The Search Continues...

I'm meeting with a broker again tomorrow to see more apartments on the Upper West Side. I've seen around ten so far, and I saw one place yesterday that I really like.

Here are some pictures of the current top pick:



The kitchen is really small


It's a corner apartment, so there are lots of windows and the views are nice


Central Park is at the end of the street



The Pros:
* Ideal location - it's in my favorite part of the Upper West Side - one block from Central Park, one block from Magnolia Bakery, one block from our favorite movie theater, very close to my favorite stores, very close to the subway, 5 minute walk to work for me, 25 minute walk to work for Joe

*Very bright with lots of windows

*Two bedrooms - space for a guest room/office now and a nursery later

*Bathroom and kitchen have been recently updated - It would be awesome to have a dishwasher again

The Cons:
*It's on the fourth floor of a walk-up - Sounds bad, but we currently live in a third floor apartment and almost always take the stairs

*No laundry in the building - but there's a laundromat one block away, we only do laundry once every two weeks and drop off service is cheap here

*The living room and kitchen are small - The kitchen is not separate from the living area - Not sure we'd fit our dining table

After sleeping on it last night, I really want this apartment. I stopped to see the building again on my way to work. Oh, and I think I've been getting signs that it's the right place. I was walking in the park this morning, thinking about the apartment, and I walked past three people with UT shirts on. It gave me a happy feeling like I was on the right track. After work, I saw Victor Garber near the apartment and tonight I was watching Seinfeld and Jerry goes to a restaurant that's right next to the apartment. You can see it in the picture above. It's the place with the yellow awning.

I'm seeing more apartments tomorrow and we hope to make our decision by tomorrow night. Stay tuned!

The Downside of Living in Manhattan

I began my apartment search in earnest today, and was in for a big reality check. I walked into a broker's office this afternoon to inquire about two bedroom apartments on the Upper West Side. I wasn't really planning to see any apartments today, but they said they had a few I could see this afternoon. I ended up seeing four apartments. It was a sad, depressing experience. All four apartments have one bedroom, and cost more than we were hoping to spend on a two bedroom apartment. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had been nice apartments, but they weren't. Two of the apartments had kitchens the size of a hotel kitchenette. I'm talking a mini fridge and a two burner stove on one wall of the living room. Another was somehow classified as a one bedroom, but I'm not sure why, because the bedroom opened up into the living room with no door, and the "bedroom" area had no windows. Another apartment, while otherwise nice, had a bedroom so small that we'd have to position our queen size bed sideways against the wall for it to fit. Ugh! I should have taken some pictures, but I was in too much shock to remember. I shouldn't have gone in alone. I needed moral support. Joe had class this afternoon. I think it was made worse by the fact that I was imagining bringing our (unborn, yet to be conceived) baby home there. It made me very sad. I'm praying that Thursday goes better. I'm going to see more apartments and a friend is going to come with me. I'm trying to stay positive!