Over the course of my life, I have lived in some pretty cool places. I had a duplex apartment in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn that had a homebar, mirrored walls and a terrace. I lived in my late friend Doug’s apartment who I tragically lost on September 11th – and felt as if he was with me every day I lived there. And I had a place on Brigham Street in Sheepshead Bay that was truly the first place I could ever call my own. But of all the places I lived – nothing beats the one I live in now…

…because this house is freakin’ sweet!

I live in a Condominium complex that is truly the most serene place I have ever lived. With trees and green grass throughout the complex, I have never seen so much unused land before. Also, for the first time in my life – I actually have a lawn – which is mowed by the maintenance crew of the complex, who also handles shoveling snow and raking leaves.

The house itself is beautiful. When Julie and I came to Red Bank to look for apartments, my friend Miceli’s wife Sylvia, who is a real estate agent, showed us four places, with our current home being the last one. As soon as we walked in – I turned to Julie and said, “We have to live here.” While the other places felt like all of the other apartments I have lived in – this one actually felt like a home from the moment we walked through the door – a feeling I have never experienced before. So we immediately told Sylvia that apartment number four was the place we wanted – and thankfully – we scored it.

The landlord is also great. Although we have never met him, he is down to Earth and treats us with as much respect as we treat him with. He is always kind to us and when we told him that our refrigerator is on the fritz – he offered to buy us a new one no questions asked. I really hope I meet this guy one day – so I can take him and his wife out to a very well deserved dinner.

The apartment, besides being beautiful inside, comes with a parking space and a storage unit where we can store stuff we don’t usually need until certain times of the year. The apartment itself is a two bedroom (which means we have an office), has a great kitchen with a dishwasher, a full bathroom, great closet space – and wood floors that allow Beavis to play with his bouncy balls and slide all over the place as he chases after them. The windows are wide and the ability to air the place out provides great gusts of fresh air. I truly love it here and smile every time I walk through the door.

I do not know how much longer Julie and I will live here – as my Fort is closing and Julie and I may have to relocate for my job in one to two years. But if there was no relocation on the horizon – I think for the first time – I may have actually tried to buy the place – because that is how much I love it.