They say money is the root of all evil…

January 27, 2007 | By jen t. AuthorMy First Apartment

It’s Jen. I feel like I haven’t sat down at a computer without checking Craigslist in the past four days. Jason and I have pretty much decided that the Mission and Noe Valley will be our target neighboorhoods, the main reasons being that they’re pretty conveniently located to the BART and they’re two of the…

Renovation gamble that paid off

January 24, 2007 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Our friend Ned reports how he gambled and won in the renovation game. A recent Temple University grad, he is now living in the Society Hill neighborhood in Philadelphia in a totally renovated rental. Here’s how he did it. ”As I watched another open house-attendee write a check for the unit’s deposit, I berated myself…

Recon

January 23, 2007 | By jen t. AuthorMy First Apartment

Jason here. The apartment hunt officially began this weekend, when Jen and I went up to San Francisco and scouted out a few neighborhoods that we are considering (SOMA, the Mission, and the Castro). We just tried to get the general feeling of the neighborhoods; whether it was fun and safe (will probably have to…

Starting the Search in the City by the Bay

January 22, 2007 | By jen t. AuthorMy First Apartment

Hello from San Francisco—kind of. Jen and Jason here, reporting fromPalo Alto, California, where we just moved in together. Here’s our story… Jen: I just moved to California in December—until then I’d been living in New York. We’d been doing the long distance thing for awhile and I knew I’d be moving eventually, but when…

DC real estate woes

January 16, 2007 | By Ariana AuthorMy First Apartment

We went to see another condo. It was located on 16th Street- near Dupont Circle, U Street and Downtown-prime property. The ad was in the Sunday paper and we knew it was a good deal at $350’s. First perk; 24 hour doorman. The realtor showed us the condo, on the sixth floor in an older…

Condo dreamin’

January 16, 2007 | By Ariana AuthorMy First Apartment

OK, so I’ve decided against even going to see the Woodner, but school starts at the end of next week so I gotta get on it. Some new, really nice options have been presented to me. My parents always talked about getting a condominium in Washington to have another property in the city. Well, I…

DC classic

January 9, 2007 | By Ariana AuthorMy First Apartment

OK back on the search…I went to see the infamous Woodner today. Located on 16th St in NW, it’s prime property and boasts one of the cheapest rents in DC, proximity to the city and Maryland. It also has little businesses inside, a convienance store, video center, a boutique. Utilities are included and it offers…

First Apartment Jitters

January 8, 2007 | By Ariana AuthorMy First Apartment

I think my mum is in denial and does not want me to move out!- She has been soooo busy, so I never took her to see the condo apartment. I emailed the owner yesterday, letting her know to go ahead and rent it because I don’t want to hold her up. She replied that…

A new condo- on the first floor

January 5, 2007 | By Ariana AuthorMy First Apartment

Ok, so I have some options. My first stop was craigslist- I’d been checking this site for a couple of months and in the past I’ve had luck with jobs/internships through it. This apartment had an incredible price ($600). It was a new 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo near UMD. It said to call. I called…

A room of one’s own

December 27, 2006 | By Ariana AuthorMy First Apartment

“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”-Virginia Woolf I have a vision: me, a laptop, books neatly arranged, silence and writing poetry in my first apartment in the city. The pursuit of this vision is the primary reason I’m leaving home, because for me home…