My New and Improved Apartment!

Remember when my roommate kicked me out in favor of her boyfriend? Well, I’m all moved in to my NEW apartment, which is simultaneously brand new and exactly the same! I only moved two doors down in the same complex, so I have the exact same apartment with a flipped layout. Which really blows your mind, by the way.

But it's still so different. The last roomie had tons of fancy things, mostly because of her parent’s shiny little credit card sitting in her wallet. I got used to the life of luxury there. If I wanted a fancy cedar wine rack, it was there. Extra-sharp Henkels knives? Done. Turkish rug in the living room? No problem!

Now, L and I have an empty apartment. We are house poor, as my mother would say. Our bedrooms are all done up, decorated and furnished, but the downstairs is literally a ghost town. We have a dining room table, 2 lawn chairs, and a TV on the floor. Oh, and an empty bookshelf. But you know what? I don’t miss all that fancy like I thought I would. I love my new apartment, because it’s more mine than the last one ever was. Every time I’m in it, I like it more and more. I mean, eventually our situation will change as we find some second-hand furniture to fill it up, but I really don’t mind sitting on the lawn chairs for now. :-)

Shutting it all down

I called the cable company today, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. I figured the big bad Comcast wolf would never let me cancel service without a battle to the death. But... it was eerily peaceful and easy! I mean, I called to cancel a free trial of some lame dippy internet service awhile ago and had to argue with the guy for about 5 years before he let me go. But Comcast? I just walked away no problem. So weird!

Check off another thing I don't have to worry about until August! Woot!

Subletting is Annoying

Lately I have adoped the absolutely wonderful, fun, relaxing activity of... trying to find a subletter. Ugh. You’d think it’d be easy in a college town, with thousands upon thousands of people moving around and changing apartments, etc. But it took me 3 solid months with no bites before I found someone! I was posting on Craigslist, in the classifieds, in the grad student newsletter, and mailing people who needed housing for the summer... and I got nothing until just this week. Ridiculous!

But at least I finally have a subletter, a girl in my department actually. Good things are that I know her, my roommate knows her, and she is responsible. The bad thing is she can only afford $250 a month because she will be paying rent on both her apartment and mine (long story). So, that leaves me to pay the extra $250 to cover the rest of rent and utilities for June and July. I guess at a certain point, anything is better than nothing, though. I'm just glad I don't have to worry about it anymore.

New Roommate Found (I Hope)!

So remember how my roommate more or less kicked me out for next year? I finally found a solution to the problem! Awhile back I told my landlords that I'd like to have my own two-bedroom in our complex, and they had one open for me. I already signed the lease and put down my deposit, so the next step was to find a roommate.

And... DONE! I was emailing people on Craigslist who had put up ads requesting housing (you can better weed out the crazies that way), and found a really cool girl. She came to visit last Sunday, we had coffee Wednesday, and she's signing her half of the lease this Wednesday! She seems really fun and easy to talk to, but there is one problem. Her mother is a freaking nutcase. She came with to see my current place to get an idea, since it's only 2 doors down. Cut to her trying to break into my neighbor's apartment so she could see what his bathroom looked like. And going on and on about how the landlords completely have to gut and redo the kitchen before we will move in there. And rip out the carpets in the bedroom. Like, seriously?!?! What the hell does she think the landlords will say to that? I'm imagining something along the lines of... F*ck off! (after hysterical laughter).

I really like the girl, and am totally cool with having her for a roommate, I just hope that her mom won't push her around and convince her to make all these crazy demands. It seems ok because when we had coffee (sans mom) on Wed, I told her I wasn't comfortable doing that so I won't ruin my good relationship with the landlords, and she said she understood. I just hope she doesn't go bat-ass crazy when we meet with them on Wed, or else I'll be in the market for a roommate again.

Roommate Drama!!

Last Friday we got our lease renewal letters in the mail, and on Saturday morning my roommate came to talk to me about it. She decided she wants her boyfriend to move in here, which basically means I'm out. I wasn't mad or anything, even though I love this apartment and would like to stay here, because honestly-- I saw it coming. He practically lives with us now! It's just annoying to have to find a new place and move and stuff, and I was kind of hoping they'd move out and find their own new place together.

