Problems with Frontier

If you've kept up with my sporadic blog, you know I spend a good year commuting to and from NYC, where my husband was working.  I tried several different types of transportation, as all that travel gets expensive.

I ended up using Frontier, for most of my travel as if I traveled in advance it was dirt cheap... but dirt cheap is well... dirty and cheap. Like that time I took the China bus and spend several hours locked in a frantic gaze with a cockroach.

So anyway, here are the problems I have had, the last one, I am currently still having.

1. Dirty...  The airplane itself could be cleaner.... but when flights are dirt cheap, you are dealing with a population that gives a pass on that, so between the effort to clean and the fact that everyone is getting on with enough food to last on a 3 month Trek to Alaska, then nastiness will happen. Frontier is the MegaBus of the air.

2. A-la-cart.  Sure, you can fly to NYC and back for $$60.00, but that's just for you, your luggage will have to pay extra.  Fortunately for my, I had a closet in NYC, so I carried, my computer, and a few personal items in a backpack that I was not charged for.

3. First class?  My A$$. I paid for first class a few times, usually because when I arrived at the gate, everyone was coughing and hacking (middle of the winter) and my OCD self nearly had a melt down.  First class puts you in the front of the airline, so you're not in the middle of all the germs... that it all...  There are still middle seats.  Extra leg room is barely perceptible.

4. Dark corners, and barren lands. To get to the discount airlines at any airport (Frontier, Spirit, etc) you have to trek to the farthest, darkest corner of the airport.  It is faarrr. You walk a little, you take the air train, Then you walk another mile or two... yes, you end up running.  I have bad knees.  This was not fun.

5. Membership fees/scams: Yes, I said it.  In order to get the best prices, you had to sign up for membership.  $50 a year.  Not a problem because I had a regular commute, but when I got tired of this airline, plus could never log in, because their systems are crap, I called and cancelled.  I was just organizing my papers, and looked through my credit card bills for the year (tax time) and saw that I was charged membership AFTER I cancelled.  I ended up on a conference call with them and my credit card carrier in which they said they had no record of my cancelling and that I had take too long to dispute the charge... Now I have to do paperwork with my credit card company to get my money back.

Do I think you should perhaps not use Frontier?  Shrug... that's up to you... just know what you are dealing with.

The "move" back from NYC (More Anger and Loathing)

UPDATE: There is a God in heaven.  I was contacted by the insurance adjuster.  I will get cash value for my broken items. Wow.  ...wonder why???...

Sept 30... 2nd update.  Insurance appraiser came by today... I think he is going to recommend they pay me to have the sofa repaired, but the rest, I might actually get paid for.  We shall see.

Final update:  I got a check for 1135.  Enough to get someone to repair some items (they will never be the same) and to replace my desk/console.  These guys are the worst. Everything on their website is a lie.  They went out of their way to try to rip me off and when I did not fall for it, they purposely destroyed my stuff.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, we moved back from NYC and ended the adventure, that's a story for another post.  In the meanwhile, the moving company decided to keep things interesting.

I'm gonna be petty now and copy and paste my claim for my broken items.

(leaving out personal information)

The company in question:  Citimovers (why do they have citibank's logo?)

This is the final estimate based on numerous calls and measuring all boxes and bins. The quote should have been accurate. The only things not measured where the tables and sofa, but I described them well, and they supposedly has software to give an good estimate of size for these items.  Some of the items on this list was eliminated by packing in the boxes also.  However, the movers demanded $700 cash from my husband when we were supposed to be giving $500 cash based on this quote. $100 as we new it had been charged to our credit card (we discovered later it had not).  Half the quote in cash or check was required at pick up... Unforuntately, we had packed the check book.  They were hostile and argumentative.  

(including bank statement showing $500 taken from ATM)

I worked with the office after several stressful conversations and some arguing and the deal was struck that husband should pay the $500 and we would pay $746 and drop-off. Cash only.  I chose to get a money order instead. The movers told my husband we would have the items in a few days.  

