Apartment Shopping

Will I end up hating Chicago before I even setup shop? I have been on the phone all day talking to realtors, apartment agents, shady and helpful...the whole nine! How many leads do I have...a stinkin' handful! I'm not complaining though...don't get me wrong. I just don't like this kind of hunt. Going somewhere to see a lot of stuff, sight unseen. Most of the pictures online are of the exterior. If there are photos of the interior, it's the highlights only (new appliances, a staged apartment, or a sparkling bathroom). I'm all for not screwing yourself over by showing the grimy parts of your property but use some common sense. Do you think I'd rather waste my time looking at something that looks nothing like what you portrayed or get it straight from the horse's mouth and realize the value versus cost? Maybe this is too idealistic an approach, but I don't care. The only thing I hate wasting more than money is my sweet, sweet, precious, time on this beautiful earth. Feel me?


Rent.com, Craigslist, Apartments.com, and a whole list of independent property managers and realty agencies have all been bombarded with clicks, dials, voicemails, e-mails, and questions. How many square feet, hardwood or carpet, floorplan....ugh. It's just one of those things though. At least I'll get to roll outta A-town for a weekend. Please try to understand that if I get up the Chi on Saturday and return with no apartment and no new leads in hand, it's possible I'll be a little pissed...just a smidge.


I'm almost ready to throw my price range outta the window just to get it all over and done with, but then I think about all the things I can do with that extra money. *sigh* Have you ever wished you were one of those kids whose parents still pay their rent? I have pondered wishing I was one of those kids only to quickly realize I like being self-sufficient, meaning no one can call me a brat or a bum. Them's fightin' words. I'm trying to stay positive about all of it. The sooner I pick a place, the sooner I can pick furniture. The sooner I pick furniture, the sooner I can get a baller @$$ flat panel. The sooner I get the flat panel, the sooner I'll be out of a couple hundred (if not a thousand) bucks. The sooner I'm out of that money, the sooner I'll come back to my natural black senses. So, it all works out in my favor in the end. God is great!


P.S. Am I the only person that thinks it's very odd that craigslist.com has no official logo of any sort. Also, if I had to suggest any place to start your apartment hunt, it would be Rent.com. Everywhere else was too hard to tailor to my needs and had less than what I would consider a normal amount of information.