother, I will.

The big problem with living in the city with small children is that it takes an hour to get anywhere. Usually more. If I can get Caroline into Manhattan, I want to cram in as many errands as I can so I don't have to go back for a long, long time. This obviously doesn't work as well as I would hope. Usually, by the time I get there (I live in Staten Island) she's cranky and ready to nurse. So I have to stop and tend to Caroline. When I have finally finished shopping, Caroline is usually so out of sorts that it takes another 45 minutes to get back to the SI ferry to get home. The whole adventure is EXHAUSTING.

Living in Staten Island is a benefit that makes city life tolerable with a child. I can take our car (we have a driveway and garage) anywhere I want in Staten Island. I can drive to the grocery store and buy food. I can drive to the doctor's office for Caroline's well-baby checkups. We drive to church on Sunday.

Most Manhattanites look at us with pity when we say we're from Staten Island. "Why did you move?" They say. We moved because we wanted lower rent and more space. "We know of a building in the mid-thirties that has two bedroom apts for $2,700 a month" Sigh. Do people realize how ridiculous they sound sometimes? $2,700 a month in a mortgage will get you your own palace in the south. We have lived in Manhattan before. It was no party. I just remember lots of work to make sure we could pay the rent and not much money left over. At our new place (2 bedroom) in Staten Island, we save over $1000 a month compared to our previous rent. That is over $12,000 a year.

In a way, I'm happy that SI is shunned by the Manhattanites. It keeps the rents low. There's another benefit of Staten Island--the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry is one of my favorite tourist attractions in NY. Tourists take it because it's free and you get great views of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge (longest suspension bridge in US) and the Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty is a wonderful thing to see every day. I am reminded each day of the sacrifices others have made so that I might live in freedom.