Transgressions upon pick up of items:

1. Aggressive and threatening in nature.
2. Pretending to be unable to communicate to get my husband to sign paperwork without explaining anything.
3. All of a sudden could communicate well when they tried to demand more money and a tip.
4. Very slow move supposedly in order to make sure everything was well packed and safe (that was a waste).
5. Overall unprofessional attitude.  One worker in particular I believe a manager got into a screaming match with me.  The next time I called back, he attempted to provoke another argument.
6. Tried to charge me $1400, a 40% mark up based on square footage.  Since only 2 items had not been pre-measured, this change was aggregious.
7. Tried to charge $85 for having to walk further to the truck... they were parked at the end of the walk.. As close as one could humanly get to the back door.  It was not the 50+ feet they claimed.
8. Final cost was $146 more than the quote, but that was only due to a great deal of negotiation and assistance on my part
9. Used blackmailing type language and strong-arming tactics, The first manager I spoke to, the one who kept arguing with me told me that they would hold my items in storage unless I paid the higher amount.

It took several more stressful conversations to get an answser on delivery.  The items were finally delivered on the 12th.  

The results were devastating. Everything.  Every case good.  Everything that was expensive.. Was broken. The T’vs I HAD PAID $80 FOR THEM TO CRATE, the sofa, the TV console, the lamp... broken.  A  more detailed description will follow.

But I will pause here to say this. I Don’t feel like the damage was accidental. I feel like it was crimnally destructive due to tense conversations I had had with people who worked there.  I did not lie down and let them walk over me. They retaliated by breaking my items, probably as they moved them into the bigger truck or when they remeasured everything as I insisted to get a more fair quote.  

Transgressions upon drop off of items.

1. I was promised I would get a call a couple of days in advance of the move. That did not happen, even after me following up numerous times.
2. Movers dropped things off the truck and whenever I pointed out something was broken they said “i don’t work for this company” or “sorry, not my fault”
3. Only two guys, one of who stayed in the truck.  He as dragging my items down the full length of the truck, and the other person was dragging my items into the garage.  This is probably why the arms of the sofa are now loose... two people should have been carrying it at all times, if not more.
4. $80 worth of crating 2 TVs was a holely blanket, a peice of cardboard and some tape.  Yes. Both TVs are broken.

Sofa sectional

BEFORE

BOTTOM PULLED OFF SOFA

ARM SEPERATED FROM SOFA further damage to be assessed.  Hardware seems to be missing.  Purchased 1 year ago. $999 Bella Storage Fabric sectional from 212 modern 244lbs (I witnessed movers trying to move this item without assistance, further damaging it)

$147 would not get close to replacing or repairing this sofa, not to mentiont that as far as I know there is a $70 cap on each item.  Not acceptable.

Floor Fan

Before

After... it’s flat. The dome is damaged, it has been crushed.

5.bs  $3.00 will not replace this fan.  VALUE $30

Floor lamp

Lamp in far right corner.

Torn apart and dented.  Not reparable.  Stand also no longer stable paid $69.99

22lbs.10 oz one year old. $13.20 will not replace this item

Coffee Table

Damage to coffee table

Leg gouged... (need to check for more damage)

Purchased 1 year ago at full price $829  120lbs (Melamine and steel)   $72.00 is insufficent comensation.

Console table

Before

Ripped to shreds $199.00 60lbs  $36.00 is insufficent compensationf or breaking this peice that costs over $200.

Small TV

Barely crated at all. $200 TV

9lbs  $5.40 is insufficient for breaking this item.

Large TV

Legs ripped off back of TV. they didn’t bother to screw them off to “crate it” i.e. wrap it in a blanket. $600 TV  32lbs ($19.20 is insuficient compensation for breaking this TV.)

Ice Bucket/Table  (top tray missing?)

This items used to be round... as you can tell by the round thing I placed on top of it (iron ring) that it is now misshapen and the sides are terribly beat up. The tray top is also missing.  45 lbs  $27.00 is insufficient for breaking this item.  This is a rare item and to get anything like it would cost $150.

