I left New York because I wanted off street parking and NYC was no place to raise a golden retriever. It’s been exile ever since.
I live in Washington DC. in a New York frame of mind.
I have off street parking but I don’t like to drive. I can’t have a golden retriever because they’re not allowed in the building. I can’t vote except in local and Presidential elections. Washington DC has no Senators.We have a Congresswoman, but she’s not permitted to vote on the floor.
“You could always move,” says Memphis Earlene.
I love my neighborhood. I love my apartment, which has two walk-in closets, gets plenty of light, and is rent-controlled. A New Yorker’s wet-dream of an apartment. No New York girl gives up a rent-controlled apartment in a good neighborhood without a court order.
“Voting is overrated. It only encourages them,” says Scarlett, my fashion consultant.
Memphis Earlene 
I’m living vicariously through you, you know!
it goes both ways–you have 2 dogs, animals that in theory at least would risk their lives to save yours. Not like cats, who just glare at you and send thought waves. “Feed me now. Feed me now.”
Yay for DC– my son’s favorite city. Way more class than NYC and yes, Rent Control rules. I like to visit NYC but I marvel at all who call it their home. Stick with DC, Memphis, and hold onto that apt– in NYC, the walk-in closet alone would bankrupt you– XX E
ONe of the best things about Washington DC is the large and friendly writing community.
And my fashion advisor, Scarlett G. says the second hand shopping is superior to New York’s.