APARTMENTS

All of a sudden this week I went into panic mode about finding an apartment. Sometimes I do that; all of a sudden freak out about something and need to find a solution NOW. So I searched and searched for apartments over three days to find something in our price range and that met our standards, and nothing showed up. We don't have much to search by -- just Craigslist and some real estate websites that aren't that good or way over budget.

I eventually found an apartment in Salem, which I had to see because it's right on the ocean and the city is so adorable. I called landlord Vito and set up a date. Paul got off work a little early the next day and we headed to Salem to meet with Sir Vito. Salem was a beauty drive, we were passing pretty houses and the cute downtown shops. Then we saw the ocean and the GPS said we were one minute from our destination. PERFECT location! We crossed the bridge...

We crossed the bridge into... oh, shoot. We look at each other. Shoot. Ghetto. Park the car, and take the GPS with us. We cleared the backseat into the trunk. Dogs barking, kids crying (no English) ... just not ideal. We find our apartment. See below. Wait for Vito and the cleaning guy said he just stepped out. Tried calling him. No answer. Ended up looking inside the dump of a place, which gave us the creeps. Took off. Never heard from Vito.

With the disappointment in Salem, we decided to check out another apartment before heading back to the house. We stopped in Wakefield at Paul's friend's place to see his diggs. There is a one bedroom available in his building. It was nice. The town was even better! Wakefield is about ten minutes from Boston via commuter rail which is two blocks from the apartment, it is a ten minute drive to an ocean beach, has a lake with running path all around and many cute boutiques/shops downtown. The apartment has a prime location just walking distance from the downtown shops and nightlife. Plus, it feels safe!

We set up a time on Saturday to meet with the landlady about seeing the apartment. See pictures below. The rooms are huge! The closet is tiny, tiny! All hardwood floors. By this point, I'm saying we'll take it. We have the option to paint and take down their curtains, redo cupbords, etc. They are very flexible. Tonight we are filling out an application. Cross our fingers, but we hope we'll be moving in sometime next week. 

It just feels so right. This place, for our budget is incredible. You just don't find apartments this nice in pretty and safe cities like Wakefield. We are in love and very excited. 

Best,
Amber

NEWS: Filling out our apartment application! Pray for us, wish us luck! Plus, we are finishing up making a desk for me -- post to come :)