I had two tea trays... one is Missing:  Here is my receipt for the missing one.

(sales slip omitted)

In summation, these are the items that are broken, damaged, or destroyed. Some of them are not reparable at all.  I WAS NEVER OFFERED full price replacement insurance... I have only heard of this after the fact.  I did however initiate and ask for (COI?) insurance as my apartment building required. The insurance documents are also below.

Based on my calculations, the company is offering me less than $300 for over $3000 worth of items ($3108 TO BE EXACT) , most of which are under 13 months old, seeing as I purchased them a year ago specifically for this apartment.

I feel they owe me replacement cost of the items mentioned PLUS ALL of my moving fees returned because they destroyed the items I spend $1247 to move. The moving company in question has been trying to scam me from the second they got my items on the truck. They were perfectly tolerable and agreeable up until that point.

I feel the damage to my items has been purposefully negligent due to my not folding under the pressure of a price increase. Furthermore, the items I packed in bins are in perfect condition. The items they were supposed to protect for the move... ALL OF THEM, are damaged.

I feel there is a greater liability here.  

Thank you, and I am looking forward with getting this resolved in a more amicable matter than I have been experienceing.

Next step, better business bureau.

Anger and Loathing... period.

This month has certainly raised my blood pressure.

It started when we decided to not take the new apartment in NYC, and instead to fold back and go back to GA full time, for family reasons mostly. Hubby's company was great about it.  We lost some money with the apartment complexes (just this moment realized I have not gotten my deposit back from the new apartment complex.)

The biggest headache came from the movers who pulled a big time bait and switch, and the then destroyed our belongings like a gorilla destroys a suitcase.  I wrote a review... and I am working on the issue... lawyer involved.

The theatre show I am currently costuming, and my daughter in is ... stressful.  But the costumes are great, and the actress is pretty good too... photos later.

I found myself also working on set with a children's theatre camp, while my daughter worked on

NYC Update

I have a partial view for the WTC from my apartment

Yes, NYC is a blast.

But it is also stressful.

And it is also hard.

And I love it.

And I don't like it so much.

I thought I was going to blog about it a lot, but I don't like to be negative, and honestly, there are things that have been a strain.

Living apart.

Financial strain... it costs so much more than you'd think.

Juggling being available for the kids.

Taking care of the house.

The way things are going right, now, we are probably in it for at least another year... But... we are starting the apartment hunt right now, as our current lease is up in May.

We had no problem paying for rent insurance, the first time because if we were new tenants and also own a house, and they want to make sure you won't cut and run... but if you have been a perfect tenant for a year, and financially, you exceed the requirements, then why would you get a letter stating you need to renew this insurance, that amounts to an extra months rent.  I'm not that much in love with my apartment that I would just fork it over, so my next visit will feature apartment hunting, and my next one might include moving... could be across the street, could be across the city, could be across the river in Jersey.  I guess we will see.... first hubby is going to talk to them about removing that requirement... cuz, that's just crazy and unjust.  I would miss the current view though.

So... yeah, enjoying this respite in NY, I head back to GA in a few days to dive back into costuming and merchandising my Vintage store space.

That's not a bomb. That's my belly!

The Atlanta airport TSA now screens with one of those full X-ray machines. Sometimes, I get flagged to be expedited though security, where at most, they check my palms for residue, and sometimes I get the full she-bang.

When I do have to go through the X-ray machine, I have to say it is kind of humiliating. First, you go in, barefoot and put your feet on the germy looking painted feet on the floor, then you lift your hands above your head... and you know... just know, someone is checking out your body and all of its secrets.  Some people do this step and then keep moving, shaking off the feeling of personal violation.  But me... no, not me.

