Yikes!! House hunting in Manhattan... via Virgin America and American First Class
May 1, 2017, 5:56 pm
#48
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: MIA
Programs: AA EXP (AC), DL G (SC), Bonvoy LTP, & IHG AMB
Posts: 1,798
Although, I question the sanity of anyone who moves to that island two hundred or so miles south of here 
; I couldn't wait and I had to visit your site, SFO777, to see for myself if your AA F experience was as pAAthetic/lackluster as ours two weeks ago when we opted to connect via JFK to SFO to visit a friend who just moved out there (F fare was actually cheaper than the J fare on DL/AA). After the latest and greatest 'Flagship' episode, I questioned my own sanity and now it's definitely back to DL.
Any-who, as misery loves company, or if it's any consolation, you're not alone: on our flight (AA 67) there was one other revenue pax in First from what I could tell and the rest were NRSA. Almost the exact same routine (inedible cuisine and cheap cheap wine), only we were treated to a gab fest in the galley for a good 45 minutes... #goingforgreat
As always, thanks for sharing and best of luck with the move!
; I couldn't wait and I had to visit your site, SFO777, to see for myself if your AA F experience was as pAAthetic/lackluster as ours two weeks ago when we opted to connect via JFK to SFO to visit a friend who just moved out there (F fare was actually cheaper than the J fare on DL/AA). After the latest and greatest 'Flagship' episode, I questioned my own sanity and now it's definitely back to DL. Any-who, as misery loves company, or if it's any consolation, you're not alone: on our flight (AA 67) there was one other revenue pax in First from what I could tell and the rest were NRSA. Almost the exact same routine (inedible cuisine and cheap cheap wine), only we were treated to a gab fest in the galley for a good 45 minutes... #goingforgreat
As always, thanks for sharing and best of luck with the move!
May 1, 2017, 7:42 pm
#49
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: DCA/IAD
Programs: AA Gold, Amex Plat
Posts: 4,007
Congrats on your upcoming move SFO777. I think you will feel right at home on the East Side. Your pics of the prewar apartment near Sutton Place reminded me of where I lived as a baby/toddler (1982-85, so I am one of those "effing millennials" 
) ) My parents loved the east 50s because they could walk everywhere in midtown with relative ease - shopping, restaurants and their offices. And they paid $750 a month back then, as it was a rent-stabilized illegal sublet 
There is also something to be said about the convenience factor of living in Manhattan. Just about anything you want is at your doorstep, within a mile or two, without having to deal with driving or parking your own car. And even though the traffic to JFK is a pain (at rush hour, the E train from 53rd & Lex + AirTrain is faster) you have multiple nonstop options to so many destinations from all three airports.
) ) My parents loved the east 50s because they could walk everywhere in midtown with relative ease - shopping, restaurants and their offices. And they paid $750 a month back then, as it was a rent-stabilized illegal sublet There is also something to be said about the convenience factor of living in Manhattan. Just about anything you want is at your doorstep, within a mile or two, without having to deal with driving or parking your own car. And even though the traffic to JFK is a pain (at rush hour, the E train from 53rd & Lex + AirTrain is faster) you have multiple nonstop options to so many destinations from all three airports.
May 1, 2017, 7:57 pm
#50
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,592
Again, wonderful photos and such an enjoyable read. Good luck with the house hunting. Having the same address for 18 years I get nightmares just thinking of packing up - never mind finding a place that I like. I may need to do that in the next year or so, and to another country as well to add to my nerves.
Mrs. SFO777 asked me where I would like to live. My response was:
1) Paris
2) New York
3) Cape Town
4) Montreal
5) Denver
She vetoed 1, 3 and 4 so here we are.
I love this report so much!!! As a born and bred New Yorker, I would love for you to live there! Gramercy Tavern is one of my absolute favorites as well, you're right that lunch is a fantastic deal there!
Haven't been to Marea yet but a friend was there last month and loved it.
Have you been to Del Posto? The pasta is mouth-wateringly divine. I very much encourage you to check that out on your next visit! Also great for a lunch visit and a nice walk on the High Line after, with a stop at the Blue Bottle kiosk for a New Orleans style iced coffee.
Haven't been to Marea yet but a friend was there last month and loved it.
Have you been to Del Posto? The pasta is mouth-wateringly divine. I very much encourage you to check that out on your next visit! Also great for a lunch visit and a nice walk on the High Line after, with a stop at the Blue Bottle kiosk for a New Orleans style iced coffee.
Thanks warreng24.
SFO777 strikes me as someone for whom the Upper East Side would be a perfect fit. I'm sorry you were subjected to the realtor run-around about "Upper Carnegie Hill", which is just East Harlem; the actual Carnegie Hill is really a very quiet and pretty neighborhood with some beautiful houses on the side streets and an abundance of restaurants-- though not necessarily the Michelin-starred ones you so often frequent!
I have however eaten at Gramercy Tavern a few times, the last pretty recently, though I can't remember what I ate besides a pea soup and (a lot of) the bread. That said, it's nice to see the familiar through your distinct perspective.
I have however eaten at Gramercy Tavern a few times, the last pretty recently, though I can't remember what I ate besides a pea soup and (a lot of) the bread. That said, it's nice to see the familiar through your distinct perspective.
We're back in two week to decide if the wallet can handle it.His first restaurant Union Square Cafe just reopened after having relocated. Getting excellent reviews. I stopped by shortly before he shut up shop at the original location and half bottles of Krug were $55 ^
He's the same guy behind Shake Shack.
http://www.ushgnyc.com/restaurants/
^He's the same guy behind Shake Shack.
http://www.ushgnyc.com/restaurants/
Although, I question the sanity of anyone who moves to that island two hundred or so miles south of here ; I couldn't wait and I had to visit your site, SFO777, to see for myself if your AA F experience was as pAAthetic/lackluster as ours two weeks ago when we opted to connect via JFK to SFO to visit a friend who just moved out there (F fare was actually cheaper than the J fare on DL/AA). After the latest and greatest 'Flagship' episode, I questioned my own sanity and now it's definitely back to DL.
