Well, I reached West Point at like 1:30 AM on Sunday morning after a long flight and a crazy drive at night that included an unintended night tour of Harlem. Sunday was spent getting a small tour of the area by my friend Brian, who I'm staying with. Today, I started the in-processing, which was even more frustrating and complex than I could have imagined. While I was able to get some things done, other can not be completed until I get a permenant ID card, which can take 1-2 weeks, and I probably won't be able to get a parking pass for my rental car. Luckily I don't really need to drive onto campus while I'm staying with Brian, but I don't want to wear out my welcome.
The apartment search is crawling along as I don't have a cell phone and Brian does not have a landline. Probably I won't be able to get a cellphone contract until I have an address, maybe I'll just use my office address.
Meanwhile, I checked out one big town nearby, Newburgh, and a further town Beacon. Well, Beacon was not too far, but you have to cross a bridge to get over to West Point with a fare of $1 (only needed for one direction) Not much but adds to the cost. The apartment is not furnished as advertised, and one wouldn't be available until 1 Aug at $1,350. Newburgh on the other hand, is pretty much a shit hole. While the commercial sector is developing with some nice big stores like Target, Home Depot, etc, the downtown made Harlem look like upper-class suburbia.
I think we'll end up taking a more expensive apartment close to West Point, but in a charming safe village. However, without the furnished option, that means we'll need to spend a bunch of money furnishing the place. :(
1 comment:
Hey Kenny, glad to see you're back in the US. I hope your apartment search will go smoothly. We look forward to seeing you and Marie Eve very soon, maybe for a long week end. We are moving to West Melbourne, FL on July 25th; if you want to spend some time in the humid heat of Florida, our house is always open for you!
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