Apt Hunting SUCKS!

i hate moving.

i mean, i REALLY HATE MOVING.

spent last wk looking for new homes in an effort to narrow down our choices so todd could fly in on the wknd and we could choose among the highlights, and it was HELL.

i started out by setting a budget on how much i wanted to spend and neighborhoods that were relatively safe and near public transportation. i figured if i couldn't afford it or walk to a bus/metro to get to work, then i probably had no business living there, right?

but after talking to people, i wasn't feeling so great about finding something that would leave me w/any money at the end of the month. one realtor i talked to about rentals told me she couldn't help me unless i was willing to spend at least $1800/mo for a 1-bedroom. $1800! i figured this was cuz it impacted her commission, but i was totally wrong. after spending 3 days hiking all over the metro area thru crappy apts, i found only 1 place under $1800 that was livable.

for example, i went to look at a 1 bedroom in cleveland park for $1350/mo. any optimism dwindled after riding the metro, hiking uphill for 25 mins w/a 10lb laptop in my backpack, and finding a 2.5 inch cockroach on its back and wiggling its legs in the middle of the kitchen. GROSS!

other ads in the $1300-$1500s were vetted out by friends in the area as places where i'd "most likely get shot".

by the end of the wk i was feeling exhausted and totally defeated. i woke up every morning at 7am, went to bed every night after midnight, and spent most of my time inbtwn walking around looking at slums to call home. and of course i did it w/my heavy laptop in tow so i could stop periodically at coffee shops to check for email responses and new apt ads.

i don't think todd fully appreciated the awfulness of it all til he arrived on friday and got to experience it for himself. we attempted to see 4 places in the rain and nowhere near the metro: 2 weren't available, 1 didn't show, and 1 came w/bars on all the windows.

by sat tho, we narrowed it down to 2 places. one was 400 sq ft in an awesome georgetown location, but came w/no bedroom door, a disgusting bathroom, a hallway that doubled as the kitchen.

the other, which we ended up going with, is an ugly corporate high rise next to shopping and the metro. it's not the prettiest neighborhood, but it's safe and convenient, and will buy us more time to find what we really want in the future.

i did manage to console myself periodically w/wine and cupcakes.

at the end of a particularly awful day of apt hunting, i found myself in line at the only cupcake place near me that was still open. had no idea they were also famous and had their own TV show, but the 2-block-long line and the traffic cop kinda gave it away...and because it was a particularly awful day, i bought 4. they were gone by morning!