Our New Abode

We searched on the internet,
we scoured the local papers,
we visited a rental agency,
we looked by car and even by foot and at long last we found our new home.

Thanks to mom for being such an objective voice through what turned out to be such an emotional house-hunting week. Thanks to Joel for being patient as mom and I had our discussions about the “issues” that came with each house that we looked at.

A typical post-house tour conversation featuring the issue of safety:

Joel:” Looks good to me. Jenny, why are you so quiet?”

Jenny: “Well, I love the wood floors and cute little oven, but something about the neighborhood just doesn’t feel safe.”

Joel: “Are you serious? Look at the kids riding their bikes home from school, look at the cute bungalow houses everywhere. It looks pretty safe to me.”

Joyce: “No, I feel it too Jenny. Let’s drive around the block and get a feel for the area.”

Joel sighs and gets into the driver seat. We make a block and while Joel continues to see the cute kids walking happily down the sidewalk, mom and I see a corner store with huge beer advertisements and two shady looking characters pulling away on their bicycles. We look at each other in agreement, Joel catches the hint and says “ Well, I want you to feel safe so lets try the next one on the list,” and off we go.

Other “issues” frequently discussed were location to the University, cleanliness of the building, storage space, overall character and charm, distance to grocery stores and other shopping, and of course, price.

We ended up with great location close to the University, a huge park and shopping, good character, not an apartment, not so great in the storage department though it does have 2 bedrooms, and an okay price. Overall we are pretty excited, especially about living on our own and not sharing our space with anyone.

So there's a housing update for ya:)