Movin' on up...to the East Side.

Apartment hunting in New York is an extremely unique experience. Here are a few tips I learned along the way, in case you decide to move there any time soon:

1. Be ready to pay a lot of money up front. That 15% of the annual rent brokerage fee is a killer.

2. Be decisive. Apartments go fast and the idea of "sleeping on a decision" just isn't an option.

3. Be flexible. List your top priorities in a place and be happy getting 3 out of the 5.

The last week was a whirlwind! We went from having a dozen apartments lined up in Brooklyn to having them all get rented before we even got there. We went from looking in Brooklyn to then turning our search to Manhattan, finding a realtor, and looking at 3 apartments to know that we had found the one. We saw apartments that were near laughable when it came to size. I knew we'd have to downsize, but I wasn't ready for 250 square feet, 1 foot of counter top space, and a closet the size of a shoebox. Needless to say we found a place and it's nothing like what I just described.

I absolutely LOVE our apartment, all 550 sq. feet of it!

The kitchen is huge, by Manhattan standards.

There is a ton of storage (3 big closets!). Rare in the city.

It's in a great, and safe, area on the Upper East Side.

Kyle and I are so thrilled about our new adventure in the city and living in Manhattan will allow us to be close to everything.

Here's a sneak peak at our apartment (please ignore the hideous college style decor and clutter everywhere, the single guy living there doesn't quite have my same taste). I can't wait to move-in and put our touches on the place.