I spent hours looking for an apartment today and had this idea that I could create a picture collage that illustrated the many faces of finding a home, but I am not sure that I pulled it off with the grace and alacrity I had hoped too.
What I do know is the moments I spent sifting through the digital artifacts we call photos proved I have aged more than I had realized. Flip through the photos and you won’t find gray hairs but you will see that there were more of them, “hairs” that is.
Yep, I concede that the foliage on top isn’t what it used to be and I mostly don’t care.
What Really Matters
What really matters is that I find a place to live so that I can move out of this hotel. What really matters is that I find a better place to hang my hat than this joint, but the truth is that if I could snap my fingers and regain all of my hair I would do that first.
Why?
I don’t know, why not.
Maybe if it was in the realm of reality I would be able to give you an answer, but it is not so we can return to the less than scintillating tale of my search for a home.
I visited multiple places in more than a few locations of town and confirmed that Texas shares something in common with the rest of the country.
Some people should never be allowed to work with people because their failure to self identify as misanthropic morons is problematic.
People Who Don’t Like People
People who don’t like people sounds like the title of a parody of a Barbara Streisand song but it is not. It is my description of some of the fine folks I encountered today who were put off by my asking rough questions like:
- How much is the rent?
- Can I see the unit?
- How many units live here?
- Does your medical plan cover removal of the stick in your ass and how much would you charge to haunt a house?
Ok, I might not have asked every one of those questions, or maybe I did. I’ll let you decide.
But I am willing to bet you have encountered some of these people too. It shouldn’t surprise me to run into them, but it does. I never fail to wonder why some people choose to work in positions in which they have to work with other people.
This Too Shall Pass
Confession: I haven’t lived in a communal housing in almost 15 years, not that there is anything wrong with that because there isn’t. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t sort of wondering/concerned about it.
In the days of yore when I did I hadn’t owned a home or enjoyed the many benefits associated with it. I got used to having a certain amount of privacy and have benefited from having wonderful neighbors so I have been a bit concerned about what the complex will be like.
I recognize one can live in a house and have bad neighbors too so to some extent this concern of mine is sort of silly. So maybe what I should really say is it is more nerves in general than concern about apartment living.
Either way it doesn’t matter because this time around I am looking for a short term lease. A bit down the road I’ll have the opportunity to evaluate and decide if I really like that section of town or if there is a better location.
Location, Location, Location
Location really is my biggest concern here. It is part of the challenge of being new to town in that I really don’t know what location makes the most sense.
I have some ideas and have received some direction but ultimately it won’t matter until I move into a place and see what life is like. I know the sun is hot, but I can’t tell you just how hot it really is until I live there.
And yes some of you can take that as a message from me. You can talk all you want about what you think you know but a week long trip doesn’t mean you really know the area at all.
You still sound like the tourist who doesn’t pronounce the name of the street like the locals do. You think you sound cool but to anyone who knows anything you sound like you just caught the last bus into town.
And that my friends ends this particular episode of “Josh is looking for a place to hang his hat.”
Hi Josh,
Good luck with locating a place to live. We are in the process of thinking about the dreaded move. We are returning for the UK this summer to the DC area. We have thought about buying a new house but I will have to tell you that I am not looking forward to looking at tons of homes hoping to the find the one so we have decided to move back into our old house and slowly find something that is more suitable.
What I have learned over the past few weeks is that people are just not customer friendly anymore. If you contact them about a house, they are all in your financial business but you can ask about the house. And not to mention they are somewhat rude about it.
I hope you find a great place soon.
Hi Cynthia,
Moving isn’t much fun, it is a lot of work and at times a giant pain. There is something to be said for being able to move back into your old house, especially if you like it.
I hear you about the people, some of them have been just peachy.
Hi Josh,
I think the best part of the move will be getting to drive on the right side of the road again and not have to plan my child’s birthday party 8 months prior so I will have time to get everything in.
You’re right Josh, I often times wonder why some people have the jobs they do when it’s very obvious they are NOT people pleasers. My goodness, I’ve been in your shoes with that one my friend.
Now I always lived in a house my entire life. It wasn’t until after I divorced that I moved into Houston and rented a condo. This complex use to be an apartment complex ages ago but was turned into condos. I bought a place after living here 2 years because I loved the location, the size of the complex and that there were no children. Not that I don’t like kids, I’m talking about how quiet it is.
Unfortunately like any other place on this earth there will be times you have “those” people move in who are not as nice as we would like. Although I still love my home and the majority of time that I’ve lived here it’s been great, I have had those few times I thought I would be arrested for murder. Some people just have no regard for others.
Good luck with the search and I’m sure you’ve found a place by now or at least I hope you have. One that will be to your liking.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
I love kids but I understand why people would be interested in living in a complex without them, it helps make it quieter…sometimes. 😉
Your comment about some people not having any regard for others really rings true, unfortunately. Most of the time I don’t run into those people because I think most people have more sense and concern, but they are out there.
Hey Josh
Good luck with finding an apartment.
Living in communal housing isn’t that bad really. If you live somewhere like Edinburgh, you have no choice as they are all tenement blocks built in yesteryear.
We live a few miles out of the city now but within the boarding school campus with 15 pupils that my wife looks after as HouseMistress! Now that is definitely communal!
Hi Tim,
I have to imagine that your wife has got some pretty good stories now. As House Mistress she must encounter all sorts of people and situations.
Hi Josh
Well good luck on your apartment hunting. At least with renting you can pick up and move later if your new neighbors turn out to be a pain. Or maybe they will move before you and save you the trouble. Nothing is worse than noisy neighbors. Have a business behind me that has been a real pain at times with their alarms and stereo systems installation business. But yeah, they are moving to the other end of the block, where I will never have to hear them from here again. Other noisy neighbors have moved, so it is not bad right now. But 10 acres in the country with a sound proof house would suit me just fine….!
Got your hat yet?
Mary
Hi Mary,
I used to live behind a car wash. It was horrible. Every day I had a ton of noise from them plus their loud speaker which would blast all sorts or @%$@%$ noise.
I am trying to find a place now that is relatively quiet so I don’t have neighbors like you describe. We’ll see soon enough how well that works.
More fertile fodder for your writings! I hope you thanked them sincerely.
I haven’t yet, but I should.
I will send you a hat rack 🙂 Continued good fortune on your journey JJ. Cheers! Kaarina
I better find a place to hang the rat and some hats to fill it. 😉