With immense luck, Brad and I managed to find a home to live in when we get to Seattle! And now that we have it I actually feel like I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WANT TO BE THERE!!! Before this I was still nervous and a bit unsure about leaving our nice little place in Durham. But now I am dreaming of the restaurants, bars, cafes, ice cream shop, grocery store, and yoga studios that are all within 1 mile of our place and I'm imaging falling in love with the city.
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| This was the front view from the listing. |
The house has 2 bedrooms on the main floor, 1 bathroom on the main floor, a big finished basement bonus room with 3/4 bath, two fireplaces (living room and bonus room), and a garage. All I can think about is how we wont have to store our bikes in the living room anymore!!
Finding a place was no easy task. If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, and tell past Emma (or any friends of mine who may want to follow us out there!) what to do I would say:
1. DO NOT LOOK at any home/apartment rentals until 1 week before someone can be there in person. As painful and difficult as it is not to look, it will save you from extreme disappointments and wasted time.
2. One week before start calling any place you really like to make appointments for viewings. Keep checking craigslist and zillow every few hours, even after you or your partner are already in the city.
3. Pray to whatever you believe in. Cross every finger. Be ready to write a check as soon as you get to a nice place.
He did see some nice apartments that had great views and hardwoods. But we had our heart set on a house where we could have a garden. The only reason we found this one is because I kept checking the web for new postings even after Bradley was already in transit to Seattle! I made the appointment on Thursday (THE DAY IT WENT ONLINE!), and he saw it Friday and snatched it up before anyone else could. He paid a holding deposit (after a quick call to me to make sure it was ok) and that was that. We just filled out applications and are waiting for the background check to clear, then it will be all settled.
As you will see in the photos below, the house has some seriously retro features. If I could remodel I'd add hardwoods in the dining room, replace all the kitchen cabinets (and how about those counters!) and completely redo the tile in the bathroom. But like I said, with all the trouble we went through I shouldn't complain, since I haven't even seen the place yet!
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| Brad took this view of the front! |
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| Entrance, as taken from the dining room. |
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| Totally retro kitchen (hehe). The fridge will apparently be pushed back into the cubby that is behind it when we move it (right now it kind of looks like it is in an awkard place, blocking the entrance to the dining room). |
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| Master bedroom double closets. |
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| Backyard! |
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| Dark and a little retro bonus room downstairs |
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| AHHH! What am I gonna do with this pink bathroom? Green towels? |
Well you must keep track of all the license plates you see, you may get all 50. Plus Canada! Twenty questions is a good car game. Keep a journal where you write down every 100 miles (or whatever interval) where you are / what you see / what time it is. House looks great!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could do pink and brown and cream in the bathroom.
ReplyDeleteWe will definitely play the license plate game. Brad is good at spotting them (I'm terrible at it!) and its a game that even the driver can get involved with. Journaling would be fun for me on a 3,000 mile trip! And I already have a little journal of info from trips I've taken with Brad, though I'm afraid I may have packed it away in a box already.
ReplyDeleteBrown and cream probably would be good to cool off that pink color...I will definitely have to invest in new towels/bathroom rugs. Can't wait to see you Friday and talk more about it!