Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Day 6... A Basic Human Right

I love you all for commiserating with me over my shower woes. The good news is that the cleaning ladies came today, and my shower is now sparkling! (Well... as sparkling as it can get here.) I bought a drain cover (to catch the hair) and informed my roomie of my goal to keep the drain clear... I hope she got the hint.



After marveling at the cleanliness of the bathroom, I decided to take a morning stroll over to Chelsea Market since it was closed last night. The Anthropologie at Chelsea Market is PHENOMENAL. Seriously, one of the best Anthropologie's I've ever seen. Gorgeous layout, multiple floors... I felt like I was in a museum. And? Despite the beauty surrounding me, I didn't purchase a single thing. Which leads me to my next point...

This is a city of consumerism, for sure. Besides the multitude of beautiful shops, there's the food... oh the food. The amount of money I've spent on food since I've gotten to the city (not even one whole week) is astounding, and well, I am nervous. Because, you see, I am (or I'm supposed to be) on a strict budget here, and I've already blown the food bit. And it's hard because I've never had to pay that much attention to the money I spend on food. No, I don't go out for $200 dinners frequently (or EVER if I'm paying), but I don't hesitate to drop $40 here for dinner or $5 there for an iced coffee. Food is a basic human right! It's not like buying shoes or makeup, right? Wrong. I've got to get my food spending in control, but I'm just not sure how. Right now I'm scheduling meeting after meeting with friends of friends and other contacts, and they all revolve around food. That's not always going to be the norm, but what am I supposed to do now? I need to meet people! Not just for social reasons, but to make professional connections as well.

Tonight, for example, I met up with a friend of a friend at The Smith in the East Village for a late dinner. Although this dinner was fairly cheap (I didn't get a drink, and I ordered an appetizer salad and a side dish) at $18, it's still $18, ya know? But the time spent with her was priceless, and let's be honest, you have to multitask in this city. People have little time as it is so if it's not over brunch or dinner or drinks, it's not happening. And although cooking saves money, it still ain't cheap. Groceries here are expensive, AND my roomies don't cook which means there's no cookware. (So far my "cooking" has consisted of making green smoothies and heating Amy's frozen burritos.)

This is what I signed up for - living in a city that 2-3x more expensive at probably 40% the salary (and I don't even have a salary yet!). This is all part of the journey, the adventure, the struggle, but just thinking about my lack of spending money is un peu depressing. Sigh. Despite all that, I'm still in love with the city. I just need to learn how to live in it without spending a fortune.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

ehhh C...you will figure it out. food is where i always blow my budget to. a true foodie just can't resist! we are willing to skip on other things if it means money for good food, right?

on another note...how in the world did you not buy anything from Anthro??!! i think you have major will power. food and Anthro are my downfalls. i have no control.

you can always skip the cocktail (gasp) to save on money. it's nothing but empty calories anyways right? (gasp again....empty but oh so good calories :)

Revanche said...

Hugs! I'm glad you're enjoying the city (and the grimier bits as well ;P) and that you've got budgets on the mind.

Keep me posted if you need help on that front!

Katness said...

Chelsea Market is truly one of my favorite places in the city and you can find everything under one roof. My favorite is One Lucky Duck and that awesome nut and dried fruit store next to it. And how lovely are the People's Pops, the tea store, the cupcake bakery etc. Wish I worked there so I could be there every day... But yeah, would have to spend tons of money.

thegirlhassparke said...

Food is a huge blowout in my budget too. Alot of my social plans revolve around food. I can definately understand that you need to be "eating out" at the moment. Just keep doing what you did last night go without a drink and get a cheaper meal.Goodluck with it!

Tamara said...

I'm sure it's a tough adjustment and you'll figure it out, but in the end the experience will be so worth every penny (over)spent on food!