Apartment Hunt!

Hey there! Hope you all have had a great Labor Day weekend! I had L here for the weekend, so we got to spend lots of time together, I got to eat delicious food, and I got some packing done too! I'm sad it's already over, but I guess this just puts me another day closer to living in Madison! :) Many of you are probably still wondering what I'll even be doing in my new job, and I'll get to that eventually, I swear. I just wanted to share some of the more 'immediate' things with you so you can have a sense of what I've been up to lately!

Just to give you a quick little timeline. I had a phone interview for the new job on 7/25. I had an in-person interview for the position on 7/31. I was told that they would hopefully be able to make an offer around 8/12, but unfortunately for me, it took until 8/21 for them to get word from HR to give me the offer. Doesn't sound like THAT long, but it made a big difference in terms of when I'd be done with my current position, when I'd start there, etc. Definitely not going to complain too much, though, because I still got the job! :) Again, I'll go into more details about the new job (hopefully) soon, but that's kind of what I've been working with from a timeframe perspective. My last day at UWM will be this coming Friday, 9/6. Kinda crazy to have it be during a short week. I feel like everything will fly by so fast! I hope I can handle it. ;)

The main purpose of this entry is to share some details about what I've been trying to figure out logistically. You see, getting this job is a blessing in SO many ways, but thinking about how to move to a new city while trying to find someone to take your current apartment is kind of a nightmare. To give you some context, my lease in my Milwaukee apartment was set to go until April 2014. That's a long time from now when you think about having to be responsible for that rent, eek! Prior to even getting offered the job, I contacted my landlord about what my options were, thinking that she'd most likely suggest or require me to sublease the place. For those who don't know, to have a subleaser in your apartment means that someone is taking over the rent, but that you're still kind of on the hook in the event that something gets destroyed or anything crazy like that. Because I don't know too many people in MKE, I was hesitant about having a stranger sublease from me, and lucky for me, my landlord was fantastic and said that as long as I could find someone who wanted the apartment, she would wipe my lease clean and start fresh with the new tenant. How perfect! But that being said, that still required me to find someone, to show the apartment, and to be responsible for the rent until I found a new tenant. That meant I could potentially be on the hook until April if no one wanted it. Because of that, I was incredibly hesitant to commit to an apartment in Madison until I got rid of this one since I obviously wouldn't be able to afford two rents. Talk about being in a weird limbo situation! The original plan was basically that I would temporarily live with L until I got rid of my apartment and until something good opened up in Madison. That 'temporary' arrangement could last a couple weeks or a couple of months, all due to variables I had little control over. If you know me, you know that made me freak out! But get this, folks. My landlord posted an ad for my apartment last week Monday, I showed the apartment to someone that same night (and got several other calls that day), and the girl who I showed the apartment to ended up signing the lease a few days later. Say what?! On top of that, since I'm moving out and starting my job mid-month, the new tenant covered half the rent for September (which I was fully prepared to pay if it meant getting someone in here sooner). Awesome! In this whole process, I had also been in contact with L's landlord who manages a couple different properties in Madison. She was unbelievably helpful throughout the process, and while she and I had originally talked about me potentially renting from her in October or later, it turned out that she had a couple September apartments open up, and because I was approved in the application process, now I can move straight in to one apartment from the other. YES! (Having moved several times in college, I can fully appreciate this because usually there is at least a day of awkwardness where you have to be out of one place but you can't be in the next place for a bit. Hate it!) What's cool about that too is that since I'm not moving in until 9/9, I will not have to pay the entire rent for September. Man, oh man. I hate to say this, but could it have gone any better?! I really don't think it could have! Unreal.

Now here's the teeny kicker. I have committed to this apartment (well, not completely since the lease won't get signed until I move in) without ever seeing my actual apartment in person. Ahhhh! This is a BIG deal for me. It's a big decision, and believe it or not, the rent is significantly more expensive in Madison than what I pay now. Making the decision to take it was a hard one for me because I don't like the unknown. The only reason I felt comfortable doing so is because I know what the floor plan looks like (see below), and L's sister used to live in the same complex and really liked it. A couple of the biggest perks I have with the new apartment that I don't have now include: underground parking, a washer and dryer IN my apartment, a pantry, a walk-in closet, a pool, and a fitness center. Oh, not to mention, my building is pretty much right next to L's building. I can walk to his place in less than a minute. Pretty awesome, huh?! I sure hope it all works out well! First couple months will be a little tight with money, but I think all will get settled and I'll be happy. I am super excited about moving in right away on Monday, because then I have the whole week to unpack, relax, explore, etc. It should be great! I'm not sure it's fully hit me yet, and I think I will feel a bit sad about leaving Milwaukee. That being said, I think my excitement about this new job, new city, new life in general will help ease the pain. ;) I can't wait to keep sharing more with you. Until then, take a look at my floor plan! :)