Orchard Street on the Lower East Side

When I decided to take time off after college to explore the world, I expected to be gone six months. Six turned into eight, which turned into ten, which turned into a year. Eighteen months and 26 countries later, I’ve decided it’s time to hang my hat somewhere for longer than a couple of weeks. For my new home, I chose a city whose energy, pace, and breadth of cultural offerings might even surpass the excitement of nonstop travel. I chose New York.

So here I am, living in an absurdly tiny apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I am steps from Manhattan’s hottest bars and lounges, and just seconds from the Essex Street Market, a farmer’s market that sells affordable fresh produce and mind-blowingly good gourmet cheese. Around the corner, lining Orchard Street, are, in order, a kebab house, a high-end S&M boutique, a dive bar, a bridal store, a milliner’s workshop, a chic lounge, and a skate shop. I am obsessed with my neighborhood.

(L–R) Essex Street Market, a vintage clothing store, Economy Candy

I didn’t even start to mention the array of wonderfully quirky boutiques that have consumed the LES. We’ve got Assembly New York (174 Ludlow Street), with comfy but stylish basics; Dear Rivington (95 Rivington Street), with vintage-inspired ensembles; and TG170 (170 Ludlow Street), with colorful party-ready frocks. Then there are the specialty shops: Fenton/Fallon (Freeman Alley, Rivington Street) for eighties jewelry, Victor Osborne (160 Orchard Street) for hats, and A.W. Kaufman (73 Orchard Street) for designer lingerie.

And while not a boutique per se, Economy Candy (108 Rivington Street) may be my very favorite thing about living on the Lower East Side.