Well, I spent most of today (10-6) talking to real estate agents and looking at apartments. What an experience! I'm a little discouraged, as there's always something a little off with each one. I'm not sure how much perfection I should be demanding either, so I'm having a constant internal debate over which aspects are required and which aren't.
My current requirements:
* bath/shower and toilet must be separate (a convenience that I'm not willing to live without. The little units that have the toilet crammed in next to the shower/bath with a sink linking them both are just no fun at all.)
* a quiet neighborhood so that I can open my windows.
* two stove-top burners (the better to cook with)
* a "mansion type" place - typically reinforced concrete construction or some variation on that
* a good amount of sunlight reaches the room
negotiable:
* I'm looking in the same area as I currently live in, although I'm considering other places too. The thing is, I don't know what it's like to live in other stations, so I'm uneasy about committing to a new area.
* a separate sink not in the bath/shower room (a sink in addition to the kitchen sink; modular is good!)
* elevator (nice, but not necessary, I suppose)
* auto-lock (means solicitors can't come to your door)
* building has a nice appearance
* pleasant neighborhood
Today, I saw a place with a great - perfect - layout. The hallways were pretty dim though, and only one set of windows (balcony doors facing approximately south). My only issues with the place:
* it's a little far from the station
* the neighborhoods don't have that much personality (kind of urban)
* I'm not sure how convenient that station is (less convenient than my current location) and it's an underground one that has exits facing the freeway - a bit depressingly urban in my opinion.
* It's about $160/month more than I was prepared to spend on a place. It's spacious and I love the layout, but I'm not sure the extra money is worth the space.
* It would be nice to have a more spacious kitchen
I saw another place that was perfect - a ton of cute little windows letting in light, great layout, great location (pretty close to my current place), and good neighborhood.
* It's only slightly cheaper than the first place, so I have the same concern about price.
* The ceilings are on the low side, which bothers me for some reason. They're plenty high enough, but it gives the impression of less spaciousness. I don't think I should care about this aspect, but for whatever reason I do.
* I wonder if the landlady is very involved in the maintenance of the building (this can be good and bad). She seems like a very nice woman, but I rather like the leave-alone feel of apt. management companies. I should have asked her some questions.
I wonder if I should relax my requirement for a "mansion type" place. Regular wooden buildings are cheaper by at least $100 or so.
Alternatively, if I move farther outside of the metropolitan area, I can get a great place for exactly my price range - $160 less than the places I looked at today and bigger than them too. But that's more time spent commuting, so I don't think it's worth it.
I need to take better pictures. At least I've learned to take pictures of the kitchen area of each place I visit. They're different everywhere.
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