So we’re not going to be homeless after all. We signed the lease on a garden apartment in a brownstone in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. It’s a 40 minute commute to work, we’ve got a nice “high street” with decent looking shops, bars and restaurants. Yay! Even better we get this Labour Day long weekend to ourselves, check out a beach and try and assimilate.

Had to meet with our prospective landlords (who occupy the other 2/3 floors of the brownstone) last night. They seem nice enough, we weren’t sure what to expect and neither did they… so it kind of felt like being introduced to a friends parents. Kinda awkward and we just stayed polite and made some idle chit chat. I was expecting to get grilled about what i do and stuff like that, the whole situation was strange. Getting close to being localised. Now if only they’d rent out the flat we left in London which is a huge burden on our shoulders at the moment

Sight – Litter. Thought London was a bit grotty, i take it back. Westminster council and the street cleaners I salute you. There are a few overworked cleaners about who need help. Fashion… too casual. I’ve been more affected by London than I’d thought. Shopping for trousers for work, the ‘modern’ or ‘slim’ fits were far too baggy. Jeans and flip flops are a uniform. Three quarter length pants far too popular, so damn fugly.

Sound - LOUD! everything is amplified. From our 19th floor apartment with all the windows shut the sound of sirens, car horns and trucks get me as does the constant hum of air conditioners. Musically, missing access to my records.

Taste - This week south east asian cuisine. Good cheap sushi oh how I’ve missed you so. Sparkling water has been surprisingly difficult to come across.

Smell – the pong of homeless people. Doesn’t matter where or when i walk there’s the constant lingering reminder of the socio-economic problems in the country. That and dodging them on the pavements and parks.

Touch – Damp, sticky and wet. It has been raining every afternoon, proper angry drops of water. Flash Flood and tornado warnings in the NY area today. Anti-Bacterial gels and wipes make common appearances. Can see the point but its making me (having spent over an hour wiping down my new desk and drawers) even paranoid about so much as shaking peoples hands and touching stuff.

Greets from somewhere in midtown NY, touched down yesterday. Bit jetlagged and bedazzled by the scale of things here (again). We’re in a nice enough corporate apartment for the next month, much better size than the shoebox in Bayswater, London all those years ago.

It’s still going to take some getting used to. Skyscrapers, degrees Fahrenheit, inches & feet, ounces & pounds, quarts & gallons, cell phones, taxes and tipping… it’s like a whole new language.