Category: apartment

apartment, home, Washington

This just in: Getting my land legs back after a year at sea

Christa Avampato
Solid ground straight ahead!
Solid ground straight ahead!

As I finished unpacking the last of my boxes, I realized I haven’t had my own space in almost a year. My apartment building in New York was converted to condos so my lease expired on May 1, 2014. After that I went to a temporary sublet and then to Florida to spend some time with my family.

During this time I’ve felt like I was adrift at sea. As I did my first grocery shopping in D.C. today, I realized I was starting to get my land legs back. I didn’t understand how much energy it took to conform to someone else’s space until I moved into my new D.C. apartment last week. Now in my own space, I’ve got more energy, more peace, than ever.

In yoga, the root chakra is often associated with our home. It’s where we feel most comfortable. It’s our refuge and a fountain of strength because it’s the foundation for everything else. When all is well in the home, we have a greater chance of all being well in life. And so I’m finding this to be truer for me than ever before.

Constantly being in someone else’s space was certainly a challenging adventure. I didn’t know how much I missed the solid ground of my own space until I didn’t have it. For a year everything’s been shifting. Now the pieces of my life that have been freely floating are falling into lockstep with one another. I don’t regret the floating—the sublet and spending time with my family were the best options I knew of at the time. Now I’m glad to be setting my own rhythm, and I’ll never take it for granted again.

apartment, finance, housing, money, New York, New York City, real estate

Inspired: My New York State of Mind

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I love New York, right down to my bones. However, housing prices are out of control. It is time to completely disrupt real estate here to spur creativity, innovation, and a rebirth of art and culture. New York is losing its edge because the people with edge can’t afford sky-high rents and the ridiculous hurdles to getting an apartment. That’s why my latest projects, still in the very preliminary stages, are two tiny drops in what I hope will be a sea change for this city that I love so much. They’re ideas to encourage and support the boldest, most creative people in their pursuits to do well and do good right here in the Big Apple by making housing much more affordable and easier to attain. More details soon…

apartment, home, New York City, real estate

Inspired: Transforming the New York City Residential Real Estate Market

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Are you willing to give up your dog?” This is just one of the hideous comments a real estate broker recently asked me during my search for a new apartment. That’s all the motivation I needed to take action. New York City real estate market, your days as an inhumane, cold-hearted beast are numbered so enjoy them while they last. I’m changing you, like it or not, and New Yorkers are going to be so much better off for it. I’m on a mission, and you really don’t want to mess with me when I’m on a mission. You may get me down but you are never going to count me out. You may be tough, but I am tougher.

apartment, choices, home

Inspired: Take Only What You Need – A New York Real Estate Tale

Christa Avampato

From PinterestI took my first trip to see potential new apartments yesterday and with a lot of amenities I don’t need. They are decent deals for what they offer. However, what they offer doesn’t match my needs. Over lunch, I remembered a very wise piece of advice that my friend, Susan, told me about job hunting that applies to so many parts of our lives: don’t compare your options to each other; compare them to what you want. The hunt for a new home continues.

apartment

What To Do If You Think You Have Bed Bugs

Christa Avampato

Today I’m taking a break from the regularly scheduled dose of inspiration to provide a helpful article for New Yorkers because a friend of mine is currently facing this terrible issue. She called me in tears a few days ago because she knew I had some experience with this. I thought many of you may be dealing with this as well, or know someone who is, and I want to share some info on how to get rid of bed bugs.

There are few words that strike fear into the hearts of New Yorkers more than “bed bugs”. Many of my friends have had to battle these pesky intruders, some many times over. I had a scare myself about a year ago. Thankfully, it turned out that I didn’t have them and let me tell you I let out an enormous sigh of relief when that happened!

How to know if you have bed bugs
1.) You might wake up in the morning with bites you didn’t have the night before.
2.) You may see small flecks of black on your sheets.
3.) You may actual see very tiny bugs that you can’t identify.
4.) Your neighbor has them.

