On our last apartment search, there were 200+ places in The Triangle that matched our basic requirements. When only 12 apartments in The Region matched, I started to get a little nervous. Add in the fact that when dad looked at our artfully crafted Google map of all the possible locations, he immediately started pointing out that all of our possible domiciles were in shitty-shitty-crimeville, and I was a wreck Tuesday morning.
The first place was old, crappy, and had no vacancies (how this place was packed is beyond me. Possibly because it's within walking distance of Sephora, Ulta, DSW, Old Navy, Sam's Club, Chipotle, AND Don Pablos. Good thing it sucked or I would soon be broke AND fater). The sales agent at #2 was a fellow Boilermaker, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, someone neglected to tell him that 1) bathrooms need doors (I love Ben, but I absolutely NEVER need to see him on the pot) and 2) apartments that border the weirdly blue man-made ponds full of mucky junk do not count as "lake-view". Down the road, we're encouraged to see garages ATTACHED to the units, because when it's -20 outside, having to walk across the complex to get to your car negates the fact that you don't have to dig it out of the snow (I'm lookin' at you #'s 1 and 2). Unfortunately, that was but an illusion because only the units with HORRIBLE floor-plans come with garages. Off to complex #4, which Google maps puts squarely in the middle of a housing neighborhood (not surprisingly, it wasn't actully there). Heading out on the main road from Merrillville to Highland (unsurprisingly named "Main St.") if I had any fillings they would be gone since it's less of a road and more a layered collection of pot-holes, so I'm less than enthused about the prospects ahead.
This place better be good, because it's the last on our list and I really don't want to expand the search to Illinois where we'll pay $1.50/square foot compared to <$1/square foot in Indiana. Fortunately, the clouds parted and a ray of heavenly light shone upon us. The units are spacious (even bigger than where we're at now, which I thought was impossible for a 2 bedroom), relatively new, and the kitchen is bigger than a postage stamp. Plus, one is available for the start of August. And a little old lady with no pets lived there the past 5 years, so it'll actually be in good shape. AND it's directly over the model/office, so no annoying downstairs neighbors who play Rock Band at 11 on a school night or have a yappy Boston Terrier. AND the manager is friends with Ben's new boss, so we get around the pesky fact that he doesn't technically have a job in Indiana, yet. I've already Google-mapped all of the essentials (Starbucks, grocery store, sushi, etc.) and everything we'd ever need is within a 15 minute drive. For more info on our faboo new apartment, click the title link.
