APARTMENTS THUS FAR

[camwyn]

#1:

Cons: THird floor apt. in a house with a slanting roof, so front and back of apt. has slanting ceilings and I must duck. Very very narrow staircase. Awfully small bathroom. No living room per se, so all entertainment must go in kitchen or bedroom.

Pros: Neighbourhood is familiar to me after all (walking distance of Newport Centre Mall). Nabe feels safe. Near friends. Rent includes all utilities. Pets ok. People in building quiet. People on either side quiet. Brand new bathroom fixtures. Tiny room outside of bedroom allows for books and other stuff to be put in an area where I don't have to fuss with them. Nice, accessible landlady. No visible indications of bugs. Wiring looks new, as do light fixtures. Stove clean and looks well cared for. Encountered two guys on the street outside walking best behaved Boxer and Pit Bull I have ever seen; the dogs are very friendly.

#2: Cons: First thing I saw coming out of the PATH station: liquor store. Grungy, ground down nabe. V. close to St. Peter's College & a high school, neither of which is a safe area from what I am told. Stairs also narrow though not as narrow as last place. Floor is lumpy. Linoleum on bedroom floor. Wiring looks quite old. Stove, though same model as last place, looks rather less well-cared-for. Landlord, while accessible (lives in ground floor apt), is apparently not a native speaker of English and explanation of questions like 'Are cats allowed in this building?' takes some time; maintenance related queries probably take more. Utilities not included.

Pros: Cheaper than last place. larger than last place. No roof weirdness.

#3: Cons: Not actually in Jersey City but in JC Heights, necessitating long bus ride from PATH. Other tenants really noisy. Realtor said to call at 9 to confirm showing at 10. Did so. Got there at 9:50, called realtor at 10, got answering machine saying she was showing apt. at 10:30.

Pros: Dunno. Didn't bother going in if realtor couldn't be arsed to turn up when she said she would.

Comments

[camwyn]

Yeah, seriously.

If the snow that's currently falling lets up, I'm supposed to be seeing another apartment tomorrow in the same city. I'm not sure how willing the person showing it will be to have me come in, since she doesn't live there, and tomorrow's apartment isn't available until April anyway. I doubt the snow will let up, though.

The landlady of #1 says she'll be happy to have me come in with my dad to inspect the apartment tomorrow if the snow lets up. I'm hoping he'll be willing to do it today or tomorrow.

[eevieivy.livejournal.com]

Personally, I'd go for the place with the good neighborhood with friends nearby. And the quiet neighbors. Loud neighbors are a bitch. Yeah, it's a smaller place, but you're probably paying for the fact that people are sane and nice. Hell, having a landlady that you could get ahold of that's also nice is a huge thing. Having a landlord that doesn't speak English fluently and probably would leave a heater broken for a while because he didn't understand that you were telling him that it had died would suck. Plus, sketchy neighborhood can be nerve-wracking. And the bedroom will probably freeze with the linoleum on the floor, although you could cover with rugs.

I think it comes down to how much you want to try to compensate for #2 to make it more like #1.

[camwyn]

Me too. My parents are saying I might want to consider looking for other places and chalking all of this up to the experience of apartment hunting, but... nice flats are everywhere and nice neighborhoods are tough to come by.

[lwood.livejournal.com]

*cough* I point out, too, that the landlord may selectively decide to forget what English he does know whenever he doesn't want to deal with something -- but I'm often a pessimist that way.

-- Lorrie

[lasa.livejournal.com]

Bad neighborhood is a total dealbreaker in my book.

I can relate. We're househunting ourselves. I found the most wonderful place, but the neighborhood's just too scary.

[camwyn]

Ow. Good luck finding something suitable in a better place, definitely!

[whobunkyboo.livejournal.com]

I just got through househunting. The house itself is divine (well, except that the windows aren't caulked properly and so the sills are growing penicillin) but the landlord's a total goober.

[derien.livejournal.com]

Those cons on #2 sound bad. Linoleum - eor points out that it's usually used to cover up problems. Also, what kind of heat is it? If utilities are not included, the cost of heat could more than add up to the savings on rent if it's something stupid like electric. I don't think you'll be happy with loud neighbors and a landlord who's difficult to communicate with.

So far #1 sounds by far the best. (But I like sloping ceilings.:))

[nesmith.livejournal.com]

Ditto to basically everyone else--the cons to number 1 sound mostly minor and some of them can be eased with a little ingenuity in arranging your stuff, and things like narrow stairs and slanted ceilings (which I have in my room) can be gotten used to. Seems worth dealing with for having nice neighbors, landlady, and neighborhood. Just my two cents. :)

[kelathefinn.livejournal.com]

Keep looking. You'll know it when you see it.

I vote for #1

[charliesmum.livejournal.com]

I lived in a 3rd floor flat with slanty ceilings. Our kitchen was so small we could only have one of those small dorm fridge type things. Still, it was nice and slanty cielings add character.

If you got one of those daybeds, or a futon or something, entertaining in the bedroom wouldn't be too bad. Is it a big bedroom at least? How big is the kitchen? I think neighborhood and quiet neighbors count for a lot. You won't be there forever, so the cons might not be too uncomfortable.

That said, only take it if you have a really good feeling about it. Usually you walk into a place and get that 'feeling' of home.