Any-who, as misery loves company, or if it's any consolation, you're not alone: on our flight (AA 67) there was one other revenue pax in First from what I could tell and the rest were NRSA. Almost the exact same routine (inedible cuisine and cheap cheap wine), only we were treated to a gab fest in the galley for a good 45 minutes... #goingforgreat
As always, thanks for sharing and best of luck with the move!
; I couldn't wait and I had to visit your site, SFO777, to see for myself if your AA F experience was as pAAthetic/lackluster as ours two weeks ago when we opted to connect via JFK to SFO to visit a friend who just moved out there (F fare was actually cheaper than the J fare on DL/AA). After the latest and greatest 'Flagship' episode, I questioned my own sanity and now it's definitely back to DL. Any-who, as misery loves company, or if it's any consolation, you're not alone: on our flight (AA 67) there was one other revenue pax in First from what I could tell and the rest were NRSA. Almost the exact same routine (inedible cuisine and cheap cheap wine), only we were treated to a gab fest in the galley for a good 45 minutes... #goingforgreat
As always, thanks for sharing and best of luck with the move!
May 1, 2017, 10:09 pm
#52
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Florida
Programs: AA 2 MM, AA Platinum, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 62
As a visitor to your trip reports, I would encourage you & Mrs. SFO 777 to move to the UES. It is a wonderful experience , that few other places in the world will be able to replicate. Paris and London may seem a little more polished, but living in UES Manhattan gives you a little more grit of NYC living and if it gets to be too much to handle, you can retire to your UES enclave which is so civilized and proper as to be a part of London's Knightsbridge or Rue du Faubourg St. Honore in Paris.. I am being a little tongue in cheek here, but I am someone who has a little bit of experience living in Manhattan. I am well aware of the cost of living ( $10K plus monthly rent etc.for the kind of places you are looking at.) But I do believe there is no other place like it on this planet. Just my humble opinion. However, I would like to offer a word of warning, Manhattan in the summer is horrible. South Florida (where I currently live is paradise , compared with summer in Manhattan). If you do move to NYC, be prepared that in the summer months you may want to have a place in the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore or in Connecticut. If you don't, the heat will be the negative . However the positive will be that you will be able to get a table at pretty much any restaurant that you please.
Last edited by sgh; May 1, 2017 at 10:25 pm
May 1, 2017, 10:45 pm
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
Programs: AF Platinum, EK Gold, AA EXP, UA 1K, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 21,592
We've pretty much decided that it's New York or Denver. As a visitor to your trip reports, I would encourage you & Mrs. SFO 777 to move to the UES. It is a wonderful experience , that few other places in the world will be able to replicate. Paris and London may seem a little more polished, but living in UES Manhattan gives you a little more grit of NYC living and if it gets to be too much to handle, you can retire to your UES enclave which is so civilized and proper as to be a part of London's Knightsbridge or Rue du Faubourg St. Honore in Paris.. I am being a little tongue in cheek here, but I am someone who has a little bit of experience living in Manhattan. I am well aware of the cost of living ( $10K plus monthly rent etc.for the kind of places you are looking at.) But I do believe there is no other place like it on this planet. Just my humble opinion. However, I would like to offer a word of warning, Manhattan in the summer is horrible. South Florida (where I currently live is paradise , compared with summer in Manhattan). If you do move to NYC, be prepared that in the summer months you may want to have a place in the Hamptons or the Jersey Shore or in Connecticut. If you don't, the heat will be the negative . However the positive will be that you will be able to get a table at pretty much any restaurant that you please.
May 1, 2017, 10:47 pm
#54
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
May 1, 2017, 11:06 pm
#55
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Denver • DEN-APA
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Posts: 21,592
May 1, 2017, 11:39 pm
#56
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: United MP, HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 61
Happy to hear you are moving to NYC. Give Brooklyn a look if you are so inclined. Brooklyn heights is a great area though understand you might want to be in Manhattan. Once you move here make sure to eat at chefs table at Brooklyn fare, probably one of the best meal I have ever had. Also go to lucali and get some pizza.
May 2, 2017, 12:01 am
#57
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Geneva, Dubai, Paris
Programs: Disillusioned Cent
Posts: 1,880
I'd hire a private chef and stay in SoCal.
Better weather: check
Lower rents & more space: check
Mrs SFO777 will never have to cook again: check
Luxury boutiques aren't right around the corner (like in NYC): check
Just my two cents, SFO777
Better weather: check
Lower rents & more space: check
Mrs SFO777 will never have to cook again: check
Luxury boutiques aren't right around the corner (like in NYC): check
Just my two cents, SFO777
May 2, 2017, 11:10 am
#59
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Denver CO
Programs: HHonors Gold, National Emerald Club, no airline affinity status
Posts: 3,347
Thanks so much sgh. If we do NY, we're pretty convinced that it's going to be the Upper East Side. We just need to work thru the less space for double/triple the price thing. But we're definitely in the "there's no place like Manhattan" camp. Not wild about the summer heat and humidity, so we're thinking summer in the OC and then maybe September 1st would be a good time to move.
May 2, 2017, 11:29 am
#60
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: 6km East of EPAYE
Programs: UA Silver, AA Platinum, AS & DL GM Marriott TE, Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,582
I am currently in the middle of a move from San Diego to Charlotte so let me give you one piece of advice: Save the hassle of working with a mover and light your things on fire!
Good luck.
Good luck.
