The Race is On

The race is on to find an apartment.  I'm in the hotel for week one, and while I love it here, I do NOT want to stay here longer than a week if possible.  Living out of suitcases and boxes isn't something I want to do long term.  I can't find anything.  Mostly, I am just really excited to get settled and find a place to call home.

We are leaving next Thursday to go to a lake house in Pennsylvania, so ideally I'd be IN an apartment by then so I can at least put my boxes in there.  Currently about half of my stuff is still in my trunk and the "necessities" are in my hotel room.

So far, I've been a little discouraged by the apartment search.  As I'm sure you'd guess, the prices are OUT OF THIS WORLD RIDICULOUS and you don't get much for your money.  That's an adjustment.  I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that for the same amount of money or more that I was paying for a MORTGAGE on a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house in Kentucky, I'll be renting a tiny studio apartment which will likely have no dishwasher and will almost definitely have no washer/dryer.

You DO get a lot given that you're in a great location, near shopping, restaurants, beaches, and within commuting distance to NYC.  So, I'm not complaining... I am just learning to accept a new reality which is so completely different than what I have known for the past 25 years.

In case you're curious.... Here are some pics of my top three so far.

Apartment #1- Small Studio:  I'm viewing this one tomorrow morning.  It's REALLY small, but the price is good and includes all utilities.  Plus, I think it's charming (minus the Spongebob pillow and clutter).

Apartment #2- Slightly bigger studio:  I'm waiting for the agent to call me back on this one.  It's a little larger than the first one, but it's still a studio.  The price includes everything except cable, so that's a plus.  This one has a little less character than the first, but it is bigger. The kicker for this one is that it has a washer/dryer.  One downside is that it has that mini-fridge instead of a full size.  As I'm writing this blog, the agent called me and unfortunately it's not available until December.  If the others don't come through I may actually just try to negotiate a monthly rate for my hotel for November and wait this one out.  We'll see.

Apartment #3:  This one is my favorite and of course the most expensive (but not by much).  It has an actual bedroom and some hardwood floors.  I think it may just be the kitchen curtains, but there's something really dainty and cute about it. I really do like the kitchen countertop and white cabinets.  It looks clean and inviting. I'm not crazy about the red accent wall, and would probably ask if I could paint it a different color.  I had red furniture for most of college and in my first house... so I'm just tired of red.

I would love to get your opinions on the top three so far.  Which of these do you like the best? And by all means... feel free to Google to your heart's content and help me find something you think is better if you think it's out there.  Huntington, NY is my preferred town, but anywhere between Huntington and Ronkonkoma near the Long Island Expressway would work.