MyLife as an Unofficial Japanese Tour Guide – Part 2

Hello and Welcome Back to the conclusion of my adventure being an Unofficial Japanese Tour Guide!  Miss Day 1?  Click here to catch up!

Day 2 – Thursday

Stop 1: An American Breakfast – 8:05 am

I took Saya and my sister to have their “American Breakfast” at a little bagel shop by my house.  As Saya devoured her blueberry bagel covered in cream cheese. I asked what she normally had for breakfast and she replied, “Rice or Miso Soup.”  I guess even on the other side of the world people like carbs for breakfast …just different types!

Stop 2:  The White House – 9:15am

Visiting the White House

Before Saya had arrived from Japan, I emailed her and asked what was the one thing she wanted to see most while in DC.  For her, The White House was the one “can’t miss stop.”  To make sure we could pack everything in, we woke up early and headed into the city. When we arrived at the White House, Saya’s first question was, “Does Obama really live here?  Right here? In this house?”

She was delighted to find out that he does in fact live there, and told me that she could not wait to make her friends back in Japan jealous by telling them that SHE went to the White House.  It was in that moment that I realized just how lucky I am to be living in DC – surrounded by so many important pieces of America’s history and only a quick metro trip to the President’s front door – still seems so surreal.

LAST STOP: Monuments, Monuments, MONUMENTS  - 9:45 am

The Many Monuments of DC

For those of you who have never experienced a stifling hot DC summer day, let me tell you, it’s no picnic.  By the time we walked from the White House to the World War II Monument it was a painstaking 96 degrees out, with what felt like  (and in VA probably was) 100 percent humidity.  We were already moving at a slow and sweaty pace but we wanted to finish the tour – so we trekked on to the Lincoln and Washington Monument, but as the Jefferson Monument looked like just a speck to us in the hazy distance, we decided to save it for another DC adventure.

As you can see in the pictures, even in our sticky state we were still able to get some great “jump” shots in at each monument to submit to the “Jump Because” website.  If you haven’t heard about this website yet, take a peek.  Started by four friends in Richmond VA, the site is based on the simple concept of sharing “jumps” and has submissions from jumpers all around the world.    I’ll be sure to let you know when our jumps are posted, and be sure to let me know if you submit your jumps – I’d love to see them!

Tourist Tip 4:  If you plan on sightseeing in DC in the summer – Start EARLY, like sunrise early to help beat the heat.  Also, be sure to check the weather so you can dress appropriately and bring an umbrella if needed, wear lots of sunscreen and bring plenty of water to drink to keep yourself hydrated – its HOT out there!

Day 2: Tour Complete  - 12:25pm

Our second day of sight seeing ended a bit earlier than planned, as it was just too hot to go on, but we still managed to squeeze almost everything into our morning tourist session.

As we headed back to my apartment to soak up some AC before the girls started their journey home, Saya thanked us countless times for showing her around the city.  But I felt like I was the one that should be thanking her – As a new DC resident it’s hard to take everything in and not get trapped in your “community bubble.”  Saya gave me the opportunity to experience the sights of the city for the first time myself, all while sharing a once in a lifetime family experience. Priceless.  First “Unofficial” Tour Guide experience in DC- Successfully Completed.

…oh yes, I almost forgot!!  I have to include a picture of Saya’s favorite animal from the trip… that’s right a squirrel – she said they don’t have them back home and took a ton of picture of then! Never know what your tourists will find to be the most exciting part your tour!  –Kristin

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MyLife as an Unofficial Japanese Tour Guide – Part 1

If you were given 24 hours to show someone who has never been to America around DC – where would you take them?

Three weeks after moving to Metro DC, I was given this daunting task.  Talk about a lot of pressure for a new DC resident; I was still just learning the city for myself!  However, I was more than happy to take on the challenge…here’s why…

For those of you who don’t already know me, I’m a quarter Japanese.  Although some don’t believe it, I have an amazingly adorable Japanese Grandmother and many other Japanese relatives that still live in Japan to prove it.  One of those relatives is my cousin Saya.

