Independence Day

I think most have surmised that there’s been some recent changes in my life. I almost went off to England. Alone. And now I’m apartment searching. Alone. 
Yup. 
I’m single and ready to mingle. 
Just kidding. I’m single and ready for some peace, and some much needed soul searching. 
Right now my priority is finding a place to live. 
It has not been easy due to some uncertainty surrounding the whens, hows, and the that-costs-how-muchs. The rental market where I live right now is slim and what you see is what you get. If you don’t jump right on the first half decent place you see, it’s gone the next day. I’m not exactly too picky, but I also don’t want to live in my city’s equivalent of Compton.
So, I’ll just say it’s been…interesting, the search for an apartment. I think I’ll add disappointing, scary, and fun, just to mix it up.
Yesterday, I got to tour a studio apartment in one of the oldest complexes in the city. The vintage charm was just oozing out of the Art Deco windows. There were even little milk delivery boxes. I couldn’t even. 



The apparent charm and ideal location were the only two pros with this place. There were holes in the walls, the lobby and hallway carpets were filthy, and the wood was just being left to rot. It was sad.
The search for the perfect apartment is, of course, disappointing because $425 a month in one of the most coveted areas is, in fact, too good to be true. 
Also, it’s scary to think that someone actually thinks anyone sane would  want to rent a place that houses one of the seven gates of hell. There was a crawl space door located in the closest that went forever into the abyss of your worst nightmares. *NERP. 
I love looking at houses and apartments, even when they end up being a big “nope”. I don’t know if it’s a woman thing, but every potential home I go into is an empty canvas that I can envision putting my mark on. Unless it’s scary and crack den-ish (I’ve never been in one, but I think it would be hard to work, decoratively, around the crack). 
Here’s a video I took of the apartment from yesterday. 
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For some reason, my voice sounds kind of Valley Girl-ish. Forgive me. 
Wish me luck on my continued search! 
​*Thanks, Lori! 
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21 thoughts on “Independence Day”

  1. In our searches, we’ve found that only a small percentage of rentals are actually represented on listing sites. Just today, we drove around and found tons of places with “for rent” signs out. Yes, it’s a lot more footwork, but it was encouraging to see that there’s WAY more available than what Trulia or Zillow have listed. Best of luck, girl! 😘

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  4. Good luck with the search Katie, it’s a crap thing to have to do and sorting the wheat from the Chaffe can be an endless task especially when there are weird access points like the closet and the ceiling to be considered!!

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  6. I love looking at houses too. Rentals, less so, but it’s still cool and if I were there I would totally help you look.
    Do you know any realtors? They might have some leads.
    When we moved 4 years ago we kept our old townhouse because 1) property values hadn’t recovered yet AND 2) there’s a big shortage of rentals. So we have renters there now (we work with a 3rd party so we don’t have to manage it.) But with banking reform, mortgages are harder to get, so people are renting a lot more.
    And re: the milk boxes – LOVE. Here we have laundry chutes. ALSO LOVE.

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    1. I mostly love looking at open houses-places I’ll never be able to afford, but a girl can dream. Actually, I’ve thought about buying, but I want to keep the “moving to the UK” dream alive, so I don’t want to settle just yet.

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          3. Totally do. 😉 Although I usually hear the opposite – that folks would prefer a little less of me….haha (I can be…overbearing)

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