Home, sweet home

I am finally starting to feel settled in my new apartment - all of the boxes are unpacked, the pictures are up on the walls, and I am just waiting for the piano tuner to come and make the piano sound nice again after its long journey.

When I came here for a weekend in August to go apartment hunting, I came prepared with a spreadsheet to use to compare apartments.  Price was a factor, but I used it to rule out apartments without even looking at them if the rent was over a certain amount.  The factors on my spreadsheet were:

• piano will fit in to the apartment (i.e. no long flights of stairs!)
• pets (specifically cats) are allowed
• on-site laundry (coin-operated was OK, I just don't like traveling to laundromats - which reminds me, I have to do laundry this evening!)
• natural light (I have lived in apartments with minimal to no natural light - I don't do well there)
• off-street parking (especially since I'm not using my car very much these days)

And so, after looking at a pile of places over a few days, I came up with a short-list of 4 where I could see myself living.  Why did I pick this one?  The character.  I am renting a flat in a Victorian mansion (built in 1895 by the former mayor) - picture lovely high ceilings, crown moulding, hardwood floors.  It is a bit of a commute to get to school (50-60 minutes with public transit; 20 minutes driving not at rush hour); but I found that my rent dollar goes a lot further in Dartmouth than it does in Halifax.  I could have rented an apartment a few blocks away from the school for the same monthly rent, but it was maybe half the size, and with no character - your typical cube apartment in a large apartment building.

I think that I am going to be happy here.  There are lovely windows with lots of sunlight all day long.  My landlords are great.  I have lots of space for visitors (hint, hint).  I enjoy my daily commute (especially the ferry ride).  And Dartmouth is smaller and less busy than Halifax, I I find it easier to get around.  The downtown core is a 5-10 minute walk away, and there are lots of grocery stores etc. that are easy for me to get to.

Picture time!

 (living room at the front of the house)

 (dining room / office space in the middle of the house)

 (bedroom, towards the back of the house)

(kitchen, and back door)