My Grandparents told Saya many years ago, that if she learned to speak English, when she graduated high school she could come visit us in America – and that’s exactly what she did.  As soon as I heard she would be in Virginia, I was thrilled at the opportunity to meet one of my relatives and show her around my new city… it was also a great chance for my little sister, Laura, to come for her first visit… and so our 24 hour adventure began…

The Visitors Arrive – Wednesday @ 1:35 pm

Stop 1: An “American” Lunch

Rocklands BBQ

Saya requested that while in DC we eat as much “American” food as possible.  Since I was meeting my visitors in Arlington, I could think of few locations more “American” or delicious than Rocklands BBQ.As you can tell by the picture, Saya enjoyed every last bite of her American meal and my sister was left stuffed (she also hates me for posting this picture of her haha).

Tourist Tip 1:  In Arlington on a Monday for Happy Hour?  Rocklands has my favorite HH deal in town – buy a beer…get a bbq sandwich free.  Brilliant.

Stop 2:  Smithsonian Museum of Natural History  - 3:05pm

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

When it comes to museums – We are spoiled in DC.  There’s a museum for just about everything. Each is filled to the brim with irreplaceable pieces of our Nation’s history, fascinating stories, ancient artifacts, breathtaking art or automobiles and flying machines from our past and future.   With all these choices, I thought a museum would be a great start for our tour of DC…That and it was 98 degrees outside and we were desperately seeking air conditioning.

As we navigated our way off the metro and up Madison Drive, I saw Saya’s eyes light up with delight at the magnitude of the buildings surrounding her.   When we entered the Smithsonian, the giant elephant prominently displayed in the entryway greeted her, like it had countless other visitors during its 51 years in the museum.  We spent the next few hours wandering the halls in awe of giant dinosaur fossils, blinded by glistening jewels and laughing at creatures we could hardly believe once walked our earth.   A few hours later, Starbucks “snack” in hand we were headed off to our next destination.

Tourist Tip 2: Although it might seem weekday visits to a museum would be less crowded, remember that school groups take field trips during the week and can cause the museum to be just as busy.  Try getting to the museum as early in the day as possible to beat the crowd.

Stop 3: Georgetown – 5:18pm

No trip to DC, would be complete without a little shopping, at least not for three fashionable girls (apparently an appreciation for shopping IS in our genes and it comes from the Japanese side of our family), so we took a break from the historical portion of our tour and headed to Georgetown for a much needed retail fix.

We walked up and down M street stopping at all the designer boutiques, and souvenir shops helping Saya find the perfect American treasures to take back to her friends and family at home.  We of course went to Georgetown Cupcake (I’ll write more about this in a later post) and got six brightly colored and equally delicious cupcakes to try for dessert later that evening.

Dinner at Farmers & Fishers

For our “American” dinner we headed to “Farmers & Fishers” on the Washington Harbour – one of new DC my favorites. We were happy to be joined by my incredible friend Jon, who graciously drove my guests to DC from Richmond.  (Jon plays with the band Carbon Leaf– do yourself a favor and check them out – they’re amazing!)  We had the calamari and hummus for appetizers and Saya chose a very “American” pizza for dinner, while Laura and I split the clams, garlic, bacon & linguine dish and Jon had the “Cowboy Chicken”.  All of our meals were delicious.

Potomac Riverboat Sunset Cruise

We completed our first day sightseeing with a sunset cruise of the Monuments along the Potomac.  If you have a couple of hours to spare, I highly recommend this; it’s a relaxing way to learn a little about the history of the city, all while enjoying a beautiful sunset and unique views of the monuments.

Tourist Tip 3:  If you go on the cruise in the spring or summer, take the 8 pm boat ride – it was perfect timing to catch the sun setting over the Potomac on the way out and have the beautiful night sky as a backdrop during the return journey.

