Apartment Search

The yearly (ugh) hunt for a new apartment is on in full force. I've moved 5 times in the past 6 years, not counting short-term sublets and such. It sucks, moving, especially since I've accumulated SO MUCH STUFF, but at least I know what I like.

I like it small. I grew up in a pretty small house: you could always hear when other people were home, never had to deal with stairs, absolutely packed closets. Now, living in a big house, it freaks me out that I never know if I'm home alone or not. I've noticed that other people, like my future roommates, like space to spread out, but not me!

I like light, lots of light. Ideally, I could just nap in a sunbeam. Living in the basement has been tolerable mostly because I do get morning sunshine for a couple hours, filtered through trees, which is actually very nice. (not that I've been awake for it since school ended!) Light is especially important in a kitchen, which is a rarity in apartments around here.

I like quirk. Unlike my love for small living spaces, I think this comes from the fact that the house I grew up in was a subdivision developer's cookie-cutter model, the same as every other house in the neighborhood (I mean this almost literally). We looked at an apartment in an old Victorian without a right angle in the place, and I was in love. It has a loft with a ladder, exposed brick chimney, attic-like ceilings, a theater curtain to keep the heat in, a stained glass window with built-in-bookshelves, a falling-down balcony, bizarre raised closet floors, a rather hideous black tub, loads of bay windows. But it also was a bit pricey, had a possibly too-strange landlord (he lives in the back, accessible only by ladder), and no space for bikes or a dining room table. Well, I think there was space, but I digress. Anyway, I'm a total sucker for "vintage."

I like radiators, especially accompanied by the magic words "heat included." I'm from the south, I get cold, and they are much better to snuggle up to than a vent that never seems to put out enough heat anyway.

I like not going to the laundromat. It was ok when I lived basically above it, but I don't anymore, so there.

And finally, I like cheap. Boy do I like cheap. I like cheap so much. Have I mentioned how much I like cheap?

Well, that's enough of my boring post about apartments.
picture via Bliss. I think I picked it for the sheepskin rug, the rest of it is meh.