If you think you might have bed bugs and you rent
1.) Do not panic and under no circumstances should you try to handle this issue yourself. One of the biggest reasons that bed bugs are such an issue in New York is that many people delay their decision to tell their landlord or management company about the problem. Before you know it, they’re spreading to nearby apartments and the problem mushrooms out of control. Tell your super the moment you think there might be a problem. Your super needs to contact an exterminator immediately to have them come by and check your home. The exterminator is their financial responsibility, not yours.
2.) Look for the bugs. You may find some in the seams of the mattress, though they are masters of getting out of sight in the daylight. If you do find one of them, carefully pick it up with tweezers (do not squish it) and place it in a Ziploc bag to give to the exterminator.
3.) Give the exterminator free reign to search through your apartment while you’re there. You want to make sure they check the mattress, the area around the bed, the molding along the floor, and the electric outlets.

If you think you might have bed bugs and you own your home 
1.) If your home is an apartment, contact the super. He or she may have recommendations on the exterminator to call. He or she may also make the appointment for you.
2.) Contact the exterminator and set an appointment as soon as possible. Again, catching the problem early is the key to solving this problem as quickly as possible. Many exterminators such as Terminix Pest Control offer free quotes through their websites.
3.) As with renters, follow step #3 above.

Many people feel embarrassed about having bed bugs. Don’t. To dispel a couple of myths:
1.) Bed bugs have nothing to do with how clean (or dirty) your house is
2.) Bed bugs have been found in every building in New York. Literally. The condition of your building is not related to whether or not you will get bed bugs. Even the Waldorf-Astoria has had infestations of these little buggers.
3.) Natural methods of getting rid of bed bugs sound wonderful. I love the environment, eating organic food, and living a clean and healthy lifestyle. Bed bugs are not to be dealt with kindly and humanely. You need an exterminator and yes, he or she is going to treat your house with chemicals. You need to get rid of these bugs before they literally set up residence in your home.

If you are facing this challenge or know someone who is, I hope this info is helpful. As my friend currently dealing with bed bugs recently said to me, “This is going to be a knock-down drag out fight, but I’m going to be the one who’s left standing.”

apartment, home, New York City

Beautiful: Making a House a Home

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

Now that I’ve been in my new apartment for almost two weeks, it’s beginning to feel like home. To this point, it’s felt like I’m in a hotel room that I’ll be leaving soon. I’ve had to learn new patterns around my neighborhood and inside my apartment. I didn’t realize how rooted I was in my old apartment. I wondered if I would ever feel at home in this new space. Would I ever settle in mentally and physically?

On Thursday night, I went to bed late after being out to dinner with friends. When I laid down in my bed, I let out a long sigh. I thought to myself, “It feels good to be home.” And then a huge smile found its way onto my face. Home. It had happened. Since Thursday night, I feel gitty every time I walk through my front door. While I have been busy putting everything in its place, this place has been busy transforming itself into more than just a box. It’s a sanctuary. It’s a place of creativity, peace, and joy.

When things are right in our homes, they are right in other areas of our lives, too. Feeling at home these last few days has helped me to see that everything is going to be okay – in my career and my personal life. Just as I’ve been transforming my home, my home has been transforming me. I’m standing taller. I feel like options for opportunity abound, and many of them begin with me just making a choice to reach for them.

Change is good. And change – real, lasting, good-for-you change – begins at home.

apartment, home

Beautiful: Letting Go, Goodbye, and Hello

Christa Avampato

“I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go. But what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.” ~ Life of Pi

The move is complete. I left my apartment of 3 and half years to move down the road to a new home. After my movers left, I went back over to my old place with Phin to return my keys. I went upstairs to have one last look around. I knew I hadn’t left anything material behind, but I wanted to just see it one more time in its original state.

When I moved in there, I had lost almost all of my belongings 6 days earlier due to a building fire. I was lucky to be alive and I knew it. I made my way into this sunny new home wearing simple closes and carrying a plastic bag and a friend’s borrowed air mattress. It seemed fitting that I take one last look around this place, empty, exactly the way I remember it being when I first arrived.

