The Third Apartment

The last apartment Matt and I looked at was actually quite fantastic, and so I feel like this blog post may be either a) woefully short or b) woefully boring.

For example, here's the PRO/CON list:

PROS	CONS
- great layout!	- small walkthrough kitchen
- nice sized bathroom sink	- but ultimately, small bathroom
- lots of closet space	- third floor walkup
- but, a very wide walk up	Bwuh?
- tons of cabinet space (kitchen)	Let me think of something …
- natural light let in	… nothing yet…
- hardwood floors	… give me a minute….

It's an affordable rent, too,which includes heat, hot water, and cooking gas. The pet policy is extremely workable, and thus far the cheapest -- most places have wanted a couple hundred dollars a year plus an additional $30-$50/month. This apartment? $25. It's in a relatively nice area with a Walgreens and a Pathmark (read: huge pharmacy, huge supermarket for those of you not in the East) nearby.

As we waited to be let in, a couple came out, and as we left, a couple was going in. Which means there's probably a lot of demand for this building along. Luckily, I think the application for this place will shave down the numbers.

We had no idea apartment applications could be so..thorough. I think there might be less questions to answer when you apply for a government job. Paycheck stubs, background checks, proof of income, referral letters.... what do they ask people who want to move into really nice apartments? What do the people who want to move into those fancy buildings with built in gyms, swimming pools, and spas have to do? Jump through fire hoops and balance things on their noses? Give up their first born?

Matt filled out as "much as he could" of the application. The copy machine at school was broken, so he couldn't make photocopies of his DNA's transcript patterns, nor could provide them with my favorite ice cream flavor (he couldn't remember if its vanilla or pistachio). *

We have a few more questions to ask the woman who showed us the apartment, but we're intent on sending the application in. She had informed us the day of our visit that other apartments will be opening up in October, which isn't really so far away when you think of it. There was a small debate between us over whether or not the search should stop and we should focus on just getting this apartment, or if we should try to look for something better.

Neither of us are the sort of person to turn down an opportunity because there might be another out there. This might categorize us as pessimists, as our readiness to put off a continual search for something more may imply we figure there just isn't anything more out there. On the other hand, our reluctance to pass up an opportunity for the potential chance of a better one may make us practical. Because really... there probably isn't something more.

Finding reasonable apartments in the Metropolitan area of the East Coast is like finding a matching pair of shoes in a shoe bin at Walmart. It just doesn't happen; and most of what you find smells bad.





* None of that paragraph was true, in case you need clarification. Matt didn't actually need to turn in DNA reports. I know there's going to be one person out there going "Hey! That doesn't seem right!" Also? Vanilla.