My friend (remember the person I shared a cab with back in December that I ended up becoming friends with?) told me she had an apartment in her building that was opening up so she gave me the number of the realtor. I called him and they told me that it was already rented but that they had another one a short distance away. Thankfully, a short distance away in the right direction: North. It's on 19th street, so it's closer to the Prospect Avenue subway stop.
Anyway, I set up a time to see the apartment with this guy on Wednesday afternoon. He initially told me it was on 16th street so I was checking the street view on Google maps and really liking the block. On the Wednesday, he told me it was actually on 19th Street. I'm thinking, "okay, not a deal breaker…let's just hope it's still a good block." It was. And it was a cool looking building. He had told me before that the landlord lived in the building, another bonus for us because it means, first of all, that she'll take care of the building…unlike our current landlord. I did get a chance to meet her and she seems like a nice lady.
The apartment itself was on the third floor (a slight worry for the prospect of moving the piano in…the first quote I got today from a mover to move the piano up 3 flights of stairs was $700!) but it was at the back of the building. Inside the halls, family pictures adorned the walls and the stairs creaked pleasantly asI ascended the stairs. Upon entering the apartment though, I had one of those rare, "This is our apartment." moments. You just know when you see a place. It was spacious, airy and bright. The kitchen is big with lots of light and a view of downtown Manhattan out the side window. The buildings around it are smaller so we have a clear view in two directions. The larger bedroom was about as big as my bedroom in Sunset Park two years ago, and there are double doors opening into it. The living room is about as big as our current living room, perhaps slightly bigger. There were three closets, two in the common area and one in the smaller bedroom. This alone made me feel like this would be a perfect match for Katrina and I. She needs a closet and I need space. Plus all the closets are big.
I could rant and rave but I didn't need to to convince Katrina that we needed to move on this place. I sent her these pics:
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| Apartment on 19th Street |
…and a similar description to the above, only organized into cons first, pros second. She said she liked it but wanted to do a walk through later that night. I called and scheduled it with the broker and we came back, cashier's check in hand, ready to seize the place.
I can't encapsulate how excited I am about this. Suffice it to say that I'm floored that I like this place this much and that it was so easy to find. We really did luck out. There are more and more things every day that I realize are going to be great. It's on the back of the building and on a quiet block, so no more getting pissed off because people are honking their horns outside while I'm trying to record. I can fit the piano into my room (that is, if I end up moving it). Think of the inspiration and being closer to the computer when I come up with ideas that I want to save…no more running between rooms! Their is an alley to access the backyard where I can lock up my bike more safely.
And while the laundromat may be further down the block and the subway slightly farther, I think we've pretty much moved up. More to come on the trials of moving. Thank god we're going to be able to move in once we get the key on Monday after I sign the lease. Stay tuned!
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