Day One – Complete.

 Day Two  - Post Coming Soon!

-Kristin

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MyLife in Metro DC – In Search of the Perfect Condo

300 seconds.

That’s all the time it took for my new landlords to rent their condo. In those five minutes, not only did I contact them, but they also had six other inquires about their home. How did they do it?

The Internet.

The days of sitting down with the Sunday paper to browse for a new place to live are over. The Internet is now an extremely powerful tool to help people search for a new place to call home.

Personally, I’ve found my last three apartments online. With everything right at my fingertips it’s easy to search and sort through hundreds of listings, view pictures, take virtual tours and contact someone for more information all within minutes.

I planned on starting my search for my new Arlington condo the same way. This time around I’d have a roommate, and we both had our own top 3 “Must Haves” for our new place. I wanted my own bathroom, a gym and a parking spot. He wanted a place close to the metro, a gas range (I’ve quickly learned having a great cook as a roomie is AWESOME), and it had to allowed pets (see below for a picture of our incredibly awesome pup – Nattie).

Nattie - The Incredibly Awesome Pup

And so the search began…

My “go to” search is Craigslist.org. It’s like the Twitter of apartment searches. Listings are constantly being added and posts from a week ago are ancient history.  As I started to search, I became hooked. I’d check Craigslist every ten to fifteen minutes for new posts…I couldn’t bear to think I might miss out on a potentially amazing apartment. I had to be “in the know.”

But just like Twitter, everything you read is not always as it seems.

I looked at listings that boasted of the apartment’s hardwood floors and gorgeous city views. The post’s professional photographs made me feel like I was turning the pages of House Beautiful. The price seemed too good to be true and the landlord called back right away to set up a viewing.

Then I’d arrive at the apartment.

The hardwood floors were old and splintered. The city views were of a back alley, complete with a gathering of the local homeless shifting through the dumpster by the master bedroom window. The Landlord admits the pictures might be a “bit outdated” and tells me the rent actually has some “extra” fees and an outrageous security deposit, but the place is a real “steal” for the location.

Yikes.

Weeks of this went on and time was running out – I was starting my new job in a week and still had no place to live. We had found nothing but dead ends, disappointments, no pets, no parking and nothing but electric ranges. I started to feel like our perfect condo didn’t exist.

One Last Look…

Then, that Friday evening, I decided to break from packing up my apartment – I couldn’t fight my urge to check Craigslist one last time before going out. And to my delight a new listing had just been posted three minutes prior. I read the listing almost in disbelief…it was …the PERFECT CONDO. Two bedrooms, two bath, located two blocks from the metro. It had a pool and a gym and came with a garage parking spot. Then came the last line, it read – “One small to medium sized dog is welcomed – no cats, reptiles or other pets allowed.” It was like the listing was made just for us!

I emailed, five minutes has past since the listing was posted.  The landlord called back immediately and from the very start of our  conversation, I got a great vibe from her. It was a welcomed surprise to find out their unit was in a building we had previously visited and loved.  I excitedly set up a viewing for that Sunday.

My roommate was on a sailboat, in the middle of the bay all weekend, so I when ahead and visited the place without him. As soon as they opened the door fell in love both with the condo and our future landlords – the place was adorable, they were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met and they too had an incredibly sweet dog. I made the bold decision of paying the deposit without my roommate ever even seeing the place, but I knew (or more so hoped) he’d agree that I had finally found the right condo for us.

Luckily, after seeing it for himself, he did agree. So did Nattie.  Three weeks later we all moved in.

So after endless hours of searching, it all came down to 5 minutes. 300 seconds. In the world of Internet searches, it’s all about being in the right place at the right time…maybe with a little bit of luck sprinkled in too.

View of Arlington and DC from our Living Room

- Kristin

MyLife in Metro DC – New Beginnings

When you decide to embark on the tumultuous journey of finding the perfect job, it can feel like a cycle of lost hope and endless rejection.  It’s like going through a bad break up… on a weekly basis.