So anyway, cut to Monday-- EVERYONE in the department is talking about us. I guess she went running her mouth off to everyone about how mad I was at her (I only told the boy and my best friend here), and everyone else was mad at her for "kicking me out without a legal right to do so." Seriously, people were calling me over and telling me how I'm such a pushover and I should fight her for the apartment and all this crap, and she came home crying last night because people were saying mean things about her. I mean, really??? It's not worth it to make enemies over an apartment! Plus I absolutely hate drama of any kind and always stay out of it, but now somehow I'm stuck in the middle of the drama of the semester!!!! Argh!

Moved in!

SO! I'm all moved in to my new apartment! There were even some pleasant surprises waiting for me that the previous roommate had left, like a full length mirror and a lime green desk chair that matches my laptop perfectly! Two things I can check off my "Need to Buy" list.

The only problem is that space is super tight in my room, so I'm still a little unhappy with the layout. Basically my bed is too big for the tiny room that it's in, and I don't have enough closet space. One would think this means I have too many clothes, but I disagree. ;-) I went to Walmart this morning to get some finishing touches: a toothbrush holder for the bathroom, and an over-the-door shoe hanger. My shoe rack won't fit in the closet, and it definitely won't fit at the same time as my hamper. So I'm going to try out one that hangs on the door and see how it goes.

Apartment Deposit

Yay! I got my security deposit back from my old apartment. It’s only $100, but that’s still really good since that’s the entire deposit that I paid originally. And it's my first full security deposit that I ever got back. You know how landlords can always find something to charge you for. I’m going to use this money and put it towards my student loan!

First Craigslist Purchase (and 100th Post)

Today I made my first ever Craigslist purchase (and I didn't get murdered or anything). I bought a nightstand for my apartment next fall, for only $10! It's nice and solid with real wood and two drawers for my stuff. The lady said it was from the 60's, which you can only really tell because some of the stain is coming off. But I'm sure I'll be able to either paint or stain it for a fun summer project. Also this week I'm going to pick up a desk with a hutch for $25. I just have to find someone with a truck who can move it for me, and I'll be set. After I buy the desk, and find a chair to go with it, I'll have all the furniture I'll need for my new room!

Change of Plans

Alright, just when I thought everything was all set up for next year as far as my living situation goes, there’s been a change of plans. Apparently the girl whose apartment I’ll be living in is not allowed to go to Germany anymore (stupid department drama I’ll not get into), and she doesn’t need us to take over her apartment anymore. Thankfully, my name is on the lease so I’ll get to stay as her roommate, but the other guy is going to have to find another place to stay. I feel bad for him, since he is in another country right now and is going to have to scramble for a place to live. But the other part of me is glad that at least I still have a nice apartment to live in...

The downside is that I was really excited to use her big bedroom with the queen bed, but now I have to take the tiny side room, which has no furniture in it. I have a dresser from my old place, but I’ll need a bed and a desk. I refuse to spend money on a twin bed though — if I'm going to buy a bed, it’s going to be a big, “grown-up” one. So we’ll see what I find.

This morning I signed my lease for my apartment for next year! I handed in my application, signed the lease, and paid my security deposit. The security deposit was $365, a fairly big chunk of change, but hopefully I can get it all back when I move out. But now it's all completely set, and I have a really sweet place to live next year!

One less thing on my to-do list

So in addition to finding an apartment to live in next year, I also finally have a roommate. It’s a bit of a weird situation, since a) it’s a guy and b) I’ve never met him. He’s in the German department too, but he’s in Austria this year for an exchange. We’re friends on facebook and we’ve talked online once or twice, but I really don’t know much about him. He seems cool, though, and the other girls in the department all love him, so I think that’s a good sign. I’m excited to meet him, but at the same time I’m a little weirded out by having to share a bathroom with a guy... I hope he’s clean!

