Welcome to your New Home

First you have to find it...

First I would like to give a shout out to Shark Week. Once again I am afraid to go into the Ocean. Beware the awesome power of the deep!

Finding a place to live was a lot harder than I had thought it was going to be. I had thought that I would search on the internet, go to the apartment place and (WHAM!) I’d be living on my own. This was the first reality check. Not only did I discover that cheap places to rent in the areas that I wanted to live were virtually non-existent, but if I did find something in my price range, it was already occupied. I also discovered that income requirements are another hurdle.

All of the places (except the first that did not have any free apartments in a normal price range) had income requirements. I also came to dread the term luxury in front of apartment ads. Honestly I don’t think luxury apartments are worth it if there isn’t any affordable housing anywhere else. Heck I’m still trying to figure out where poor people live in Fairfax County.

My mom and I went back home without any progress. I at first was convinced I would be living out of a cardboard box (or driving over an hour and a half commute to work). A few frustrated tears later led back to the internet. I was hoping to find a room for rent or a roommate. I found plenty of people looking for roommates, but I wasn’t sure how much I’d like kids, three cats (I’m allergic) or 18 year old French guys. There were a lot of 18 year old French guys looking for roommates. I finally found, with a good bit of help from my mom, a guy renting his basement with all utilities included. A phone call later and we had an appointment in two days to go check it out.

We also discovered that about twenty miles from where I was going to work was a small town with apartments with a rent that was at least reasonable. My mom started sorting through apartments while I just kind of nodded my head and agreed with whatever she said.

The next “new home hunt” started in the further away town very early in the morning. The first few places I looked at were nice. Mom helped me to identify what was lacking and what was a plus in some of the different places we looked at. One of the coolest things we discovered was that some apartments offer move in deals. If you move in by a certain date they cut the rent, wave fees for the pool or even give you a month free of rent (but check to see if it’s a 12 or 13 month lease).

After another long day of looking at apartments and still having an interview for a basement to rent, I found a really cute place that was in my price range. I decided to cancel the interview and put in an application for this place. There was also a lot of paper work required on my end. They are very serious about not doing illegal activates and knowing where the money for the rent is coming from.

About a month later I was ready to move in. I managed to bribe two of my friends, along with my dad, to help me to move all of my worldly possession to the new apartment. When we finally got everything in, just as it was starting to thunderstorm, I discovered that my apartment was a lot bigger than I had thought it was and that I did not have as much stuff as I thought I had. Don’t get me wrong, I have more stuff than I know what to do with sometimes, but I still don’t have a couch or a coffee table. For that matter my dining room is currently folding chairs and a card table. I guess I never realized how much furniture makes a home. My dad had to suggest the card table and folding chairs before I realized that I even needed dining room furniture.

After a few weeks, and my book case being rebuilt, I had finally managed to make my apartment seem more like a home. I especially love having a dishwasher. I didn’t have a dishwasher in college and I now realize how much I love them. I like having my own home. Now I just have to keep it clean.