In which I do not talk about skating AT ALL.

[batskeets]

SO. As I briefly mentioned the other day, Joe and I have been looking at apartments. Not as many as we'd have liked, but as many as our respective insane work schedules allowed for. And, as I alluded to, it was a really annoying process. Most of the places we looked at ranged from Just Okay to Completely Underwhelming. A couple of places were nice, but not nice enough for what they were charging--especially after we heard that one of those really-nice remodeled places was in a very sketchy neighborhood. As in, bullet-hole-through-your-window sketchy. And the hallway also smelled funny. They want $1400/mo for that? Uhhhh, no.

One place was actually fairly terrific--really spacious, pretty close-in, located in a decent, quiet neighborhood, and very affordable. But, we got talked out of that one by the owner and the property manager, who were both asking questions that got invasive to the point of being fairly creepy. And they flat-out said that they would rather rent to a couple than to a pair of friends, which, HAY GUYZ, that's against discrimination laws in Oregon.

AND, the manager also ASKED ME IF I WAS PREGNANT. She blamed it on the fact that I was wearing my big winter coat and a long, poofy scarf, but come ON. When is "are you pregnant?" ever, EVER an okay question to ask a person you've just met? In this context, it was just even more weird, invasive, and unsettling.

Anyhoo, when we came down to it, we didn't see any places that we liked that much--we liked some of them well enough, but not as much as the Castle. I've certainly enjoyed living at the Castle, and it's a ridiculous-cheap deal for the quality of the space. It's also reasonably close to the Hangar, which a NoPo place wouldn't be. And, the vibe transitions seamlessly when Joe is over, and dakania and daemonwise are both home, too. It's like Joe has always been there--and, granted, he's around a lot, but it's like he's supposed to be part of the gang. IT IS FATED.

The only real issue Joe or I have with the place is the commute, but not having to commute between deep-SE and NoPo in order to see each other would certainly make both our lives easier. And, well, the schmoopy reasons of wanting to have a place of our own. Still, looking at the pros and cons, and crunching the numbers, him moving in at The Castle seems like the most responsible option. Responsible is generally far from romantic, but you know what? I'll be happy to be sharing my home with him, no matter where that ends up being. (well, maybe not in a studio apartment, heh. DEFINITELY not a studio apartment.)

So, we're going to make good with the fact that I live in a pretty sweet house that doesn't cost very much, even if it is a bit further away from downtown than we'd like. If we find a place for just-us later, that's great, but right now, this is good.

He'll be moving in on March 1st. And, in true Castle Coronary tradition, we're already batting around plans for a tempura and sushi party to celebrate. Mohohoho. ;)

Comments

[freyis.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an awesome solution to me. If you were already planning on moving in together somewhere else, getting to stick with that great house and room mate situation is pretty sweet.

[threeleet.livejournal.com]

I'm sure "married couple" and "pregnant woman" translate roughly into "more stable/responsible tenant" in the minds of landlords. Not that that's any excuse. But yeah, we had our real estate agent pretty much tell us to just say we were engaged, to make it easier (and this is after being flat-out rejected from over half of the places just for not being Japanese). Really not in any hurry to go through THAT crap again.

[skeets.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know that "stable/responsible" is exactly what they were fishing for with that. But, then one of my friends sent me a link to the Oregon Tenant Law passage that explicitly lists martial status one of the things landlords aren't allowed to discriminate against, and I felt noticeably more secure in my, "OMG CREEPY get away from my personal life" feelings. ;)

[aniline.livejournal.com]

...who asks people if they're pregnant!??! That is never okay. o_O I think you dodged a bullet there. After my Great Move Across the Country, I think moving into an existing place is a great idea because it means less moving costs, and less moving costs are the best. :D

Also, the fact that a place that is $1400 is expensive and not the deal of the century is awesome. Out of self defense, I just have to assume everyone I know is also paying obscene amounts on rent or else I think I'd have a breakdown about how much I give a landlord each month.

[skeets.livejournal.com]

Yeah, $1400 isn't exactly *that* expensive even by PDX standards, but I was hoping to not pay more in rent/utils than I do now, so that meant keeping it around $1200 or less. ^^; The Castle is ridiculous-cheap for what it is.