As the plane began its descent into cloud-covered NYC last Wednesday I realized that my stress about finding an apartment, a solo mission because of The Wife’s work schedule, had created a softball sized knot in my stomach. Of all of the little milestones involved in moving to New York, finding the apartment and collating the mass of paperwork (tax returns, proof of employment, letters from CPAs, former landlord, and character references, bank account statements, credit checks, etc.) was what was making me really nervous. Would we be able to find anything decent? Would our naivety somehow screw us? Would it take 5 figures to move into our new apartment?

As with almost everything in NYC, you can do very little from the outside though God knows we tried via e-mail and phone. Whether it’s trying to arrange a meeting with a photo editor or just schedule a viewing with a leasing office, neither will take you seriously until you have your feet on the ground in Manhattan. So it was that I met our NYU-coordinated broker Candy on Wednesday afternoon and began to do the rounds.

It really helped that we knew what we were looking for and what was a realistic price range, and which factors were the most important for us (doorman, eh… location, yes!). The major objective was to remain within walking distance for The Wife (her long hours in the first year demanded that) and to hopefully manage to find enough square feet that there would be room for at least a fraction of my current office. After several frustrating walks around new and old buildings (avg. square feet to rent ratio: 600 to $2600/mo.) we stumbled upon Stuy-town which we had seen before but completely dismissed because of their ultra fake looking pictures promoting the property online. We quickly became believers however.

And then BAM! it was all over and the stress was gone (though now replaced by worries about hiring movers vs. driving our own truck). I signed on the dotted line on Friday morning to our new nearly 1000 s.f. apartment literally across the street from one of the hospitals The Wife will be interning. There is plenty of space for my office plus beautiful modern finishes and hardwood floors to boot (not to mention a friggin’ built in wine fridge!). In short it’s perfect for our first year, if still alarmingly expensive, and we now have a place to hang out hats in Manhattan.

The rest of my short trip became an impromptu vacation as I got to get a (finger’s crossed) sneak preview of my NY life… including drinks and lunch with the Jackanory himself Andrew Hetherington, beers/coffee shared with Robert Wright, Stefan Ruiz, Doug Adesko, Chris Floyd, and ESPN the Mag D.o.P. Catriona Ni Aolain, and a fair bit of culture with my sister Amy, already a NYer and living the good life in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

We are now less than 3 weeks away from moving in and officially starting the NYC adventure. Early next week Salvation Army will drop by and relieve us of a lot of the crap that we’ve (I’ve) accumulated, and we’ll begin packing in earnest. The week after we’ll make the call about movers, and the week after that we’ll be popping the cork on a bottle of Champagne while hopefully laughing that we don’t have a couch or bed yet. In the mean time, I’ve already set up the JLP NYC contact number. Reach me anytime at (917) 208-1918. The Florida JLP office line will still work as well: (786) 220-1215.

Now back after the honeymoon and infinite to-dos of our wedding, the move to NYC is starting to sink in both in a logistical and emotional way. Though it’s still very easy to get caught in the rational fears of change, recession, and insane competition, I’m actually feeling more excited than anything else at this point.

Throughout my career I’ve been asked about the business savvy of the geographic moves I’ve made. Did you try to stay away from NYC early in your career? Not really. How did you know that North Carolina would be a good market to grow in the first couple of years? I didn’t. Miami was a smart choice, how did you make that leap? I just followed my life, family and love.

NYC is pretty much the same, e.g. not a business decision at all. Ultimately life intercedes, and no matter how much planning is done you have to be close to those who you care about and can’t live without. On top of that the Mrs. and I both consciously realize that if we don’t move to a NYC right now (in our mid/late 20’s), we are never going to feel free enough (most likely) to do it again. So its not now or never, and right now NYC feels like it will make a huge difference in our lives and energy and view of the world. So yeah, it’s all happening.

Beyond excitement my head is mostly occupied with moving mathematics; our stuff divided by half, two-thirds, ninety percent?? equals a lean, mean and happy life in our yet to be rented 600-700 SF Manhattan apartment. At night before I fall asleep I ruthlessly do the inventory. Bed, you’ve been a solid team player even if you are pretty scratched up, but I just don’t see a future here… I’m sorry to say this is the end of the road. You’re being sold.

What is for sure is that all of our books, odds and ends, most of our furniture, most of my office, garage stuff, stereo components, etc. are going straight to storage. No media that is not digitally stored will survive the move, with the possible exception of my negative archives. We are of course happily taking our cars out of the equation (though will be sure to make silly pictures of our 2 Prius household before the final day). I’m hoping to get rid of 60-70% of my clothes and shoes (especially considering that I have almost no cold weather gear anymore). If I can, I’m even hoping to shed 10 pounds in the next few weeks as well! And the list goes on… it’s time to shrink.

I guess I’m thinking about all of the things I can lose because its one of the few things that we can actively control in the move. I just don’t know how business will work over the next 6 months. My rep Leah and I having already begun getting the word out to try and make the transition into being a 2-city photographer as smooth as possible, but there are so many unknowns about that right now that it’s better to just be blissfully ignorant for the time being. And yeah, those of you with the answers can probably be expecting a couple of calls, or 400.

And again, I can feel the smile creeping back to my face… moving to NYC. It’s going to be amazing and hard and weird and, if nothing else, a life altering adventure. We are ready for it!