Saturday, June 22, 2002
 

I'm back, and I've leased an apartment. It's in a complex that's close to I'll be on campus: walking distance. It's in a very safe area, and the building itself is access controlled, as is the parking garage underneath the building (the apt comes with a reserved space). They also have a zero-tolerance noise policy, which suits me just fine; the building overall, though, is quiet because it's mostly graduate and medical students.

The is older, so it's not the lap of luxury or anything; it's pretty basic. My apartment is 690 sq ft. The living/dining room is 12'x20'; the space in there is limited somewhat by a corner wood-burning fireplace, which looks very classy. The bedroom is 11'x13' and opens onto the concrete balcony, as does the living room. The kitchen is small but adequate and has nice appliances and all that; there's also a bar-counter, so I won't have to get a table or anything. The kitchen has a dishwasher and disposal. There's a small cabinet-pantry and lots of cabinet space. It has washer-dryer hookups in a bifold door closet; there's only one other closet (no coat closet) in the apartment, which is a drawback, but it's a good size. The bathroom is large-ish by my standards and has the standard bathtub, toilet, etc. The counter in there is big. There's a concrete balcony, as I mentioned, and there's a protected storage closet that opens off of that (for brooms and stuff, I guess). When you come in, there's a small tile entryway, which looks nice. There's one window in the living/dining, and the balcony doors in the bedroom are glass. The walls are white and the carpet is beige (which seemed to be the standard). The hallways in the building itself are unusually wide and have lots of windows and light. There's a "very basic" exercise room in the complex, and there's also a pool. I signed a 12-month lease.

The other places I saw (I looked at 7 apartments total-- all in one day) varied a great deal. The first place I saw was the apartment I loved: built in 1927, all hardwood floors, high ceilings, older fixtures. However, it would have required driving to campus, and few students lived in the building. If this one close to campus hadn't been available (and I did get the last one-bedroom), I probably would have taken this one. Anyway, the second place was really ritzy and plush; I didn't care for it, and a lot of undergrads lived there (meaning lots of noise). The third place was a maximum 500-square foot studio; it was roughly the size of the hotel room. Another place was fairly nice, but only one one-bedroom was available, and it was first-floor, with the patio doors backing a high and dense hedge, which seemed less than safe. Two other places were sister complexes or whatever they called them. These two were both very new, very nice, with things like washer and dryer provided, ,garden tubs, etc. They were expensive, though, and were probably 7-10 minutes out, driving time, not including parking (which is apparently a nightmare during high enrollment).

Anyway, I took the perfectly nice apartment in the complex with a very pleasant staff (though everyone was nice, with the exception of one place, the ritzy one). I really wanted to be within walking distance of campus, and I ended up in a really good area. Also, the management for this apartment complex is supposed to be very good but very strict in terms of safety-related issues, which is a good thing, of course. The PO boxes are indoors, in the access-controlled area, but my address will not show up as a PO box, which is good, since some things won't ship to PO boxes. Packages will be dropped off at the complex's main office. Water, sewage, and garbage are included in the rent, so my only utilities will be electricity and internet (and cable, if I get a TV).

I think that's all. I'm excited, but tired of driving.

Elvisette philosophized at 4:34 PM