Showing posts with label Whittier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whittier. Show all posts

Friday, November 16, 2012

Finding My New Home

My new place!
How to find an apartment 1,000 miles away? Not possible. Well, I guess it is possible but I couldn't get the feel of a place from a few pictures on the internet. My plan: find a bunch of places I like online and make appointments for the few days I have between arriving in Minneapolis and starting work.

What I want:

  • Historic preferably brownstone
  • Close to downtown Minneapolis
  • Near Cedar Ave. 
  • 1-bedroom 
  • Hopefully in Whittier, Nakomis, Powderhorn, Phillips, Longfellow
After scouring MyApartmentMap.com, Rent.com, and Craigslist, I narrowed my list down and called the managing companies to set up appointments. Not all my picks were available for Sept. 1 but I got a firm list of 4 to look at. I also got pre-approved at a few property management companies so I wouldn't have to wait if I liked the apartment. Whew! 

Robin and I woke bright and early on Saturday to start the hunt. Starting with Whittier, we saw a few 1920s apartments. They were a little pricier, parking was scarce, and the neighborhood was a bit whiter than I'm used to. We looked at complex in Bloomington that was the exact opposite of what I wanted: isolated "community" with a pool and social nights. Slightly discouraged, we started driving towards Stevan's Square for the last appointment of the day. I had heard that Steven's Square might not be the best neighbhorhood for a single while lady, but I am coming from Pueblo. 

We decided to drive through Powderhorn and Phillips before. I really like this neighborhood. It just feels right. Suddenly, I got a call from the woman meeting us checking to confirm. She said I might be interested in an apartment that just opened up in....Powderhorn! 


As soon as we pulled up to the three story brownstone across situated across from a large, quiet park, I was hooked. I didn't even need to see the apartment. I wanted to be here. The woman from The Apartment Shop showed us the 1-bed/1-bath with hardwood floors, and plenty of storage. Other good news: it was $100 cheaper than the other places and it has off street parking. I signed that day and I was ready to move! 

Bad news: I had to wait till Wednesday to move--my first day of work!