Meet Miriam: NY Escapee

Today’s featured NY Escapee is Miriam Posner. Miriam moved here from NY recently with her husband Shai, who is in residency at Duke. We became friends as soon as I realized she has the same biting sense of humor I have. I LIVE for a lady who can get sarcastically jiggy with it.

Name: Miriam Posner

Day Job: Paid Acquisition Manager for an ecommerce start up in Durham.

Family 411: In NC it’s just me, my husband Shai and our dog Ruby. The rest of our family is back in the tri-state area.

Where in NY did you call home and for how long? I grew up in “Dirty Jersey” from the time I was 6 or 7 through college. (We were in the most northern town of “central” Jersey; meaning, we still had a Wawa!) After college, I lived in Manhattan for 4 years, first year on UES and the last 3 in east Harlem.

How long have you been here in the Triangle? We’ve been here just over 4 months, on the border of Durham and Chapel Hill.

Why’d you escape New York? My husband, Shai, matched at Duke for his internal medicine residency — so we’re in it to win it here for at least 3 years!

What do you miss most about NY? Friends, family, a good bagel with cream cheese and lox and capers, Central Park (we lived a block away from it), the vibe/energy, and the diversity.

What do you not miss about NY? Our disgusting apartment, scaffolding, Chinatown in the summer, tourists, midtown, the extra decimal point on all purchases, the subway in the summer, kids raised in Manhattan…yawn.

What are you loving most about the South? Everything’s affordable!! Also biscuits, greenery, space, Total Wine store, and BBQ.

What’s your favorite local “spot”? The Refectory Cafe.

Biggest misconception about the south? That there are fewer asshole drivers; the drivers down here are the most passive-aggressive drivers ever!

Weirdest thing about living here? EVERYBODY speaks English.

Advice for anyone considering escaping New York for NC? Well, it’s further from NY than you think, but definitely worth it even for a short time. You’ll do your lungs and your loans a favor. (Maybe not your waist size, though; see BBQ obsession, above!)

Finish this sentence: ___________ is to NY as __________ is to the Triangle. Bagels are to NY as Biscuits are to the Triangle.