I twirled around in the sunlit space, pressed my cheek to the warm window, and drew a long, deep, grateful breath. Phin took a spin around the place, bobbed his head, and then headed for the door as if to say, “Okay, I’m ready.” I said a heartfelt, quiet thank you, and then left. The cycle was complete and whole, and so am I thanks to this place. It deserved a proper goodbye after all we’d been through together. We both earned it and needed it. Now it’s ready for a new story, and so am I. And so, I let go.

apartment, home

Beautiful: Leaving Home to Find Home

Christa Avampato

Home is such a complex word. At its simplest, it is some sort of structure that protects those who live within it. But there is so much more to it. Home is a feeling, a place where we are most comfortable, where we can truly be who we are without putting on airs and without shrinking away from our essence. It is a place where we can dream.

Today I am trading one home for another, letting go of a structure that has helped to protect me while I have gone about building a new life over the last 3 and a half years. It has been good to me. It has kept me safe. It has been a teacher to me. It has renewed my faith that from tough circumstances, beautiful things can and do arise if we keep at this game of life. As long as we don’t give up, a home will incubate the very best that is within us until we are ready to take that goodness someplace new.

Now I am ready to do just that.

apartment, choices, decision-making, home, time

Beautiful: We Get What We Settle For

Christa Avampato

56c4727c6ae55ca9ddfedcc23445eb2e“We get what we settle for.”

This powerful statement is one of the most incredible lessons I learned working with my therapist and coach, the amazing Brian. I used to think of settling as such a negative word, as if it meant we were somehow giving up or selling ourselves short by settling. Brian turned that around for me.

I learned this lesson in a big way yesterday when I secured my new apartment. Phin and I will be taking up residence at a new place in our neighborhood on April 15th. I wish I could have found a place that was a little bit cheaper, sans any broker fee (though they did give me a discounted fee), and a full one-bedroom. Still, the place is beautiful. I get to stay in my lovely Upper West Side neighborhood right across the street from the park. Because I’m sticking with my current management company, the paperwork was a lot less than it would have been otherwise (especially since I work for myself). It has all the conveniences of my current full-service building and is newly renovated. I will continue to enjoy my western facing view, can break my current lease without penalty, and won’t waste any time hunting for a new home on a tight timeline.

I settled. The new apartment isn’t perfect. I didn’t get every single thing I wanted, but it’s a wonderful fit. And that’s what settling is all about – doing the very best you can with what you’ve got.

apartment, New York City, rent

Step 348: More Space Than I Thought I Had

Christa Avampato

In New York City we are used to small spaces. 1000 square feet, a modest size for many other cities, feels like a palace in New York. the size of our apartments is a normal topic of conversation, as is how much we’re paying for it, what amenities our neighborhood has, and our dreams of a private outdoor area just outside our door. We are a city obsessed with the idea of space, and we usually think we don’t have enough.

Since getting Phin, I have had a little wire playpen set up for him. I leave the door open and within its tiny perimeter I kept his food, water, bed, toys, and yoga mat. (Yep, he has his own yoga mat where he does all his deep thinking, just like me!) Now that we’ve been together for 3 months, he’s chilled out and I folded up his playpen and just placed it against the wall. I couldn’t believe how much room I had once I took it down! My tiny studio (and I mean seriously tiny, not just perceived tiny) seemed so much bigger.

I was reminded of how much room and time we have in our lives. I’m one of those people who is regularly guilty of over-stuffing my schedule. It’s ridiculous, and I have no one to point the finger at except the lady in the mirror. When we work to fit something into our lives, when we consciously make room for it and then have that time or space free up again, we realize that we aren’t time or space starved. We’re awash with it. Life seems so short, and yet if I think back on everywhere I’ve been, everything I’ve done, and the great volume of living that lies ahead, I realize that life is long. The opportunity to do an abundant amount of extraordinary work, is constant.

The photo above is a New York City studio apartment. Tiny but made to look big by a wide camera angle.