Home Is Where The Heart Is
July 9th, 2003
Day 1 of apartment hunting down. No places jumped out at me as being amazing. Here are the top three options at this time:
| Option #1: Efficiency - $500, approx 400sf | |
| Pros » All Bills Paid (electric, gas, water) » Huge closets » Remodeled kitchen » Laundry facilities very close » Front door in center of complex/courtyard, opens to pool area » Neighborhood is decent » $77 move-in (deposit and application) » Found complex using free moving service, so could get a lot moved for free » CH/A » Gated community, gated parking |
Cons » Only SE exposure is through bathroom window (not great for DirecTV dish) » A bit awkward in layout » Not good grassy area immediately evident for Gracie » Berber carpet (not that this is bad, I just loves me some hardwoods) » Not sure what I’d do with all my crap (maybe this is a good thing – could stand to get rid of a lot) |
| Option #2: 1/1 in fourplex - $550, approx 600sf | |
| » Street lined with awesome houses, old big trees » Neighborhood is good » Floors being refinished right now (hardwoods!) » Big closets » Yard in back » Water paid » Free washer/dryer in building » Excellent dish placement possibilities » CH/A » Parking behind building » Cute staircase leading to unit » Unit is on back of house |
» Odd layout » Bathroom has very 1980s fixtures (wood, etc) » Oddly placed closets » Smallish bedroom » Yard not fenced » Weird light fixtures |
|
Option #3: 1/1 in Melrose Place-esque building - $625, |
|
| » Looks out at pool » Built-in shelving in living area and in closet » Huge walk-in closet » Telephone stand built-in » Tub just resurfaced » Good-sized bedroom » Covered, assigned parking » Gated community |
» Not sure about dish placement » Berber carpets » Wall-unit for air » One month’s rent for deposit » Building is painted a ugly gray color » Really more money than I want to spend |
Which would you choose?
How long are you planning to live there?
Probably a year.
#2 definitely. You need that central A/C. If the worst stuff about is the fixtures and oddly placed closets, that’s not a big deal.
I lean toward #2 as well. There’s a yard for Gracie (albeit on a leash), big closets for all your crap, and a place for the dish, which you really couldn’t do without. And, like Scott said, the A/C.
just visually, #2 has the most pros and least cons. it just depends on how you weight them. go for the floors, the dish placement and yard. it will make you and gracie happy.
I’d be falling all over myself to have an apartment for 650 or less.
But 2 does sound nice. You can distract yourself from ugly bathrooms with DirectTV (or paint). Not to sound like your mom, but since you’ll be living by yourself, how are the locks/windows/security?
Yeah I agree with Elenore. What about the neighborhoods? How do they look?
I would keep a looking if I were you. If you don’t have that tinkling / lovey feeling in your stomach - run away. Just like when you choose love or a job.
#2 sounds good, but gosh, you can’t beat the price for #1! All bills paid and $77 move-in. WOW. Plus it’s a gated community.
Sigh… all this cheap rent is making me depressed… can you send some of it up to NYC?
Option #2
Option 2!
I hope you’re happy whichever you choose
Option #2
Because all of the negatives are things you can change or are charming oddities.
there’s no way in texas i’d pay $650/month for a place with window unit air conditioning. in my old apartment, that was how the gigantic tree roaches got in. also, if i didn’t want to leave the window unit on all day when i wasn’t home, i had to just turn it off, which meant that i came back to a 90-degree apartment.
Hands down, #2. It seems to have the most bang for your buck. The winning features: Big Closets, and the fact that there’s a FREE washer dryer on site! (The latter of which is more valuable than discovering gold in Calafornia.)
I don’t know — I like #1.
I love having all bills paid, and a nice kitchen is always a huge plus.
But if you’re not thrilled with any of them, why not keep looking?
PS: As far as the window unit goes on #3, though, what you’d need is one of those timers that are available now. It turns the A/C on for a few minutes every coouple of hours, and keeps the apt. relatively cool without running your bill sky-high. They have them at Home Depot/Lowes/etc.
For the record, if you move anywhere other than No. 2, all your friends will hate you. We have spoken.
No. 2