My New Apartment (Part 2)

Welcome back RaUM-nivores,

I need to back track for just a moment... There was one little detail that I may have overlooked in my previous post ("My New Apartment (Part 1)"). I had been looking for apartments for more than 6 weeks. But my search before those last 6 weeks had been half-hearted and full of optimism since the first apartment I viewed was a wonderful 1 bedroom apartment in Forest Hills. I assumed, having found that first apartment so quickly (and easily), that I would have no trouble finding another one JUST like it if I had to.

Now, I only had 2 weeks left in October and I needed to find an apartment ASAP. That Sunday (the 18th), I found a listing on craigslist.org for an apartment in Middle Village. It was less than $1,000/month and all the utilities were included. It was too good to be true in my opinion. My experience during this apartment hunt had been if it's too good to be true, it's because IT IS! But this place, though a little on the small side, was a nice little apartment with lots of natural light and it was in the same neighborhood (which I grew to love in my 3 years living there).

After meeting with the home owner, I practically committed to the place (after finding out that cable AND internet was also included at no additional charge). I was asked to come back to meet the owner's wife. I mentioned that my teaching schedule would prohibit me from stopping by at a reasonable hour in the evenings. We decided to meet later that week on Friday night.

The next day, Monday, after I was hit with a wave of curiosity I quickly browsed through a new list of apartments online. I saw a listing for a 1 BR apartment in Fresh Meadows which intrigued me. I decided to sneak a peek at an apartment in this neighborhood that I was somewhat familiar with since I had friends (Desiree and Carlos) that used to live there. I made an appointment to see the place on Tuesday before my evening class.

There must have been magic in the air that day. Or perhaps it was a convergence of cosmic forces. Something seemed to indicate it was a day I was destined to live through. A feeling more profound than deja vu. The one major surprise I had that day was running into Desiree while waiting for my appointment with the real estate broker. For some reason, she was in her old neighborhood (you see, her and Carlos had moved into their own home away from this area a while ago). She was in her car, her mom was riding shotgun, and her son was in his car seat in the back. I remember asking her what she was doing around there but she ended up asking me about why I was there, she told me about the broker I was meeting up with, and she gave me some tips on what to expect from him. It seemed like an odd coincidence at the time, but I've come to realize that in life we seldom experience mere coincidences. There is typically something more to those 'coincidences'. Why was it that I ran into her then and there, when I haven't seen her or spoken to her (or Carlos even) in several months?

A few minutes later, I was walking into a beautiful, spacious 1 BR apartment that I fell in love with immediately. The rent was reasonable and I liked everything about this place. It was the only apartment I had seen (other than the one in Forest Hills that I had seen a few months before) where I could envision myself living for years to come. Every other apartment I had seen had it's share of pros and cons. Ultimately they were all apartments that I knew I would either outgrow or get tired of living in after several months.

This was not a trivial detail. After all, this was the first apartment where I would be living on my own: my own space; my stuff; occupied by me, myself and I. Finding the right place was a huge decision for me. I've moved so much in my life that all I want is to feel settled, to have a place I can call my home. I didn't want to be hasty about selecting the "right" apartment.

This was the perfect fit. I knew it. Sure enough, in the span of an hour I had run into Des, I saw the apartment, and I was handing over a modest payment which was needed to 'hold' my apartment while they performed a credit and background check.

I remember running back to school that evening and wanting to share the news with someone. I didn't want to keep the news of my major decision to myself. Thankfully, I got to tell the good news to a friend of mine who happened to still be on campus that evening (and it was totally worth being late to my class for!)

Two days later, I was signing my lease (and also violating my #1 rule for apartment hunting, paying a broker's fee).

MY LEASE.

MY... LEASE...

...for my very own apartment. It was a moment of tremendous pride and joy for me.

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Stay tuned for the third (and final) part of my story where I regale you with tales from my last week in the old apartment, the move on Halloween weekend, and my first days in the new apartment.

Until next time, faithful reader......