Where is Home?
This morning I realized that this month was my 4th (mistakenly thought as 5th) year in this condo. Even though I was over by year, it's still the longest I've lived in any place since I was 19.
A few months after I turned 19 my parents bought the orchard and sold our house. We didn't have one on the property yet so I lived with my cousin for 4 months or so until our house was ready. I moved from there the week after I turned 22 and came to San Diego. I liked the first place I lived in, it had an older-than-dirt AC that couldn't keep the whole place cool at all but it was cold air and I could sit in front of it at the PC and stay comfortable. It also had a dishwasher, was on the top floor and the corner so I only had two adjoining neighbors, and it faced the back of a hill and someone's yard so it was very private. The windows took up most of the back wall in the living/dining area and there was a window in the bedroom. Even though I faced a hill it was still very bright inside. It was a quiet and comfortable place. I would have stayed in that place but the owners of the 192 unit complex decided to sell an the new owners wanted to remodel everything. They offered current residents first dibs but at an additional 400 a month, I don't think they had any takers. So, after two years I had to move out from that place.
The next place was my most hated residence. I had to scramble to find a place to live, being forced from the old, so I had to take what I could get with my (sad and poor) budget. There are a number of reasons I hated that place but one of them was it was dirty. I don't think it was cleaned before I moved in! No matter how hard I tried I never got the place to feel clean. The carpet was an old, rough berber, nothing like the soft carpet in my last place. The linoleum in the kitchen, eating area, and bathroom was that large, speckled stuff you used to see in classrooms. Ugly! The cabinets were bare, unfinished wood... and there was no dishwasher or AC! I was on the bottom unit, in the middle of the building, and I only had two glass doors - one in the front and one in the bedroom. There was little airflow and it was always dark. I hate dark homes. In the last year or so a most miserable bitch of a female moved in above me. She was a whore (literally), pretty sure she was on drugs, had a small kid, and was noisy ALL THE TIME. It was the constant noise that eventually made finally decide to leave that horrible place (neither management or the cops would do anything). Oh, and the roach problem that the guy next door brought from his dumpster diving :( Definitely time to go!
All of this culminated, luckily, at a lucrative turn of events for me. January of 2010 got me a promotion that bumped my pay over 16.5%. In the final months of 2010 my annual review got me a 7% increase. With that much more money I could afford that much more rent, and get a place that was worth living in and... maybe be feel like a home. I had two primary rules in looking for a place. I would have no one living above me (noise!) and the place would have it's own washer and dryer (I was actually kind of flexible on this). Normally I would have pressed for AC too but that is so hard to find in this city it was just going to be a bonus if I found it. So I was picky. I looked at quite a few places, even spent one weekend walking around the neighborhood at all of the open houses. If the place didn't "feel right" I wouldn't even fill out an application to make sure someone else didn't grab it. I was tired of living in a place that I wasn't happy and I wasn't going to walk into that situation again. I looked around a lot for a few months and then in December of 2010 I got a Christmas present :)
I saw the ad on Zillow and from the photos I thought the place was going to be great. It had been remodeled within the last few years and appeared to be in great shape. I called to set up a time to come and view the place and met the owner here. As soon as I walked in I knew it was the place I wanted. It just had that feel to it. The place was clean, in really good condition, had a stackable washer and dryer, and a dishwasher! And it's the top floor! Granite counter top in the kitchen, nice carpeting, and 2 bedrooms so I would have one to setup as my office. I filled out the app on the spot and found out that there was a couple that was in the running for the place, too. Here is where I got lucky again. Naturally the conversation had moved towards talking about work. We're both IT guys and when I told him where I worked he asked if I knew someone that he does some work with, too. Turns out it was a coworker of mine and of course I said I knew him and worked in the same department. He did ask the coworker about me and because I have good relationships with folks at work he put in a good word for me. I think it took less than a week before I found out I had the place! I WAS SO HAPPY! My coworkers noted my change in mood as a result of all of this.