I have to then stand on the next germy foot pad and get felt up.  Apparently the girth I hold around my middle region looks like strapped-on explosives.  The last couple of times, someone rubbed the back of their hands over my stomach, to which I replied... "It's just fat."  They usually giggle and agree.  This time, the young lady kneeded my belly as if she was making pizza dough. It made me feel nauseous.  I replied, (cuz after you are violated, you have to say something, right?).. I replied, see, It's just fat.  She rolled her eyes, and I walked away. Personally I still feel like I deserve a steak dinner.

I'm sorry, I realize they are trying to protect the passengers and myself, but this makes no sense. If my face is chubby. and my legs are as thick and shapely as they are, and my butt is... well, my butt, then chances are, that the girth I am packing on my middle is a flesh belt, and nothing more.

They should really spend more time looking for actual terrorists.

But at least, they stopped combing through my hair, because an afro or a braided bun is surely hiding something right?

Update:  They felt up my stomach, back, and hair on the way back... I'm pretty sure they're not allowed to check your hair anymore.

ATL to New York Commuter flight and my teeny tiny luggage

I found an airline that flies to and from NY from Atlanta every morning.  Just one flight a day. The price is astronomically low. I took it and survived!  I'm going to do it again.

To backtrack a little, I tried taking the bus to NYC to save money, and I was traumatized a little. Over the summer, I paid about $70 round trip to take the China Bus as it is usually called, and it was crowded, smelly, and people were really disgusting and threw food on the floor.  And there were roaches!  Next, my husband and I took the Megabus for about $100 round trip and while it was cleaner, and better, the lack of leg space was physically painful and I had to wear compression socks to stop leg swelling.

The next time I traveled to NY it was me and my adult kids and for $600 we flew round trip.  That's $200 each.  After that trip I prepared myself to only fly and be prepared to pay $200 per trip to NY.  Imagine my surprise when I came across a discount advertisement for $100 round trip in my email.  I jumped on it and have flown back to NY and it wasn't terrible.  But, of course there were some issues.  First, the cost is for flight only.  If you are carrying a bag, you have to pay $25-$75.  AND you have to pay to choose your seat... any seat at all. You have to pay for beverages and snacks. And leg room is non existent.

As I arrived at the airline, and looked at the same clientele I had left on the China Town bus (and for that price, what could I expect). I decided to pay $35 for first class.  (previously, I declined to choose a seat and let them choose it for me for no fee.) Uh.  no, it wasn't first class.  It was the first few rows that had some extra leg space.  There was also the emergency exit row which also had the extra leg room... and you also had to pay $35 for that.  Imagine my disappointment.  There were still middle seats in first class.  Fortunately, no one wanted to pay for first class, and so the middle seats were not taken.  Then there's the fact that it is costly to get to and from the airport, so I still need to build in $100 per trip for ground transportation.  Going back, I may very well be checking a bag, so I will forgo the first class and just try to go to sleep so I don't have to be feel the pain in my legs until I stand up.


But it's OK.  It is still better than either bus company or both combined.  And since I actually have an apartment and clothing in NYC, I don't regularly need luggage.  I will probably get a backpack though because a purse or computer bag is allowed, and a backpack fits both categories, but for this trip, this was my carryon luggage, which qualified for free! Oh, and the image of the little item above... that is the cellphone and ID holder I use to avoid digging into my purse and dumping everything out. So essentially, a wallet on a strap became my purse, and my purse became my luggage.

Now this is not a guaranteed all the time price for Frontier Airlines between my two favorite destinations. This is a discounted fare and if you sign up on the website or other discounting sites you will find it.  Plus, for the most part, you need to fly Tuesday and Wednesday for the best price.  For that reason, I already booked my October and November flights. And these two round trip flights costs only $88.00 each.  If this keeps up, I will never take a bus again.

I will however, bring some candy and a little snack. and I will get a backpack so I can carry a few things back and forth.

Oh, by the way, A lot of frontier routes are cheaper than my ATL to NY route (when on sale).

GETTing shafted in NYC

update: GETT gave me a partial refund, but would not communicate with me. 

