Nadine

Nadine is visiting from Hamburg, Germany. Since she's staying in Staten Island for the week, she gets to greet Lady Liberty every day on her free ferry ride to and from Manhattan. This is her first time in NY City and she finds the NY subway system to be convenient and cheap in comparison to the cost of public transportation in Germany. $2.25 may not seem all that expensive but I remember paying just a little over a dollar per token when I rode the subway for the first time. There's no doubt that the subway fare was only one of many factors that have driven the cost of living in this city insanely high. That high cost of living, in turn, has driven 1.5 million New Yorkers or 8 percent of its population out of the state between 2002 to 2008. This, according the Empire State Exodus report, is the nation's largest loss of population to other states. Yeap, my family and I were part of the exodus too but the cost of living across the Hudson seems to be just as high ...

Speaking of the Empire State, yesterday, Nadine made it all the way to the top of Empire State Building, where she stayed long enough to view the splendid sunset. I remember heading home at around 6PM and noticing the beautiful hues of purple and red in the skies and wavy clouds. I can only imagine how much more beautiful the view was from atop the tallest building in the city. Today, unfortunately, the skies were not as radiant so Nadine was going to spend the afternoon shopping at Macy's, H&M and Abercrombie. In cold and rainy days like this Nadine may be craving some of her ultimate comfort food, Linsen & Spaetzle (noodles with lentil sauce). Just the thought of this dish brought comfort and glee to this cordial stranger.