Life is Beautiful (and crazy)

Wow, I haven't been able to give either of my blogs much thought in the past month. I've said this before, but between apartment hunting, wedding planning, and my career... it's a bit busy. Apartment hunting is like taking on a second job. Every day I'm calling places, walking neighborhoods, and arranging appointments to view places. It doesn't help that the range of what's available for our price range is SO wide. You can never tell what you might get. Our expectations are also really high. We want a walkable neighborhood with at least one parking spot (two is better) and if there's only one spot, there needs to be ample street parking. That combo is so hard to come by. Our current neighborhood has that, but the apartments available are pretty lackluster. To make matters even more complicated, we really want the option of getting a dog when we're ready.

We found one apartment that we thought we loved... but upon a closer inspection, we realized that there was d-CON sprinkled liberally in the kitchen corners. READ: there's clearly a rodent problem. Plus, the place was hot as blazes even on a cool evening and we'd have to install our own window A/C. *sigh* We had already applied and were accepted, but ended up turning the place down. I'm still mourning this apartment, as it was cute, had lots of storage, was spacious, cute, and allowed small dogs.

Then there was the HUMONGOUS apartment in a perfect location that tried to jack up the price when we said there would be two people living there. I'm still not sure that we couldn't talk them down, but that still doesn't take away the fact that it has carpet (it gets disgusting in L.A.) and an awkward kitchen that doesn't really accommodate a fridge and has no garbage disposal. It was a cute as hell older place, but with that charm comes a lot of really bizarre quirks... and only two old retired people to call upon when something goes awry. Still grieving.

washer/dryer. SERIOUSLY?

Then there's the more expensive place that's got a great open kitchen, is a decent size, has a nice balcony with a FABULOUS view, would probably let us rip up the carpet, allows ANY kind of dog, has a second parking spot for only $25 a month, and is located directly across from a puppy park. Downside? What could POSSIBLY be the downside, you ask. Well... it's $100 more a month than we were originally hoping to spend. It also doesn't have the real walkable factor that we like... it's a bit of a hike to anything cool. We can technically afford it, but it doesn't give us as much wiggle room if some tragedy befalls us or allow us to take time for vacations, etc...

Now, we just found a place that seems kind of amazing. Washer/dryer IN the unit, allows dogs up to 60 lbs, parking spot with storage plus decent street parking, hardwood/tile floors throughout. There's going to be a unit available that's getting completely remodeled. New countertops, appliances, bathroom, all new. The FH is just hesitant because we would really lose the walkability we currently have.

There's this funky nook in the corner. That's where the cable hookup is. I guess.... you'd put the TV there if you had one? That cubbyhole under the stairs also has extra storage. Hmmm... perfect place for Christmas decorations, I think.

Yeah, it's a little small. But we also don't need tons of space. Yet, it really lacks that walkable factor that is so attractive to us.

The unit I have photos of isn't the one that's going to be available. The landlord/manager says he has an apartment almost identical to this one that's getting all new upgrades.

What to do? We're having difficulty coming to consensus on the apartment hunt and I'm getting worn out from hunting them all down. There's no deadline because we're in a month-to-month rent right now, so we can take essentially as much or as little time as we want or need. That becomes problematic when it gives you the sense that there's always the possibility of something better out there!

Oh, and this place would be under budget for us. Yeah. So how important is walking to Starbucks or the grocery store?


View Larger Map