It's been some kind of week.  I wrote about the problem with Time Warner and Acceller in my last post.  I am waiting for my reimbursement that was promised AFTER I wrote a blog about it, tweeted it, and forwarded it to Acceller.

So everyone knows not to trust Time Warner, that is not a big surprise. But what about your friendly hot dog vendor.  A couple of days into my first trip to NY to apartment hunt back in April, or was it May, I heard about the following new story where a hot dog vendor was caught charging $30.00 for a hot dog.  This was the day after I paid $6.00 for a hot dog and a Snaffle.  I found out later that should have cost me $3 to $4 and prices should have been posted.  I walked by that same vendor yesterday, and I really wanted to punch him.  I'm just tired of people being dishonest like that.

Update of GETT situation, (below) no one would speak to me about it, but I did get a $9.00 refund in my account.  The chances of me using this service again is low... I do have a coupon for a $10.00 ride, which I may use to give them a second chance... maybe. 

Speaking of dishonesty and over charging, GETT, a car service/App similar to Uber and LYFT

When Time Warner and Acceller ripped me off

Don't mess with a woman who takes notes

I knew getting an apartment in NYC had its pitfalls.  Needless to say, I got ripped off by companies that you would expect to do good business... but wait, they are monopolies, why should they bother.  I should have expected to get ripped of.

It went like this.  I called ConEdison to set up my electricity.  That went well. Before I ended the call, I was asked if I wanted their help in setting up my TV and Internet. I said sure.  They said, OK we are transferring you over to someone who will verify that your Electric was set up properly, and then they will help you with your TV and Internet.  I thought this meant I would be sent to another department within Con-Ed, but that was not the case.  They transferred me to a company called Acceller (AKA Home Connections), and no one ever once mentioned that I was now dealing with a company that gets paid to "help me" set up my utilities.

I asked the operator (name I was given is Cody Bland) what my options were.  He Strongly sold me on Time Warner.  I made it clear that I needed the smallest TV package as watching TV was not the reason we were getting an apartment in NY.  I was told, and I quote, " Basic service at Time Warner is $44.99 for 126 channels".  I said fine and move forward, and even paid a $50 deposit even though my credit is stellar.  I then asked about Verizon Fios, my

My first month in NYC

My cell phone camera is like a memory bank.  I don't use it so much to take photos of beautiful things I see... first, because I don't fancy myself a tourist.  Second, because everything is beautiful.  I can get caught up in the most fascinating textures of gritty places, and gleam of glass and steel buildings.  In NY, It's all art to me, but I digress.

<<Here's my most used photo.... a reminder of when the ferry to IKEA runs.

It can be kind of hard to ignore social issues when you are in NY. Right now everything around here is rainbow colors in celebration of the right for gay people to marry.  People are literally celebrating in the streets, since there is an actual parade going on not too far from my apartment, and this week I went to Broadway sings for Pride, which was an AMAZING show and since the main goal was preventing young people

My first week in NYC

So I am coming to the end of my first few weeks in NYC, I am heading back to the suburbs of Atlanta in a few days, where I will be furiously working on a costuming project, spending time with the young adult kids, and then coming back here to finish setting up the apartment. I will bringing some stuff from the house like plates, and other stuff I have in triplicate to make the apartment more homey.

I am very lucky to have pen pal of sorts.  Writing to someone daily helped my chronicle my journey.

Here are some of the more "fun" occurrences as they happened:

