The blog that was two days in the making

Let's start with the simple piece of information, then cover how this changes so many of our plans.

WE GOT AN APARTMENT!!!

On Wednesday Leonard made it his mission to find us a place to live. I sent him craigslist listing after craigslist listing, filtering through so he only had to deal with ones that were pet friendly and within our budget. All my work was in vain it seems, because a few panic attacks later, Leonard found an apartment through another method.

Student housing.

He'd looked into student housing when he was first accepted to San Francisco State, the pricing for a one bedroom was over our budget. Long story short, yesterday he learned that was the price for a delux one bedroom. The standard one bedroom falls well into our budget.

Amazing, right?

Here's the hiccup. It's available on January 13th.

But we already gave our notice for our current apartment. I asked to start at my new job on January 9th.

Here's where it gets interesting.

Current landlord says no problem. We can stay an extra two weeks. My transfer request hadn't been processed yet, so while my general manager was apologetic, I was thrilled. I requested to start at the end of January. This also frees me up to work with my old job at the Fancy Foods show.

It fell into place surprisingly well.

I'm really excited about student housing. I'm excited to live among people who are academically minded, and to have neighbors who will (hopefully) want to know us. It's on the sixth floor, with a view.



So the bad news is we're here two weeks longer. The good news is, we're here two weeks longer!

And we have a place to live. A kind of awesome place to live.

Did I mention it's a one bedroom? And within our budget?

The Apartment Search Continues

Apartment hunting has gotten real.

I’ve been on craigslist every day, save that lovely week I went without Internet, but until now most of the units I’ve looked at have been hypothetical. Price point, amenities and neighborhood research on apartments that are available well before our desired move in date. And while most of the ads listed are still looking for December tenants, people are starting to post their January vacancies.

We’ve looked seriously into one apartment community, one that I have very mixed feelings about. Otherwise it’s craigslist, craigslist and word of mouth. Will word of mouth be our eleventh hour save?

I don’t know.

What I do know is that Leonard and I have very different ideal areas. His school and my restaurant are about twenty minutes from one another. Naturally we’d both prefer to be close to our own place of interest. I argue that Union Square is a far more fascinating part of the city, but that’s neither here nor there.

Because remember, at this point it’s not about being picky. It’s about finding somewhere that will take the four of us in.

And hopefully, not going broke during the process.

Where to Live

I’ve been putting off this posting for a week. I’d mentally written it before this blog was even created, and still I found myself letting it fester in my mind. The reason for this is both simple and complicated. So many people have offered helpful suggestions, and I don’t wish to offend a one of them. So please, friends who have offered advice on this situation, do not take offense. I do appreciate your words, and in the end, your thoughts may be the ones that stick. Your ideas may be the ones to save us at the eleventh hour.

What issue, you may be asking yourself, could cause Maile so much stress, that she opens with such a paragraph.

Apartment hunting.

Without fail, one of the first questions I’m asked is “where do we want to live?” People are curious about what district we’re considering, as though we have all the choices in the world.

Apartment hunting is difficult, yo. It’s even more difficult when you’re doing the entire thing via craigslist, and counting on local friends to tell you how the area is. And for everyone person telling me that one distract is perfect for us, I have another friend pushing me toward their choice district. I truly appreciate the personal touches, but you can understand why my head is spinning.

Let’s not forget the two things that further complicate apartment hunting. Mowgli and River. Not one cat, but two. There goes about 75% of available apartments.

So, long story short, where do we want to live?

In an apartment we can afford that allows cats, preferably somewhere near my restaurant or his school.

If you know of such a place, let me know. In the meantime, if you need me, I’ll be on craigslist.