So, I was all set on The Plan. You know, cram ourselves into my ~650 square foot 1-bedroom apartment, save tons of money on rent, be all cozy until we can afford to upgrade. It sounded just fine to me.
And then I started browsing Craigslist apartment listings. You know, just for fun.
This is a dangerous hobby, I tell you. On the one hand, doing this "just for fun" browsing got me the apartment I am currently living in. I love this place, and it's only because I decided (against what I thought at the time was my better judgment) to have a look online one day. I was all set on not looking, I didn't listen to myself and looked anyway, and BOOM. I found the perfect place for me.
Ok, so what's wrong with that? That all sounds good, right? Yeah. Well, the trouble comes when I start doing craycray things like looking at the real estate listings and falling in love with houses I can't afford.
Anyway, backing up. Like I said, we had decided that Will would move into my place, and we'd make do with the cramped quarters because the money we'd be saving would be so excellent, it would make up for it until we could move up. After all, all the 2-bedroom places I'd been seeing were steps backward in some way. My place has parking, in-unit laundry, hardwood floors, a yard, close proximity to BART (really, it doesn't get any closer). The 650 square feet don't feel cramped. It's great. So I don't want to give all that up for a place that has coin-op, shared laundry. Or no outdoor space. Or no parking. You know what I mean? Especially the laundry thing...oy. I cannot go from having my own washing machine to gathering quarters and sharing with my neighbors again. I'm just too spoiled at this point. Plus, I own the machine. The point is that really, it doesn't make sense to move just for an extra bedroom.
So yeah. Long story short is that I don't want to give up all the awesome stuff we've got here just for a 2nd bedroom. So I hadn't been looking. Except every couple of days when I thought to myself, "Well, it couldn't hurt..." - and at least this time, with my crazy looking, I think I may have struck gold a little bit.
It's a 2 bed, 1 bath in Rockridge (aka our dream area). ~800 square feet. Deck in a landscaped yard. Back unit of a duplex. Ample non-permit street parking. Hardwood floors. Laundry in-unit (not sure if it's a hookup or if there are machines there already). Oh, and it has a fireplace. Yeah. $1900 a month, which sounds a little steep, but it is within the realm of affordability (Will's old place was $850 and I have been paying $1100). It would mean less crazy savings, but it sounds too good to be true.
We're going to check it out to see for ourselves. Maybe it will feel cramped and dark, and the "nice size kitchen" will be tiny. Maybe it will be grimy and gross. Maybe the bathroom will be hilariously small. Maybe the washer/dryer will be nasty, and there won't be room for my stacked unit. Who knows? But you know me...I can't resist an in-person look!
Wish us luck...either way, at least we have my great place to fall back on :)