I am on the bus to NY right now. I should be there In a few hours. I need a Xanax. I thought I was all hardy and such. I could rough it. I'm not above the bus. Ummm. Apparently I'm a delicate flower. First, the lack of communication. How dare I expect customer service and think my questions should be answered. This is the bus lady and it costs $50 round trip. Shut up and get in line. I climb onto the bus and I say "the floor is sticky". An older pretty well put together woman looks at me and says "and..." I. Other words, were you expecting caviar? I silence myself and settle in only to find that my seat was In The back of the bus. The front rows were reserved for the workers they were transporting to work. For real. So I'm the back of the damn bus with a bunch of folks that are neither aware of or give a darn about niceties. They brought aboard the most pungent smelling food and ate it noisily. When they were done they fell into sleep apnea filled slumbers. I wanted to get up And poke people to make sure they were breathing.
 And finally as I settled in and was comfortable with an adorable tattooed young male nestled into my shoulder, I saw a roach. I like to have died. Everyone else was like. Oh yes, a roach , let's call him Ivan. Me, I'm trying to get a photo of it for my online review while simultaneously calculating how far a walk it was from that point. And when I got up for our potty break, I saw thAt everyone had thrown their half eaten dinners in the floor. There were little sewAge streams on the bus. At least that told me I could take my butt back to sleep because the roach/es were not thinking about me. It had a virtual smorgasbord to enjoy. 

While I was on the bus, I got a phone call from my kids.  Son finally passed his road test.  Not

How far will you go to save money?

My current life's journey/adventure includes setting up a second home (an apartment) in NYC, which I will spend as much time as possible at, and which hubby will work from.  Being a very thrifty person, I am struggling with a lot of the costs of NYC.  Which brings me to the question, how far will you go to save money? 


When I first quit my working full time, while pregnant with my son (who is about to turn 21), I did some reading of a very popular series of books called the Cheapskate Gazette.  There were lots of tips and ideas for stretching money so a family could survive on one salary and even prosper.  Some of the ideas were great.  Buying in bulk, freezing meals, couponing, etc.  But some of the ideas were off the wall... for my sensibilities anyway.   I drew the line at the menstruation cup.  Thanks, but no thanks.  I stuck to sanitary napkins and tampons.  

Likewise, being here in NYC, my first impulse is to do things more thriftily to save money. For

Adventures in NYC Intro

I am blogging from an iPad which has its challenges.  Whenever I have computer access I will go back and fix typos and better format anything that looks wonky. I will also turn video links into embedded videos, please be patient.

I recorded a YouTube video today that talks a little more about where we are and what we are doing.
http://youtu.be/9e0zx98zjQk

Setting up a new home definitely has it's challenges.  In NYC, the challenges are magnified. We supplied everything but blood samples to get into a doorman building in the financial district... But that is done. We picked out furniture and also got case goods from IKEA... done and done. We set up utilities, got into it with Time Warner (no surprise) cancelled and set up new utilities.

When the issue is played out, or settled, I will blog about it in full.. I will say this much now, don't let Con Edison set up your other utilities for you.. They are actually patching you into another company that may very well cause a great deal of confusion and stress.  this other company clearly gets paid by the utility companies, and I was steered toward using Time Warner and quoted the wrong price... By a longshot. Now I have to get Verizon In here who I should have had I the first place sInce their plan is more economical.

Other interesting issues I will blog about later... Being mistaken for the help, finding reasonably priced groceries, and getting around NYC prices. Oh, and the biggie...  Transportation in NYC.

til next time.

What I was going to do and why I didn't do it

I feel so unfocused lately.  I want more than anything to pick up the sketchbook and canvas again, but when you have this kind of adult distraction disorder (ADD - without the hyperactivity) It doesn't take much to remove your focus.

In short, I haven't done my art-a-day run because we are about to be dually located.  Hubby's job is moving him to NYC, but he wants to keep our home here as well.  I talked about this a little in the fall, then, that got changed, and now it is back on again.  Just when I thought I had let go of the dream of that happening (I really, really, really, really love NY) it became not just an offer, but an order.

The struggles of being a corporate employee's wife.... i.e. first world problems.  Waaaaah, I have to manage two homes... (but I get the HAVE two homes). So no more whining... but serious distractibility... for sure.

So in case you wondered... that's what's going on.

The Rugrats will be home this weekend from college.  Then I am taking off to help find a place and get settled in.  The adult kids will need to manage the house (not destroy it) and take care of the geriatric dogs.. which are my biggest worry.  How will I get them proper and affordable care come fall when the kids are gone and I want or need to be in NYC.  I don't know.