I couldn't wait to move in and get out of my hellish situation so I asked if it would be OK that I moved in early even though my official start date wasn't until January 1st. He agreed so I immediately moved a few things over to the place, borrowed an inflatable mattress from a friend and started sleeping there right away! No more being kept up at night or woken in the middle of the night because of asshole neighbors! The holidays came, I went home, then when I got back a few friends helped me move into the new place.
I've felt comfortable in this place ever since moving in. My landlord is super easy to work with and any time I've had an issue in the place he gets it fixed straight away. So far it's been totally safe and it has a cozy, home-like feeling to it. The neighbors in this small complex have been pretty good. I've seen quite a few come and go but they've always been pretty friendly. I've had issues with them, though, too. For a short stint the ones upstairs next to me were a bit noisy... but nothing really that bad. The only real problem was the asshole that lived under me for a year. He kept slamming the doors and windows which would shake the building, smoked weed in the place, and even woke me up from a dead sleep one night blaring his music so loud it was vibrating my entire place. I complained several times but the HOA here is most definitely found wanting. They would fine the owner for the shit this guy did, which makes no sense to me but according to their rules they can't touch the tenant. Whatever. The owner, who was below me my first year-ish, had moved to Italy and with all the stuff going on with the tenant decided it wasn't worth keeping anymore. He sold it and that is what forced the guy out. That was over a year ago now, I think, and the people below are great. In fact, in the year plus it's been since he left everything has been great on the condo-front!
This place still feels comfortable and homey to me. There are many times in the morning and evening when I have the blinds open, that the way the light is coming in, and it's color, just puts a warm feeling inside. It's always quiet lately, except for the constant freeway noise. The freeway is behind the buildings on the other side of the street and it's gotten old but I've also gotten used to it. There are a lot small things and moments that keep me happy in this place but I think the biggest thing is that my life can go on with each day without interruption. There's a LACK of problems... so even though there isn't anything SUPER AMAZING or eventful, having a steady lack of issues is SO relaxing and comforting. That's the way a home should be.
Even though I've never really been able to call a place home since the place I lived in my first 19 years... this place has come pretty close... and it may be there.
A few months after I turned 19 my parents bought the orchard and sold our house. We didn't have one on the property yet so I lived with my cousin for 4 months or so until our house was ready. I moved from there the week after I turned 22 and came to San Diego. I liked the first place I lived in, it had an older-than-dirt AC that couldn't keep the whole place cool at all but it was cold air and I could sit in front of it at the PC and stay comfortable. It also had a dishwasher, was on the top floor and the corner so I only had two adjoining neighbors, and it faced the back of a hill and someone's yard so it was very private. The windows took up most of the back wall in the living/dining area and there was a window in the bedroom. Even though I faced a hill it was still very bright inside. It was a quiet and comfortable place. I would have stayed in that place but the owners of the 192 unit complex decided to sell an the new owners wanted to remodel everything. They offered current residents first dibs but at an additional 400 a month, I don't think they had any takers. So, after two years I had to move out from that place.
The next place was my most hated residence. I had to scramble to find a place to live, being forced from the old, so I had to take what I could get with my (sad and poor) budget. There are a number of reasons I hated that place but one of them was it was dirty. I don't think it was cleaned before I moved in! No matter how hard I tried I never got the place to feel clean. The carpet was an old, rough berber, nothing like the soft carpet in my last place. The linoleum in the kitchen, eating area, and bathroom was that large, speckled stuff you used to see in classrooms. Ugly! The cabinets were bare, unfinished wood... and there was no dishwasher or AC! I was on the bottom unit, in the middle of the building, and I only had two glass doors - one in the front and one in the bedroom. There was little airflow and it was always dark. I hate dark homes. In the last year or so a most miserable bitch of a female moved in above me. She was a whore (literally), pretty sure she was on drugs, had a small kid, and was noisy ALL THE TIME. It was the constant noise that eventually made finally decide to leave that horrible place (neither management or the cops would do anything). Oh, and the roach problem that the guy next door brought from his dumpster diving :( Definitely time to go!
