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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

09.06.2004

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gone (apartment) hunting finding the perfect pad
by Yee-Fan Sun
| 1 2 3 4

Right now, I am in dire, dire need of just two simple things: a good pedicure, and a livable apartment. For a couple weeks now, I've been trekking all over Edinburgh in search of that ever-elusive perfect apartment for me and the boy, and as a consequence of all that walking, my feet are a blistered mess.

Way back when, I think I was actually excited about the prospect of scoping out new digs. This was before I actually saw some of the options. See, our hunt for the right pad didn't get off to the most auspicious start. The first place we looked at? It had fossilized pizza chunks adhered to the hallway walls. The ad had boasted hardwood floors, which may or may not have existed under the solid layer of detritus. "We'll get it cleaned up before you move in," the realtor called out hopefully, even as I was trying to inch my way out of the filth without actually touching anything. The one good thing about the experience was that every apartment thereafter looked all right by comparison. Problem was, none seemed exactly right. If it was a nice space, it was in a sketchy neighborhood, or too far from city center, or located right above a pub; if the location was prime, the apartment was too small, or too dark, or too dingy, or all of the above.

It was so easy back in the college dorm days. Fill out some forms, submit to the random gods of housing assignment, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. In the post-dorm phase of life, however, finding a roof over your head involves just a lil' more work. Make that a lot. Yeah, apartment hunting can be a gargantuan pain in the behind. Still, as I'm reminding myself every day, all the work's worth it when you finally find a place you love. In the meantime, planning, patience and an open attitude make the whole process just a little bit easier…

when to start looking
Give yourself plenty of time, fellow procrastinators. Finding the right apartment can take a good long while, and remember that ideally, you want your next digs lined up before it's time to clear out of your current space. Two months ahead is not too early.

Or course, timing the apartment search gets a little trickier if you're moving to a new city, as you'll have the whole long-distance thing to contend with. The fuzzy digital photos you might see in an online listing can only tell you so much; even a good picture can be misleading. And it's next to impossible to know where in a city you want to live without actually getting your butt out there and exploring. 

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