A first look
Well, we did it. We looked at our first apartment. And we walked away with a big fat NO hanging from our mouths. The place is brand new, so they pulled out all the stops. A pool, a fitness center, a bark park, a clubhouse. I’m looking for a place to live, not a vacation resort, thank you.
The apartments weren’t even that great. Yes they had all right amenities: dishwasher, laundry room, garbage disposal (thanks Jen), central air. But they didn’t offer covered parking. Oh no, they want you to rent a garage for $40 a month ($60 if you want the luxury of the fucking garage door opener). I’d rather fight over a parking space under an aluminum roof than pay that much for a garage.
They also charge you to rent extra storage space. And that’s all on top of the $660 rent we’d have to pay for the sin of making over $28,000 a year combined (which we don’t right now, but hopefully will in a few months). Besides, the apartments are small, and worse…they’ve got white walls and beige carpet. What is with the white walls and beige carpet that are suffocating modern apartments?
It’s just not the atmosphere we’re looking for. I want something more cozy. Something not so community-ish, not so we-threw-these-suckers-up-in-just-a-few-weeks-so-we-could-move-people-in-and-start-making-money. Ish.
Anyway, we got off to a bad start, but that means it can only get better right? No seriously, am I right? Or am I crazy? Because you really need to tell me if I’m crazy here. Is it reasonable to expect to find a comfortable apartment in mid-Michigan for less than $600 that maybe includes a few of the luxuries we crave?
Or should I start getting used to the idea of licking my plates clean and watching Brad sweat his balls off?*
*Someone’s definitely finding this site with a “licking balls” google search
June 8th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
First of all, $600 per month? Meh. We pay $995 for a 775 sq. ft. house with none of those luxuries mentioned. Before that, we paid $775 for a 500 sq. ft. house with even less. But we’re talking Seattle and California here, so I guess it’s all relative.
I hate those community-ish places, too. I lived in one once during college, and it always felt so, I don’t know, cult-like. As if, everyone knew what everyone else was doing. I hated that. Plus, the idea of living below someone again, I just can’t bear. On the flip side, I couldn’t live above anyone either for fear of them hearing everything we’re doing, if you know what I mean.
Good luck with the search. It will probably get worse before it gets better, as was the case with our house hunting in the past.
June 8th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
Ummm…. that doesn’t sound so bad by Ann Arbor standards, but I would assume that Jackson doesn’t have the housing crunch that AA does. I’m currently paying 655/month for a 800 sq foot 1 bedroom apartment with a dishwasher, garbage disposal, laundry room in the unit, and A/C (no covered parking). Everything looks cheap, and I’m sure it is. Not the best quality, but you can’t hear the neighbors do it, and the apartment won’t come crashing down on your head.
Good luck finding a good place. It takes a while. You’ll see 6 crappy places for every 1 decent place, and 3 decent places for every 1 good one. Then you can stop looking though. I wish you better luck in Jackson than I have in AA. It really is all relative.
June 8th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
I noticed you are reading Where the Heart Is. You’ll have to tell me what you think of the ending. (I read it a few years ago).
June 9th, 2006 at 8:27 am
See, I feel like if it’s 995 in Seattle and 655 in Ann Arbor, then I’m not crazy for wanting a $550 decent apartment in dinky Jackson. I’m not giving up damn it!