My new home - Astoria

2011-02-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend and I moved to Queens February 1st. He fell in love with the apartment right away. I didn't bother going there. Sad to leave Manhattan, to me any apartment would be the same in the Queens borough. However, I was surprised to find out how nice my apartment was and how diverse the area is now.

I grew up in Brazil dreaming of NYC. After saving for two years, I abandoned my college studies confronting my family cons of my departure, and arrived in the land of opportunities in 2001; the year which terrorism darkened NYC lives. Despite horrors of 9/11, I insisted in staying. I loved the big tall tall buildings of Manhattan and the English accent. I had no idea what Queens or Brooklyn existed. I innocently believed that homeliness was exctint in a first world country as US.

My arrival in Queens with little to no english at all was filled with surprises. Firstly, the rainy April seemed to me like the bitter freezing December. I could not bear the cold. I also discovered that NYC had 5 boroughs. English speaking people were scarce there. Yet, I loved the accents of the ones who spoke english. I did't find big walls of tall buildings, instead I lived at Broadway avenue just above the train line. It took me about two months to have a full night of sleep. Every time the train passed, every single wall of my five store building apartment shook. At last, homeless were all around speaking spanish mostly.

Ten years have passed along with my naiveness. As a mature women, I now return to Queens where I first arrived. Now, with a sense of progress, belonging, power; yet I still search for myself.

I love the four full seasons of NY. I love all the English accents I hear around me. I love the greenery Astoria provides and the upcoming cool inexpensive restaurants. It is the closest to my vision of perfect place I ever had... If only I had a two bedroom penthouse apartment with Manhattan view...

I wanted to start this blog because I saw an area that I loved and familiarize with so much not being served by informative sites. Now that I speak and write some english, I wanted to push myself to explore anything there is to see, taste and do in my area and I want to help others to get information on this great area as well.

Astoria Queens

My new home - Astoria