hoose!
Much, much angsting about getting a new apartment. So many criteria! So many goddamn students descending on the apartment market like locusts! So little time to view anything! So addictive to go back to Craigslist over and over and over and over...
A few weeks ago, I saw this apartment that was in a great location. I walked in and said "wow, what a great kitchen!" And the agent said, "um... that's the kitchen and the living room." So I didn't look at anything else.
Friday, I saw a place that was just fantastic. But I just wasn't sure about the living room and dining area. It really seemed like it was a just a bit too small. So I left, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything else was so great.
So I got myself a tape measure. Last night, I measured my living room and dining room, and figured out the minimum space I would need. And I checked the floor plan, and it looked promising. Today I confirmed that the apartment had not yet been snagged (despite the student-locusts), and I went back with my tape measure...
And now I have an apartment. I get the key September 16.
It's 700 square feet, which is so much smaller than what I have now, but really quite spacious for a single person (what I have now is obscene.) All-wood floors. Gas stove (my very first! I will do my best not to asphyxiate myself or blow anything up.) Skylight in the living room. Light-green accent walls. Directly above the leasing office, so I am unlikely to have any issues with noisy downstairs neighbors (and the reverse, I won't have to worry about pissing off the people below.) It is within a couple of blocks of several bus routes that will take me right to work (or to Wheatsville, or a ton of fun stuff on Guadalupe or Burnet). It's a very short walk to Central Market and my vet. And it's only $24 more per month than my current place (which, given the neighborhoods in question, is so very much less than I was expecting to pay.)
It's not perfect: I worry about what that skylight will do to my air conditioning costs. There's less counter space and storage space than I would like. The laundry room costs more than I'm used to. On-line reviews indicate that the walls are very thin, and I am a light sleeper (although one of my bedrooms is without any shared walls, so I can just put the bed there.) I'll have to pay for more utilities than I currently do (water, cable, trash, gas, etc.)
But it's sort of like relationships. There are people who look great on paper, but in person there's no spark. The people I'm involved with, I'm perfectly aware of their imperfections, but they still make my heart go pitter-pat. This apartment makes my heart go pitter-pat too.
I have 6 weeks to pack. Eeeek.
A few weeks ago, I saw this apartment that was in a great location. I walked in and said "wow, what a great kitchen!" And the agent said, "um... that's the kitchen and the living room." So I didn't look at anything else.
Friday, I saw a place that was just fantastic. But I just wasn't sure about the living room and dining area. It really seemed like it was a just a bit too small. So I left, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything else was so great.
So I got myself a tape measure. Last night, I measured my living room and dining room, and figured out the minimum space I would need. And I checked the floor plan, and it looked promising. Today I confirmed that the apartment had not yet been snagged (despite the student-locusts), and I went back with my tape measure...
And now I have an apartment. I get the key September 16.
It's 700 square feet, which is so much smaller than what I have now, but really quite spacious for a single person (what I have now is obscene.) All-wood floors. Gas stove (my very first! I will do my best not to asphyxiate myself or blow anything up.) Skylight in the living room. Light-green accent walls. Directly above the leasing office, so I am unlikely to have any issues with noisy downstairs neighbors (and the reverse, I won't have to worry about pissing off the people below.) It is within a couple of blocks of several bus routes that will take me right to work (or to Wheatsville, or a ton of fun stuff on Guadalupe or Burnet). It's a very short walk to Central Market and my vet. And it's only $24 more per month than my current place (which, given the neighborhoods in question, is so very much less than I was expecting to pay.)
It's not perfect: I worry about what that skylight will do to my air conditioning costs. There's less counter space and storage space than I would like. The laundry room costs more than I'm used to. On-line reviews indicate that the walls are very thin, and I am a light sleeper (although one of my bedrooms is without any shared walls, so I can just put the bed there.) I'll have to pay for more utilities than I currently do (water, cable, trash, gas, etc.)
But it's sort of like relationships. There are people who look great on paper, but in person there's no spark. The people I'm involved with, I'm perfectly aware of their imperfections, but they still make my heart go pitter-pat. This apartment makes my heart go pitter-pat too.
I have 6 weeks to pack. Eeeek.