I have final papers to write and I need to clean in preparation for graduation visitors. But I also finally know where I will be going to serve beginning in July. So, instead of doing my homework, I have been searching the magical interwebs for apartments.
I've only had to search for an apartment one other time in my life, and it was in a city I had already lived in for three years. My only major requirements at that point were a six-month lease and proximity to campus. So, this whole moving-to-a-new-city-finding-my-own-place thing is totally foreign to me. I'm a little excited about having my own apartment, but I also feel like I have no idea what I'm doing.
What's more important: proximity to work or proximity to fun?
Do I want two bedrooms or just one?
What sort of pet policy should I be looking for, and what constitutes a "small dog"?
What are hidden charges for cable and wi-fi like?
Is there any way to know what sort of neighborhood the apartment is located in without spending days driving around?
How much should I really pay for a two-bedroom apartment?
Do I need two bathrooms, or just one?
How much kitchen space does a just-barely-cooking, busy 24-year-old need?
But there are a few things I absolutely insist upon:
1) The apartment MUST have a washer/dryer. I am no longer willing to drag all of my clothing all over the place whenever I run out of clean underwear.
2) It must have air conditioning. I don't want to be known as "the pastor who sweats like a pig" after my first summer.
3) Must allow dogs. See earlier post.
4) Cannot be a neighborhood so sketchy that I don't feel comfortable living alone.
5) Cannot have a sink that drains into the dishwasher. (I know that sounds like a strange requirement, but after having such an arrangement in a past apartment, the only acceptable response is: EW!)
6) Should not smell like a mixture of smoke and bad Indian food. (This scent lingered constantly in the apartment with the dishwasher-draining-sink. Again, EW!)
7) The shower should be shower-shaped. As much fun as it was to have a space-pod shower, it's a little disconcerting to feel like you might be launched into orbit, naked, with shampoo in your hair. (This feature, too, belonged to the apartment with the dishwasher-draining sink and the smoldering curry scent. That was truly a special apartment.)
8) Must have internet availability. I already have Skype coffee date plans with my seminary friends.
It's so much more fun to cruise online apartment listings than it is to write papers. Is it time to graduate? Here's your sign.
6 comments:
You need 2 bedrooms. I'm not traveling a long way to visit you just to crash on your couch.
So where are you going???? How exciting to be looking for a home to call your own. Maybe someone there could at least let you know safe areas to look.
I would love to see a picture of the shower described.
I'm with you, must have washer/dryer. Wish I had them.
Wanda
Small dog usualy means under 25 pounds. It kind of sucks, but if your luckly like me you'll find a really sweet little pup. Also get a place with some kitchen space, you have no clue how much you will need it even if you don't cook a lot.
I enjoy being launched into space naked. Don't knock it 'til you try it.
2 bedrooms, definitely. It would be awkward for Paige and I to sleep in your bed when we visit. Seriously, though. You're wearing big-girl pants now. Have an extra room.
Erik and Lance: two bedrooms it is, then. But you have to come visit so that I feel like I'm making good financial choices!
I lived in a college apartment with that pod shower. Thank goodness I don't live there now - I'd worry about a naked space launch every time I showered there now that you put that image in my head! :)
Post a Comment