I still have to post vacation pix.
and I accomplished nothing I meant to this weekend.
And I am getting killed at work tonight.

wah, wah, wah.

BUT- this is awesome and I had to share:



ah and PS, my apartment has been rented.

(Ok, so today I want to be googly)

So... my apartment is going to be available probably the last week of June.

For those of you who haven't seen it, it really is a great place.

Info-

-Upper apartment in a 2 apt house.
(landlords (who are great) live downstairs)

-Three bedrooms/1 bath
-great big kitchen with new stainless appliances (incl gas stove)
-huge living room with tons of windows and great light
-it's seriously huge- (previous owner told me 2000 sq ft!)
-small back balcony
-GARAGE PARKING
-*FREE* washer/dryer in the basement
-huge attic/basement with tons of storage
-lots of built-in storage
-laundry chute!
-carpet in living/dining room and hall, wood floors in bedrooms
-lots of neat woodwork, etc
-great landlords (worth mentioning again)
-great location- just off the elmwood strip, and within walking distance (2 blocks) of thai/indian/chinese/pizza/subway/convenience store. Neighborhood is convenient and safe, mostly college students/families
-small front and bigger back yards

The landlords want to rent to 1 or 2 people, but not 3
Rent will be 750, plus utilities

I really can't say enough about this place- my only complaint would be no dishwasher- but the landlords may even put one in.

For more info/pix/etc- comment here or email me using the email link to the right!


living room windows


looking into dining room


one bedroom


living room


back porch


living room


(the apt is upstairs)


first bedroom


second bedroom


dining room into living room


kitchen (appliaces have since been updated)

Wow... so while out last night, someone suggested sunday brunch. I'm always up for that... one friend is an awesome cook, and wanted to cook. Another guy has this freaking AMAZING house with a huge gourmet kitchen... So awesome cook + gourmet kitchen = unbelievable brunch. Stuffed french toast- made with good french bread, stuffed with cream cheese and raspberry jam. OMG so good.
Now I think I need to go work out!

Thanks (e:hodown)- I found a decent calculator. I had looked before, but the one I found said "you shouldn't spend more than 1/3 of your income on rent" and the calculator had a box for 'monthly pay check' and then you click 'calculate' and it puts a number in the box. Gee thanks, I can divide by 3.

So the expensive place has 1 month free rent, and if I divide that by 12, it reduces the rent enough that it's about $100 over my recommended budget. If I have to, I could cover $1200 out of savings.

But you're all right... it would suck to live house-poor.

But I think location (both safety-wise, and 'fun'-wise) is important. Both places are equally close to work, so that's not a big issue.

And as far as keep looking... well that's tough since i'm going back to buffalo tomorrow. But I looked at 6 buildings- and then spoke to a realtor friend who said there's nothing else he would recommend (just some dumps).

And I didn't take pix, but here are the websites-

This is the $$$ one (floorplan M)


And this is the more practical one, with the penthouse-

(the middle floorplan in the 2BR section.)

And FWIW, the 1BR in the first place and 2BR penthouse in the second place are about the same size- 1050 sq ft more or less.
The cost difference is $300/mo.

So, I went to Hartford yesterday to go apartment hunting.

I've decided that I want to live in the city, not the suburbs, for several reasons, not the least of which being that having to go to the hospital at 2am is bad enough- having to drive 30min each way is even worse. Also, I'm just not ready to commit to suburbia- even if downtown hartford is a shithole, and the suburbs are wealthy and beautiful.

Fortunately there's a guy at work now who trained in hartford just a few years ago, who recommended some places.

So the first place we went was his old building. It was great... 2 big highrise towers, super-secure, heat/ac included, garage parking included, a pool, a gym in the building... the apartments were big, and nice. They even had a 'penthouse' available, which has a little private balcony. And it's certainly more expensive than here, but I'll also be making more there, so I think it would be affordable- even the penthouse.

The only catch is that it's on the somewhat sketchy outskirts of town. The building is in a little park, and is very pretty- but I got the feeling that you wouldn't want to walk alone in that park. And there's nothing nearby- no cute cafes or anything. Really nothing in walking distance, and it doesn't seem like you'd want to walk in the area, anyway. But the building is really safe. And it's about a 5 min drive to work.

But if that were the only place I'd seen- I'd have taken it and been happy.

But then we decided to check out a few places, that are really out of my price range- just for the hell of it.

And I fell in love with one... in a renovated old department store, with lots of cool architectural details. The apartment is huge. Gorgeous modern kitchen. Washer and dryer IN the apt! And again, utilities and parking included. And, a kick-ass location. Lots of great restaurants, shops, parks, cafes all within a couple blocks. And still about a 5min drive to work- but really in the thick of 'the action'.

But it's way expensive. I think I could probably swing it, but it would make things tight. It's more than I should spend. I just can't tell if it's "well I'll have to go out a little less" or "I will be living on ramen".

So now I have to decide what to do.

Be reasonable and responsible and get the more-than-adequate apt in the less-than-ideal (but still ok) location, and have a little more money to play with....
Or go for it, and live in a gorgeous dream apartment in a fantastic location, and budget tighter.



This really would be easier if I knew what my monthly paycheck would be. I know my yearly gross salary, but have no idea what my monthly pay will be. Anyone know how to guesstimate?

(ok that sounds retarded, but I mean beyond just "divide by 12". How do I estimate my tax withholding etc?)