Lately most of my blogs have been all “Hey guys, go to this other webpage and look at cool things because I am not cool. Don’t look at me. Seriously. I have nothing to say. Get out.” It’s not so much that I have nothing to say, it’s just that if I did it would look a little something like this obsessive rant:
“OMFG. I have to find a place to live. Soon. No room! Can’t work at home! NO DESK! TO! DO! FREELANCE! WORK! AT! Also? Have 5 weddings to shoot in the next 8 weeks! OMFG and am going away. To the Dominican Republic! To shoot! A very important!! Wedding! Alone! (Ok and get like 50 million massages, because my back? Feels as bumpy as this entry is shaping up to be.)”
So yeah. I’m slightly freaking out. Basically I started looking at apartments, but to live alone? You either live in scum or have zero savings. Rentals in this area are ridiculous. And that is being generous.
Some one explain this to me:
The studios and 1 beds that I found are sub-par (at best). They are not updated, many DO NOT include utilities and are all priced $800 – $1,100.
However, many of the TWO beds I’ve found are newly renovated, gorgeous units. I’ve found one in particular that was brand new, not lived in, utilities, gym, balcony, heated garage parking ALL included. For $1,600. Do you know what the breakdown on that is? Let me do the math for you:
Now I am not a math person, but let’s see … $1,600 / 2 = $800 per person.
Which is awesome! Great! Really.
Except I don’t have another person to live with. A) NONE of the people I personally know need a place to live. They have roommates/boyfriends/husbands/family/city bum, etc. B) I did the Craiglist thing, TWICE, and was less than satisfied with how that turned out.
WHY ARE THESE TWO BEDS, NICE, LOVELY AND AFFORDABLE FOR TWO PEOPLE, when the STUDIOS AND ONE BEDS ARE HOVELS!? AND MOLDY! AND GROSS! AND EXPENSIVE!
Work has been slow, which means even MORE time obsessing about this. And just when you think it can’t get worse, that chick down the hall is boasting about ANOTHER flower delivery (at least the 85th this year) from the husband “just because their lives are awesome” or something. I assume.
I tried to book a night in a hotel this weekend just to GET AWAY from my computer, from disgusting apartment listings, from the fact that I am in a LIFE rut – but even that fell through.
Who’s happy now that I opened THIS can of worms?! Are you?! ARE YOU?!
OMG. I need to lay off the caffiene and go stick my head in a toilet or something.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
you can still get away without driving 10 minutes to a hotel.
go to the trailside museum and make beeswax candles.
^ Hooker does have a good point. Trailside Museum/beeswax candles can only mean pure, unadulterated fun.
Of you could DIP candles at the Thayer House. the added bonus being you could also weave if you wanted.
I SO feel your pain, dear. I too have been ALL over town, looking for a decent apartment, in a decent neighborhood, close to uptown, that I can afford. I’ve probably visited thirty properties, and I have only one or two left on my list. Turns out, you must either be poor enough to live in subsidized housing or wealthy enough to buy a $300K condo in order to live alone in a nice home in Charlotte. I fall into neither of those categories. =(
It took me forever to find my craptackular 1 bedroom in Quincy in 2002. The housing market in the Boston area is bonkers but I find that deep cleansing breaths and lots of alcohol helps.
i think you might, maybe kinda might, have a better chance with the studios (as far as not-exorbitant and not-skeevy goes) than the 1-beds. i’ve found that 1-beds are ridic, because they’re more in demand from couples wanting their own space, but more room than a studio.
and if it makes you feel any better, we’re just shy of the $1,500 a month mark with our one bedroom in capitol hill. renting in the city = not fun.
oh my god, i totally feel your pain. i ran into the same thing when i was in nyc. the two bedroom in manhattan was $1700 yet the studio in NEW JERSEY was $1150. they charge this much because they can.
Looking for a place to live totally sucks. I had the same problem but I decided on the very nice apt 2 steps from the GHETTO because I could afford it, there’s a gated entrance and it’s near work. Bottom line: take the nicer place in the sketchy hood and get a pair of mean Rotweilers. And some Mace. Oh and that woman’s husband is probably sending her flowers because he feels guilty for repeatedly banging his secretary. ;)
Ever considered buying instead of renting? Monthly payment on a 30-year mortgage at 6.5 % for a $140,000 condo is right around $1,000. And then you don’t have to worry about having much left over for savings.
http://www.phoenixrealty.org/searchmls.htm