Anyway, that's all for now.

Pray for my family, we've had some health scares this week, and like any life transition, this move is still scary.

Transitioning to NYC- I can clearly handle the rent

I am starting to see the gentrification of NYC in action. I can clearly handle the rent. The numbers meet and/or exceed the requirements to live in any such building... even the best of buildings.  But, there is that one line on every application that says what your credit score has to be to be accepted.  Brooklyn or Harlem 600.  Upper East side, Lower East side, Hell's Kitchen, Chinatown 650-700. Upper West side or SOHO or Chelsea 750. (this is approximate, but you get the idea).  If you want to live in the nicer areas you must have a pristine credit report.

But there was/is this great recession. Who's credit report survived that unscathed?!!!  I know for us, there were a few years that were pretty hit or miss... one paycheck away from homelessness kinda stuff.  The credit report is not perfect. ...And we are doing BETTER than most people we know.  So that means that in order to get into the nicer areas of NYC, even if you can clearly afford the rent, you had to come through the recession completely unscathed... meaning staying employed was not an issue.... meaning you were rich when it started, and probably richer now.  And this is how NYC has become gentrified.  Seems kinda planned. If you are not filthy stinking rich, you don't have the credit report to get into the nicer areas, and so all of the riff-raff like me are sent off to Brooklyn and Harlem (which aren't bad areas at all... but still.)

That means that all of the rich New Yorkers get to have the city to themselves for the most part.  The people who wait tables for them and work in the retail establishments have to live on the periphery at the best, and pay a lot extra to just get to work to work for the ritzy set. And forget those up and coming people hoping to rub shoulders...  If you still work for a living, get ye to Harlem or Brooklyn or to the east side of the park.  We can't hang.

Now there are certainly work-arounds, but even those are for the very well off.  You can pay a company to insure your rent for an extra month's rent. You can pay 2 or 3 months security deposit, plus the broker, etc.  You can go ahead and pay a year's rent in advance. I am actually willing to take one of these approaches, but I can't get a broker to return my call.  They ask your name, and tell you they will call you back, and they don't. Curious. I bet the Google you.

I don't GET designer purses, and I don't GET boxed curriculum either

In shifting my mindset for living (even if only part time) in NYC, I have inventoried my belongings and am considering what I am bringing with me and what I am leaving here.  I looked at my purses, and then I threw some away... maybe I should just get a money clip and skip the purses, I thought, but perhaps, just for special occasions, maybe my old Coach purses will do.

Burberry bags $500-$3000 +

So I took them out, and polished them, and ordered new hang tags, and wrapped them lovingly.  But then I asked, what is the big deal with designer purses? Sure hubby purchased them for me as a gift because women he worked with insisted his wife should have these purses... and I used them for a couple of years, and then put them in the closet, because they cost too much to throw away even though I was tired of them, and because they were still in excellent condition.

I started researching designer purses, and if my old Coach bags still even qualify as such.  I found that they are lower cost designer, and vintage at that (since I've had them over 10 years), so ... cool.  But while these purses probably cost a couple hundred dollars each, other purses that classify as designer start at 400 and go up to thousands of dollars.

Crazy changes. I can barely believe it myself.

So.  Hubby got a job promotion which requires him being in NYC most of the time.  Wow.

At first, the thought seemed just CRAZY.... but now I am quite excited.  It's not like I am selling my house and actually moving or anything, we will be able to get a small place in Manhattan or Queens and still be OK.

I'm in such an excited tizzy, that I can't express it on the page!

So with that said, I need to get my home organizing project finished cuz I need to start apartment shopping, and deciding what 1/4 of my furniture and items I am going to ship off to NY, and what I will just buy.  This is not exactly what I had in mind when I said we would be downsizing, but I'm gonna be reading a couple of books on the idea... maybe that will help me in time get rid of some things in the house when we eventually do get rid of it for a retirement home.