A Place to Live...
Feb. 8th, 2014 02:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miss_lucy21So, apartment hunting. Mom came with me to keep me company and help me remember all my questions (although I did a pretty decent job myself).
Place 1 is closest to work- maybe 15 minutes when it's not rush hour. 20ish during. Two bedrooms, with a nice layout and a bunch of closets (front closet, washer/dryer hookups were in a closet that you could totally put shelving above the appliances, a utility closet with some room for some storage, a linen closet, a 4 foot closet in the smaller bedroom, 2 closets in the master and a linen cubby in the master bath). It had 2 bathrooms- a small one with a very tiny shower in the master, and full bath with a tub in the main part of the apartment. It was very clean, and the thing I liked is that the entrance to the apartment is indoors, behind a security door with a keypad. The buildings also have elevators, so it means I could live on a 2nd or 3rd floor. Parking was good, it had a small 24 hour fitness room and a outdoor pool. I could rent a garage space for $65 a month. The only real drawbacks were the kitchen was very small with most of the cabinets out of my comfortable reach and not much counter space, and there's no traffic light at the entrance to the complex (although I leave for work early enough in the day that this may not be a problem- I have to be at work by 8, not 9, which is the norm around here).
Place 2 is a couple of miles from place 1, although it would probably take a bit longer to get to work, because it's not as close to the highway. Amusingly enough, it had the exact same layout as the first apartment. Same management company, too. Unfortunately, this apartment is located in a complex with three different apartment communities and it's huge and windy and difficult to get around. Also, the apartment entrances are outside and you have to go under a breezeway to get to the door and it did not seem very well lit. That's a pretty safe area, but the complex is so big and it's got a lot of out of the way areas and lots of coming and going, so I felt a little sketchy about that. So we crossed them off the list.
Place 3 is a brand new complex (they're not even done with construction, that's how new). That intrigued me, so we went to have a look. The apartment was nice, but I would only be able to afford a 1 bedroom there, because their 1 bedrooms are going for the same price as the 2 bedroom apartments I was seeing and the 2 bedrooms are way out of my price range. For a 1 bedroom, it was pretty spacious and had decent storage, but the kitchen was even smaller (and also had all the cabinets out of reach, what the hell is up with that? I'm not that short!) and the place had a bunch of amenities that I will never, ever use (like, free tanning. Um. No.). I think they're overpriced and they're further from work. It's also not a very residential neighborhood- lots of office buildings, etc. And it's a bit further south than I wanted to be. I crossed them off the list too. I might have considered it if it wasn't so overpriced, though.
Place 4 was a bust- turned out their office wasn't actually open (I hadn't set up an appointment there- we just figured we'd stop by a couple other places). It was in the same area as Place 3, but closer to the highway, so still in my geographic range. We drove around the complex, though, and it did not look very well kept up (it was older than the others we'd seen) so I crossed that off the list.
Place 5 was across the street from Place 4. This complex was also older, but better kept up. The office staff was...lackadaisical, though. Not terribly interested in showing me a unit. This place also had the outside entrances with the breezeways, although I felt somewhat less sketchy about that in this place. It was a little bit smaller than the other 2 bedrooms I looked at, but it had a bigger kitchen, a patio, and a walk in closet in the master bedroom. However, the drawbacks are being further from work, the staff was just...well, if they treat prospects like that, how do they treat the residents? And they don't actually have available units in the time period I want to move. I'd have to go on a wait list. They're sort of still on the list, although in talking it over with the Parentals and typing this out, I think that between Place 1 and this place, Place 1 is probably better.
So, I'm going to sleep on it, but chances are good I'm going to put in an application for Place 1 this week. I mean, I could do another round of looking at places, but I definitely could see myself living in Place 1, and hell, if I hate it, it's only a year.
Place 1 is closest to work- maybe 15 minutes when it's not rush hour. 20ish during. Two bedrooms, with a nice layout and a bunch of closets (front closet, washer/dryer hookups were in a closet that you could totally put shelving above the appliances, a utility closet with some room for some storage, a linen closet, a 4 foot closet in the smaller bedroom, 2 closets in the master and a linen cubby in the master bath). It had 2 bathrooms- a small one with a very tiny shower in the master, and full bath with a tub in the main part of the apartment. It was very clean, and the thing I liked is that the entrance to the apartment is indoors, behind a security door with a keypad. The buildings also have elevators, so it means I could live on a 2nd or 3rd floor. Parking was good, it had a small 24 hour fitness room and a outdoor pool. I could rent a garage space for $65 a month. The only real drawbacks were the kitchen was very small with most of the cabinets out of my comfortable reach and not much counter space, and there's no traffic light at the entrance to the complex (although I leave for work early enough in the day that this may not be a problem- I have to be at work by 8, not 9, which is the norm around here).
Place 2 is a couple of miles from place 1, although it would probably take a bit longer to get to work, because it's not as close to the highway. Amusingly enough, it had the exact same layout as the first apartment. Same management company, too. Unfortunately, this apartment is located in a complex with three different apartment communities and it's huge and windy and difficult to get around. Also, the apartment entrances are outside and you have to go under a breezeway to get to the door and it did not seem very well lit. That's a pretty safe area, but the complex is so big and it's got a lot of out of the way areas and lots of coming and going, so I felt a little sketchy about that. So we crossed them off the list.
Place 3 is a brand new complex (they're not even done with construction, that's how new). That intrigued me, so we went to have a look. The apartment was nice, but I would only be able to afford a 1 bedroom there, because their 1 bedrooms are going for the same price as the 2 bedroom apartments I was seeing and the 2 bedrooms are way out of my price range. For a 1 bedroom, it was pretty spacious and had decent storage, but the kitchen was even smaller (and also had all the cabinets out of reach, what the hell is up with that? I'm not that short!) and the place had a bunch of amenities that I will never, ever use (like, free tanning. Um. No.). I think they're overpriced and they're further from work. It's also not a very residential neighborhood- lots of office buildings, etc. And it's a bit further south than I wanted to be. I crossed them off the list too. I might have considered it if it wasn't so overpriced, though.
Place 4 was a bust- turned out their office wasn't actually open (I hadn't set up an appointment there- we just figured we'd stop by a couple other places). It was in the same area as Place 3, but closer to the highway, so still in my geographic range. We drove around the complex, though, and it did not look very well kept up (it was older than the others we'd seen) so I crossed that off the list.
Place 5 was across the street from Place 4. This complex was also older, but better kept up. The office staff was...lackadaisical, though. Not terribly interested in showing me a unit. This place also had the outside entrances with the breezeways, although I felt somewhat less sketchy about that in this place. It was a little bit smaller than the other 2 bedrooms I looked at, but it had a bigger kitchen, a patio, and a walk in closet in the master bedroom. However, the drawbacks are being further from work, the staff was just...well, if they treat prospects like that, how do they treat the residents? And they don't actually have available units in the time period I want to move. I'd have to go on a wait list. They're sort of still on the list, although in talking it over with the Parentals and typing this out, I think that between Place 1 and this place, Place 1 is probably better.
So, I'm going to sleep on it, but chances are good I'm going to put in an application for Place 1 this week. I mean, I could do another round of looking at places, but I definitely could see myself living in Place 1, and hell, if I hate it, it's only a year.