All of this culminated, luckily, at a lucrative turn of events for me. January of 2010 got me a promotion that bumped my pay over 16.5%. In the final months of 2010 my annual review got me a 7% increase. With that much more money I could afford that much more rent, and get a place that was worth living in and... maybe be feel like a home. I had two primary rules in looking for a place. I would have no one living above me (noise!) and the place would have it's own washer and dryer (I was actually kind of flexible on this). Normally I would have pressed for AC too but that is so hard to find in this city it was just going to be a bonus if I found it. So I was picky. I looked at quite a few places, even spent one weekend walking around the neighborhood at all of the open houses. If the place didn't "feel right" I wouldn't even fill out an application to make sure someone else didn't grab it. I was tired of living in a place that I wasn't happy and I wasn't going to walk into that situation again. I looked around a lot for a few months and then in December of 2010 I got a Christmas present :)
I saw the ad on Zillow and from the photos I thought the place was going to be great. It had been remodeled within the last few years and appeared to be in great shape. I called to set up a time to come and view the place and met the owner here. As soon as I walked in I knew it was the place I wanted. It just had that feel to it. The place was clean, in really good condition, had a stackable washer and dryer, and a dishwasher! And it's the top floor! Granite counter top in the kitchen, nice carpeting, and 2 bedrooms so I would have one to setup as my office. I filled out the app on the spot and found out that there was a couple that was in the running for the place, too. Here is where I got lucky again. Naturally the conversation had moved towards talking about work. We're both IT guys and when I told him where I worked he asked if I knew someone that he does some work with, too. Turns out it was a coworker of mine and of course I said I knew him and worked in the same department. He did ask the coworker about me and because I have good relationships with folks at work he put in a good word for me. I think it took less than a week before I found out I had the place! I WAS SO HAPPY! My coworkers noted my change in mood as a result of all of this.
I couldn't wait to move in and get out of my hellish situation so I asked if it would be OK that I moved in early even though my official start date wasn't until January 1st. He agreed so I immediately moved a few things over to the place, borrowed an inflatable mattress from a friend and started sleeping there right away! No more being kept up at night or woken in the middle of the night because of asshole neighbors! The holidays came, I went home, then when I got back a few friends helped me move into the new place.
I've felt comfortable in this place ever since moving in. My landlord is super easy to work with and any time I've had an issue in the place he gets it fixed straight away. So far it's been totally safe and it has a cozy, home-like feeling to it. The neighbors in this small complex have been pretty good. I've seen quite a few come and go but they've always been pretty friendly. I've had issues with them, though, too. For a short stint the ones upstairs next to me were a bit noisy... but nothing really that bad. The only real problem was the asshole that lived under me for a year. He kept slamming the doors and windows which would shake the building, smoked weed in the place, and even woke me up from a dead sleep one night blaring his music so loud it was vibrating my entire place. I complained several times but the HOA here is most definitely found wanting. They would fine the owner for the shit this guy did, which makes no sense to me but according to their rules they can't touch the tenant. Whatever. The owner, who was below me my first year-ish, had moved to Italy and with all the stuff going on with the tenant decided it wasn't worth keeping anymore. He sold it and that is what forced the guy out. That was over a year ago now, I think, and the people below are great. In fact, in the year plus it's been since he left everything has been great on the condo-front!
This place still feels comfortable and homey to me. There are many times in the morning and evening when I have the blinds open, that the way the light is coming in, and it's color, just puts a warm feeling inside. It's always quiet lately, except for the constant freeway noise. The freeway is behind the buildings on the other side of the street and it's gotten old but I've also gotten used to it. There are a lot small things and moments that keep me happy in this place but I think the biggest thing is that my life can go on with each day without interruption. There's a LACK of problems... so even though there isn't anything SUPER AMAZING or eventful, having a steady lack of issues is SO relaxing and comforting. That's the way a home should be.
Even though I've never really been able to call a place home since the place I lived in my first 19 years... this place has come pretty close... and it may be there.