“What do you mean I’m not good enough?  Why won’t he call me back? Does this mean you want to see other people?”

And then, right when you’ve reached rock bottom, when you are ready to settle for mediocrity, to work as one of the masses in a dead end job, it happens.

As you stare defeated at your computer screen, hidden behind the banner ads and posts for terrible sales jobs, you find it.  The endless hours submitting applications and scrolling through job posts suddenly all seems worth it; you’ve found – the ONE.

You walk down the street to your interview, birds start chirping, everyone stops to say “hello,” the Starbuck’s barista even gives you your coffee for free.  This is it, the day you knew would one day come, the day you’ve been waiting for – Utopia found.

There is nothing better than this feeling; all your hard work has finally paid off.  For me, as I floated around on my cloud of euphoria, I quickly remembered accepting the perfect job meant moving to Metro DC.  From past experiences, I knew finding the perfect city to call “home” was just as challenging as finding the perfect job…thus my journey continued…

Choosing Your Perfect City

Trying to decide on what area of a new city to live in is an extremely important decision. The area you choose can totally influence how comfortable you are, shape the first experiences you have in your new city and affect your overall happiness– this makes it crucial you pick the right place.

I was very fortunate during this part of my journey.  A huge benefit of moving to DC was that I already knew plenty of people in the city.  This was extremely helpful when it came to finding the perfect part of the city to call home.  I thought about the cities my friends lived in, the ones I enjoyed visiting and started calling old friends and classmates to find out how they liked where they were currently living.  From these chats, I came up with the three most important things for me to consider when picking my new city.

1)  Traffic – Morning commutes in Metro DC can be some of the worst in the country! My office is near Tysons Corner, which as many know can be a maze of endless traffic that stretches on for miles.  I knew living in Tysons wasn’t where I wanted to be, so I was looking for other cities that had a “reverse” commute.”  (In Metro DC, this means it only takes 30 minutes to go 5 miles instead of over an hour…)

2)  “Walkability” – There’s something irresistible to me about having everything you could possibly need within a few blocks from your house.   I love being able to park my car on a weekend and not see it again until Monday.  Being able to walk to everywhere, to the grocery store, friend’s houses, bars and restaurants was critical in my city choice.

3)  Active – I’m a 26 year old single female.  I was moving to a new city, wanted to meet lots of new people and was not ready for the “burbs” (and don’t know if I ever will be…).  I wanted to find a city that had an energetic social scene with people my age and lots of options of things to do.

For me, Arlington became a clear winner.  It’s a quick (again quick in DC is a relative term) reverse commute on 66 West to Tysons, you can walk everywhere (if you can’t, you can just hop on the metro), and there is an abundance of “20 somethings” living in the area that partake in the endless choices of happy hour specials.  The next chapter of my journey was now complete and I hopped back on my cloud and floated happily along.

New City – Check.

My advice to you – Come up with a list of three or four characteristics that are critical for your new city, then start researching.  Talk to your friends, family members, and new coworkers.  Google cities until you can Google no more.  As you do this, places will start to eliminate themselves, leaving you with a few great options.  Before making the “big move,” visit these places and see which city fits you best. I guarantee one will stand out from the rest and be perfect location for you to call “home.”

-  Kristin

Sunset in Georgetown overlooking my new city - Arlington

Up next:  Finding a Condo and Making the “Big Move”

MyLife in Metro DC – Meet Kristin

New Job. Check.

New City.  Check.

New Life …Chhh–what?!

Hello.  My name is Kristin and I am dropping everything, leaving it all behind, starting a new chapter in my life, and moving to DC.  (Well, Arlington to be exact, but saying “DC” makes more people go “ohhh,” so we’ll go with that…)

In the months to come I’ll be  documenting my adventures, trials and tribulations, ups and downs, and likes and dislikes of the Nation’s capital as it becomes my new home.   You can read all about it right here in this MyLife Metro DC blog.

