Some things I love about Lower Manhattan

So I'm finally back in New York City again. I had barely moved into the new office when I got sent "for a few days" on what turned out to be essentially a month-long business trip (flying home on the weekends, thank God.)

Temporary relocation to Dallas over and done with, I am now back in the Financial District, at the southern tip of Manhattan.

Some things I love about the neighborhood:

• Very friendly bomb-sniffing dogs outside my building. You can't pet them when they're working, of course, but an enthusiastic "Hi, buddy!" in the Dog Voice (dog owners will understand what I'm talking about) first thing in the morning is always reciprocated with a polite wag (from the dog) and a smile (from the handler.)
  
  
• Every service that you can think of, close by. My last NYC office was so far west, we were almost in the Hudson River. Want a decent cup of coffee? Walk fifteen minutes. Want anything other than fast food for lunch? Walk fifteen minutes. Etcetera.
  
  Now: want a good cup of coffee? Take the elevator to the lobby.
  
  Good Cuban food? Around the corner.
  
  Gi-normous drugstore? Next door. Shoe repair, ditto.
  
  
• Shops that cater to the, um, value-conscious customer. (Which is a nice way of saying "cheap.") Last night, a haircut and a shoeshine on the way home ran me $15. In a city where $100 haircuts seem to be the norm, that's pretty cool (and I had a chance to practice my extremely rusty conversational Russian.)