Lucky 7

I saw at least 16 studio apartments and visited 3 share-houses in two weeks of house-hunting. The apartments were in buildings that ranged from well-kept and comfortable, to shabby blocks of brick with dirt caked in the corridors and with basement laundries that wouldn't be far from what I'd imagine a room in a crack-house to look like. Although I investigated share-house living as a way to save money, in the end I decided that living solo and not saving money was fine. I had lived alone in Sydney and knew that it suited me.

I'm happy to write that almost two weeks of searching, that seemed desperate and hopeless at times, has finally rewarded me with a nice studio apartment. It's $1200/month, located on the second floor (in Australia it'd be called the first floor) of a professional building with 24 h maintenance, has hardwood floors, a separate kitchen and of a decent size. My windows overlook the internal courtyard and the apartment gets decent, but not spectacular outside light. It's actually about 5 buildings away from where Lulu and Bing live, so it's a 12 min walk to work, has plenty of restaurants nearby and 2 supermarkets for groceries within walking distance.

A niggling concern about my new place is the fire-escape outside my windows which is a potential burglar point of entry. But then again, there are plenty of ground floor apartments and less secure buildings around. Anyway, getting broken into is more likely to be due to bad luck than having a fire-escape nearby. If you think that I'm being a bit paranoid, having woken up with an intruder in my room whilst living in a 5th floor apartment, security is a concern for me.

The studio is completely bare at the moment but I've got a queen-sized futon arriving this Tuesday, so I won't move from Lulu's place until then, and no blogging from my new pad until the internet gets setup sometime. It's been overwhelming when I think of all the stuff I need to get for my studio, but one good thing about most Boston apartments is that they come with a fridge and sometimes a microwave. No microwave in mine but they're pretty cheap second hand.

With a new apartment a significant part of The Big Move is over. It's a huge relief and bloody exciting, and it cements the previously surreal thought that Boston really is my new home.

My studio and building isn't as nice as Lulu and Bing's but hopefully it'll feel like home soon enough. It's also apartment number 7, so with enough luck I won't wake up with another stranger by my bed. Uninvited stranger that is.