My goal is to share my story with you, so that if you move to the area, or if you already live here, you can learn from my experiences, benefit from my insights, explore local communities, share in a few laughs and hopefully find out about some of the hidden gems the city has to offer.

That being said, I welcome you to my life and encourage you to leave comments, stories, tips, and suggestions of your own along the way…what’s the point of a journey (and writing a blog about it) if you don’t invite friends to come along??  …friend and snacks….can’t forget the snacks.

-Kristin

Want to know a little more about me?  If so, click on the video below…

What Really Matters in Real Estate

Sometimes you hear a story that makes you smile. A story so genuine, the goodness just seeps throughout you, warming your insides like a steaming cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Real Estate is moving. FAST. Technology. Social Media. Tablet PCs and iPads. Twitter. MySpace. Facebook. FourSquare. All of this technology, that at first glance, we assume can make our lives faster, more efficient.

Take a step back and pause for a second. Take stock of what’s really important in Real Estate.

I implore you.

Relationships. Helping people. Advocacy. Understanding the needs of YOUR clients.

Sheila Carney gets it. She lives it. Perhaps its because she has a mentor in her mother, Lucille Ryan who is just a genuinely good person. Perhaps it’s because Sheila too, is a genuinely good person. Perhaps it’s because this is not just a job for Sheila, it’s a passion. Perhaps it’s all of the above.

Yesterday, David Hess forwarded me an email from one of Sheila’s clients. A client Sheila met three years ago. A client who Sheila just helped with a home purchase. I smiled when I read it. A genuine smile, bolstered by the knowledge that we have a company full of great people, a company full of Sheila’s. Read on, and you will smile too, I promise.

Hi Mr. Hess: 

I wanted to send you a note describing the high quality person you have working with you.  My husband and I worked with Sheila Ryan Carney during our home buying process this winter.  We met Sheila during an open house in our neighborhood nearly 3 years ago.  My husband is in the Coast Guard and we have a 4 year lease on a rental home in Vienna that expires next month.  Sheila, upon first meeting, was professional and approachable.  She understood our situation and did an exceptional job of nurturing a well balanced relationship with us throughout the term of our lease.  This winter we were able to seriously start our house search and we had no question about who we wanted to represent us.  We had attended a lot of open houses in the Vienna area by this time and had interviewed a lot of Realtors from various agencies at these open houses.  Sheila definitely stands out in the sea of Realtors. 

Sheila’s professionalism continued through out the house search, to the closing day on February 25, and just last week I emailed her a question which was answered within 24 hrs.  It definitely shows that she enjoys her work and that she puts her clients above her paycheck.  She proved to be committed to our well being time and time again.  Living in an area that a half a million dollars gets a family a great shoe box or a bigger fixer-upper, Sheila gets all of the credit for us finding a solid move-in-ready home that is the right size for us at a price point that we can comfortably afford. 

I didn’t even think about writing to you, Mr. Hess, until at closing one of the seller’s agents said in jest that I should write you after Sheila assisted me with zipping my jacket on the way out the door.  If truth is spoken in jest, (I believe in this case it is) even the Long and Foster agent noticed Sheila’s professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to her clients throughout the entire settlement that day including the minor detail of assisting a woman with her jacket after a large purchase.

Sincerely,

Grace B.
Vienna, VA

Avery-Hess has a mission statement, which we take VERY seriously. Our agents take this statement VERY seriously. Sheila takes this statement VERY seriously.

“Hyper-focused on servicing the needs of the consumer.”

Sheila lives this statement. Sheila understands this statement. She understands that it means looking out for her clients. Sheila understands that it means finding them a home that meets their needs, not hers. Sheila understands that it means caring, genuinely caring, about the people she represents. Sheila understands that this means something as simple as helping someone zip up their jacket as they walk out the door.

Sheila understands what really matters in Real Estate.

-Amit

Connect with Sheila: www.righteam.com