I arrived yesterday (Tues) and pretty much JUMPED into apartment hunting. I didn't realize until yesterday that I have never really looked for an apartment before. When I moved to NYC it was basically an opportunity I fell into. A friend of a friend had an extra bedroom in her apartment so I grabbed it, then, six months later, a friend had a spare room that I jumped into. I stayed in that apartment until Sean and I were engaged and then, again, we fell into our place. Sean was put in Longview Place (where we lived in Waltham) for corporate housing and we ended up staying there for almost five years, until we just moved. So... I have never really researched neighborhoods or "settings" to decide where we'd live. I have never had to think about "Where is the closest grocery store" or "Where is the closest metro" or.. in Australia: "Is there a dishwasher" or "Is there a washer/dryer".. it's MUCH different here!
I did as much research as I could prior to arriving yesterday but I was still shocked. The first apartment I went into was in Paddington, a great little neighborhood with cafes, shops and parks very close to the CBD. The neighborhoods are made up of terrace houses which I loved because it would feel like we had our own place, rather than being in a big building. The first apartment I looked at (that was more expensive than where we lived in Waltham) looked like a place where even a college student would cringe. The walls were dirty, the carpets were stained and worn. There was no refrigerator (pretty standard here) and the washer/dryer were in the kitchen (again pretty standard). When I walked up the stairs to the bedroom I realized there were no closets (called built ins here) so the people had their clothes on racks - NO WAY!! I lived for five years in NYC with no closet and I will NOT do it again! That is all I had to see before I walked out.
I decided to stop for lunch before I met with the realtor who was going to take me to visit three more places. I found a great cafe and settled in, I really liked the neighborhood so I could totally imagine us living there. I enjoyed my fantastic salad and then made my way to meet the realtor. I walked into the office and she was at her desk (she didn't get up) and informed me that I was five minutes early and she had some work to finish so I could sit on the couch (not the typical Aussie friendliness but whatever).
"I suppose I'm driving," she said from her desk. I told her I assumed we'd take cabs/bus so she didn't need to drive. "No, it's fine, I'll drive, I just don't normally do that because it's not my job." - YIKES!! This was going to be a fun afternoon.
I assured her that she did NOT need to drive if she didn't want to but she said it was fine.. So we got into her car (she had to clean off the passenger seat) and took off to the first property in Bondi. The property was advertised as a two bedroom with water-views so I was excited to check it out. We pulled up to a block with some convenience stores and a market and parked on the street. There wasn't really a neighborhood but it was only a five minute walk to Bondi beach and the beach was definitely in view. She opened the door to the building and I tried to hide my horror. This building was like a meth hotel - SO old and dingy. Ripped floors, dirty walls and BONUS: NO elevator!! The apartment was on the sixth floor and they were full flights of stairs. We made it to the top with burning thighs and she opened the door to the place.
The entire apartment (bedrooms included) was about the size of a standard hotel room. The bedrooms somehow did have closets but they were really small. The living/kitchen/dining room barely fit a two seater couch and a tiny table. The kitchen was probably 2x3 and had a mini fridge with no dishwasher and no air conditioning. So this place would be PERFECT for a single dwarf without sweat glands who enjoys doing dishes. The realtor rattled off some facts about how it had recently been redone, blah blah and the price was ONLY: $850/week so $3400/month (hopefully the dwarf has a well paying job) and that was a GREAT price for the area - being so close to Bondi beach and all. So on hot summer days when I am hanging my head out the window since I have no air conditioning I can see the beach in the distance. NO THANKS.. I told her that I thought it was too small for my husband and I because we were accustomed to more space. She assured me the next property we were seeing would be bigger.
To be continued...
AH the suspense... will there be pics of the new place?
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