New Apartment

Well kids, I found a new apartment to live in next year!! One of the girls in the German department got her acceptance letter to study abroad in Kiel next year. She wants to keep her apartment... I was looking for a cheaper apartment... you could say it was the perfect match. So I'm going to live in her apartment next year while she's gone. We just have to find a roommate to take the other room, and then the rent will only be $350 a month per person (uh-maze-ing!)!!

The other day I took a tour of her apartment, and it's awesome. It's very roomy with an upstairs and downstairs, it has beautiful wood floors, and she is keeping all her furniture there. This is very lucky for me because I don't own a single piece of furniture. And she has really nice furniture too- brand new couch, high def TV, queen sized bed. Plus the apartment is close to campus and downtown, so I can keep walking everywhere like I do now. Overall this seems like the perfect situation. :-)

There is only one small problem though- she has so many plants and fish! My two greatest talents in life seem to be killing plants and killing fish. She says it’s OK if they die, but I think she is just saying that to calm me down. Hopefully the roommate is better at keeping things alive than I am!

Price Gouging at it's finest

As you may recall, this year I am living in university housing for grad students with three other girls. The apartment is alright, very dorm-like, but considering the dump that I lived in during my undergrad, I like this place. The only downside is that the rent is a little steep-- $655 a month. Considering I only get paid around $1,000 each month for my stipend, money has been (and still is) pretty tight.

I was originally planning on living here again next year with one of my current roommates and friends of hers, because they want to stay. But today I got an email explaining that they are raising the price to $700 a month next year!! Let's take a minute to review- that's $700 PER PERSON for a small four bedroom apartment. That’s $2,800 a month they’re raking in!! What annoys me the most is that I could get my own apartment completely for myself somewhere else, for less than what they are asking. I mean, $655 a month is already expensive, but it was convenient to move in here when I didn't know anyone or anything in the town. But there's no way I can afford more than that. Looks like I'm going to be apartment hunting in the next few weeks...

Roommates

Well, I emailed my roommate (the one moving in on the 18th) and asked her if I could stay overnight as her guest instead of at the hotel. She says that's totally fine (if she said no, frankly I'd be a little nervous about being her roommate!), and is going to call me when she gets the keys and all to let me in. Hopefully it's early enough that I can throw some of my stuff in the apartment, so it's not sitting in my car all day and overnight.

One thing did bother me slightly though- she asked if I am bringing a car to campus, because she is not. She said she just joined Sam's Club and wants to make trips there, but has no car. I didn't think of this before, but I really hope that I am not the only roommate with a car and that she doesn't ask me to drive her there alllll the time. That would be really annoying, not to mention it would blow my already tight budget!

Roommates & Housing Rant

I found out who my roommates are for grad school last week, and since then we've all been emailing back and forth to see who has what stuff for the apartment. It's a grad student apartment through the university, so it's all furnished- we just have to bring things like kitchen & bathroom supplies, cleaning things, etc. So far it seems like between the four of us, we have everything covered and won't need to buy anything, which is good. They also seem pretty cool, so I'm excited to meet them.

The thing that's getting me is that I have to be at school on August 18th for, but the housing officer told me I cannot move in on that day (the lease doesn't start until Aug 23rd). She said my room won't be ready yet, and she told me to get a hotel for that night and move in the next morning- which in the town where my school is, is not cheap. But when emailing with my roommates, I found out the one girl is allowed to move in on the 18th! I called housing yesterday just to check that there wasn't any mixup, and they confirmed that she will be moving in, but I still cannot. I realize that there is someone living in my room now, and not in hers, and my room needs to be cleaned first. But seriously, I don't see how checking in late the night before is going to be any different from checking in first thing the next morning. Check-in goes until 10pm- who is going to be cleaning my room at ten at night? Plus even if my room isn't totally clean by then, it's going to be my apartment, why can't I just come check in that night and sleep on the couch or something? I don't mind leaving my things in the car until the morning. I just want to avoid spending $80 on one night in a motel, when my extra rent for the whole week is only $88!