Delirious Without New York

My name is William Feuerman (people call me Billy) and on October 5^th, 2010, I moved from New York City to Sydney, Australia.

I know, big move! You see my wife, Kate, is Australian and it was always in our long term plans to move to Oz. You can ask anyone, we have been talking about this for years. We have been referred to as the “rug store that never closes,” always having a going out of business sale without ever shutting its doors. I cannot tell you how many times people have said to me, “I will believe it when I see it.” Let’s face it, people never really thought we would actually leave New York (nor did I, really). It turns out that after ten years of deliberation and indecisiveness some opportunities were presented to us that made it an ideal time to move. So here we are in Sydney, Australia. 

Life without NYC just won't be the same. I have to face it, New York is my past and Sydney is my present. It has been four weeks and I have already packed my bags several times and went on a hunger strike. Luckily Kate has taken my passport hostage.

In the past few weeks we have managed to rent an apartment (at the architecture award winning Republic 2 building designed by Burly Katon Halliday), which includes an exterior patio, coy pond, lap pool, and view of the Central Business District, or "the CBD," as it is referred to here (pronounced say-bay-day). 

The View from our outdoor patio (seriously)

Some other shots from and of our building...

We have bought a car and I have learned how to drive on the left side of the road (I have decided to stop calling it the wrong side of the road out of respect). It is taking some getting used to but so far so good. I find that consistently reciting "stay left" helps (a great tip from the American Survival Guide to Australia). 

From left: Kate's dad giving me my first driving lesson; Our car (a.k.a The Beast); Jarred our car salesman

From left: Our car is covered in red, ready for the big reveal; Our first car...

We now have new bank accounts, Australian Medicare, and are the proud owners of a new refrigerator and washer. For some reason when you rent an apartment in Australia they don’t provide the refrigerator and washer/dryer. Strange right? We bought a BBQ (I have intentions of becoming a grill master) and have begun to grow an herb garden. We now have mint, basil (pronounced bah-sul), sage and oregano (pronounced or-egg-ah-no) whenever we need it along with some outdoor furniture for dinners on the patio. All of these things seem normal but after living in New York for ten years, having a car, a two-floor, two-bedroom apartment, an outdoor space, pool, and laundry in the apartment is obviously amazing but quite strange.

This has been a major adjustment. I am getting used to a different pace of life where everything is upside down and backwards. I mean, eggs at the supermarket are unrefrigerated, you have to pay for the amount of internet data you use, and you pay bills—like rent and insurance—weekly. I know... Life's tough, right? I am in Sydney Australia. It’s one of the most breathtakingly beautiful cities in the world. The quality of life is incredible. The people are laid back and friendly. It's in the top ten "most livable cities in the world.” What do I really have to complain about?

The truth is I am delirious without New York.

I grew up in Los Angeles, California; the first Feuerman born outside of New York. My parents moved from NYC to LA in the 70's to live the California dream. Living in New York was always a fantasy of mine. I always knew that I would end up there one day.  The idea of experiencing different seasons, the hustle and bustle of city life, the constant excitement, the bagels...the list goes on. I moved to New York in 2000 and spent the last ten years—what I like to think of as the most important years of my life—in New York.  It was there that I developed my career in architecture and academia, married Kate, and built an amazing network of friends (who, hopefully, have started planning their trips to visit us).

With all that we are being confronted with, I thought it would be wise to organize these experiences, observations, discoveries, and frustrations into a unified source. So here we are... Introducing Delirious Without New York. The following blog documents this adventure as I transition from one life to another. Kate and my mom may be the only interested readers but it gives me a venue to catalog this overwhelming yet exciting ride. If someone other than Kate and my Mom are reading this, I hope you enjoy and please come back and visit…