The Amazing (Apartment) Race

We found a new apartment!



Our search for a new apartment sauntered on at a casual pace for much of May and June. Basically we just looked at various apartment buildings in our neighborhood and said to each other, "I wonder what it's like inside there..." Then we'd shrug and keep walking.

Truthfully, we were THIIIIS close to just saying to heck with it and staying in our current place. Yes, there wasn't much light, and it was a little grimy, and I had to constantly duck to avoid concussions... BUT it was cheap, and had a cute little back yard, and the neighbors were super nice, and with all of our stuff set up it was kind of cute. Plus, we had no desire to pack up and move yet again.

In the end, common sense won out. For me the decision was made when I whacked my brain but good against the duct in the living room for the 300th time. For Nicole, it was the fridge that finally did it. (It barks like a randy seal whenever it has to make more cold air... that is, every time you open the door.)

So we started aggressively searching.

I'll spare you the annoying details, but allow me to suggest that if I were faced with the choice of repeating the apartment search process in DC or, alternatively, yanking out, one-by-one, every single one of my body hairs while being spritzed with a fine spray of rubbing alcohol... well, I would have to ponder that.

OK - One story... We saw one place that was awesome. Great neighborhood, great price, great apartment. The problem was that at least 25 other people were also at the open house, and they all wanted the place too. Apparently apartments are dished out on a first come, first served basis and they judge "first come" by whoever faxes in their application first. So, at the kind urging of the sadistic real estate agent ("...if I were you, I'd be running to a fax machine...") we all tore out of the place like a stampede of drunken water buffalo.

We got our application in within 25 minutes, and didn't get the place. Got charged $80 bucks though, so that was nice. And I almost had a heart attack. What a joke.

So that was Saturday. Sunday our luck changed. A great place opened up, and NOBODY else came to the open house. It was the weird. It was great. It was really, really lucky that we even bothered to see the place.

So now we have this great place! It's close to the subway, in a nice neighborhood, has huge deck, high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, working fireplace, and it's a separate unit rather than in a huge apartment building.

We're stoked.

As of today the place is ours, but we don't need to be out of our old place until the end of the month. So we're taking our time settling in. Today we painted. Tomorrow I'll bring a load of stuff over and then we'll throw on another coat of paint. Next weekend we'll take the big stuff over and maybe buy some plants for the deck.

Here are a couple more photos. I'll post more pictures once we've settled in.