After absolutely GUSHING about the wonderful apartment I found outside the 610-loop, I had some serious renter's remorse. I quickly realized that 1) I will be working overtime, pretty soon, and a 30 minute commute each way was really going to be annoying when that happened; and 2) the increased commute - when calculated in terms of the IRS dollar/mile thingy - would mean I'd be paying MORE each month than if I lived inside the loop at a considerably more expensive rate ($226 more per month for driving, in fact). So I decided to keep looking, as I hadn't yet signed a lease for the palatial apartment in the Memorial area.
And I obsessively checked the Houston Area Realty website every night, hoping I'd find a gem.
Guess what?
I totally did.
It doesn't have a washer-dryer in the apartment, but there's a laundry room literally right outside my door. It's a secure access building - you have to buzz people in, and there's an alarm on the external doors, so if they're open too long, someone knows - with covered and gated parking. All bills are included, and it's 100 SF larger than my current apartment (200 SF smaller than the one in Memorial, but hey, it's also 10 miles closer to work). And it's $1000 per month.
I'm ecstatic.
It's owned by a doctor and his wife - the doctor lived in it when he finished medical school eons ago, and now they live in a larger condo near the Galleria - and they rent it out, preferably to single professionals.
I walked in and immediately knew I wanted it. It's on the third floor - of an elevator building! - with an interior entry. Because it's a third floor apartment, it has 10' ceilings, and the smallish kitchen manages to cram in TONS of cabinet space, while still leaving room for a crock-pot to cook while I'm away at work (once I buy a crock-pot, that is).
I had to sign a lease beginning June 15 - a full two weeks earlier than I'd hope for - but if I hadn't, another woman would have gotten it. I was the first person to see the apartment after it was listed, and I rented it on the spot.
So now, I've begun the task of purging my apartment of architecture studio supplies, books, and clothes that no longer fit, or are no longer how I want to dress. I took a carload of stuff - some dishes, some clothes - to Goodwill yesterday, and last weekend, I set a box of books outside my door with a sign saying "Free books! Take one! Or five!" Two inebriated young men took In the Garden of Beasts, after some very amusing conversation, and someone Monday morning cleared out all but three of the rest (so about 15 books) and scrawled "Thank you SO MUCH!" on the sign.
Always happy to share my literary treasures with others. After I'm done with them, anyways. Otherwise get your own damn books.
Time to get back to cleaning out and sorting and tossing things.
And dreaming about my new place.
