Erin Miller

the expensive New York City lifestyle

Just the other night my loving boyfriend was making fun of me for the amount of money I spend on my "expensive New York City lifestyle." The comment was prompted by me saying how I was going to pay someone else to wash my laundry today. And that is what is actually happening, and yes, it is a luxury. But how excited would you be if you knew that on the way home from walking your dog you were just going to stop by the laundromat and pick up your load of laundry that was just washed for less than 10 dollars? Did I mention that all of the clothes come back perfectly folded? From time to time I try to argue against New York City being particularly expensive. I do this partially due to my ulterior motive to have my cheap living style boyfriend move out here as soon as possible. And truly, I can get a great tuna sandwich at the Bodega downstairs (the one under my building, not the one across the street that was shut down for running a multi-million dollar a year drug ring) for somewhere between a buck fifty and two-fifty, depending on how much I am smiling and if its a sunny day. (Sandwiches seem to be cheaper when its sunny.) And for a buck-fifty, its almost cheaper than buying all the ingredients yourself. So I was thinking all of these thoughts -- looking forward to picking up my washed and perfectly folded clothes, and thinking about maybe grabbing a cheap sandwich -- while I went grocery shopping this afternoon. I picked up a few things for my roommates too, and while I was checking out, I realized, shocked, that there was no way I was going to carry all of this back to my apartment in one trip. So the guy who was bagging offered to deliver it. I reluctantly accepted, and had all of my groceries (including a gallon of milk and more than a gallon of juice, oh and did I mention an 18 lb. bag of dog food?) all carried all the way to the door of my apartment for a 3 dollar tip. It was a beautiful experience. And Dan, while you may think it was a frivolous expense, I think it is better to think that if that gentleman hadn't carried my 18lb bag of dog food to my apartment today, I would have been asking you to do it on Friday:) Here's to the New York City lifestyle.