In October I was only casually looking for apartments. I had promised myself that I wouldn't take any action impulsively. I vowed that the place I would move into would have to fit all of my criteria, price range, space, light, location etc. I went to see a couple of places that seemed to good to be true, and there's a reason why that is a saying, it was because they all were. The first one I looked at was in the perfect location, it was at the bottom of my price range. The pictures made it look quaint, but like a clever personal ad, the pictures were taken from only the good angles and air brushed. The apartment appeared to have been designed for a troll and I am not talking about aesthetics here, I mean height and size. The doorways were only about 3feet wide and 5 ft 10 inches tall. The bedroom would have fit a cot and the kitchen would have caused me to loose weight because I would not have even been able to open the fridge. I would hesitate to call it hobbit like because I really liked to Lord of the Rings and wouldn't want to insult the poor hobbits. I was incredibly disappointed.
The next place that I checked out also looked really great on paper. It again was in my price range and it had really great pictures, though I had become cynical enough by now not to necessarily believe them. At least this time I could see what I was getting into. So I took a chance, I started to get really excited again. I started mentally planning my decor. I emailed all my friends about this place. The anticipation was almost more than I could handle. When I arrived at the building, I waited for the agent with whom I had spoken to several times. I waited, and waited and waited and waited. Did I have the day wrong? Was I at the wrong address? After waiting a half hour, I spoke with the agent who had forgotten to call me and cancel our appointment because she had just found a tennant. I was not only being stood up, but I was being rejected by someone who had never met me for another person. Ouch.
Now as a seasoned online dater, I can tell you that this cycle of emotions beginning with seeds of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, excitement again, and the finally disappointment is very like that of the emotional roller coaster one experiences with online dating. Once I made that realization my whole approach to apartment hunting changed. Like online dating, I began to just approach like it never hurts to just look!
I found another apartment, this one didn't have any pictures and it was a little bit farther north than I would have preferred, but since it never hurts to look, I figured why not?! I scheduled the appointment later that week and didn't just cancel all my plans to check it out as I had several of the others. The day of the viewing I was Switzerland neutral, I was calm cool and collected, I hadn't allowed myself to be duped into becoming emotionally attached.
When I walked in it was a bit of a mess, boxes everywhere, the slightly naseating smell of cat pee in the air, but sunlight drenching the small cozy room. It had a cute little kitchen, with DVDs stacked on the wire cabinet. The adorable dining nook had bunk beds in it for the previous tennants two small children. Somewhere in the apartment a cat was loose feeding on the leftover garbage, scratching the vintage pine wood floors. It was oozing with potential, it just needed a female touch, and buckets and buckets of pine sol. It felt like meeting a man with the perfect smile and sense of humor who hadn't gotten a hair cut or been shopping since the early 2000's and thought that cargo pants and floppy hair were still in... ouch. A bit of work, but great potential. I applied immediately!
The next place that I checked out also looked really great on paper. It again was in my price range and it had really great pictures, though I had become cynical enough by now not to necessarily believe them. At least this time I could see what I was getting into. So I took a chance, I started to get really excited again. I started mentally planning my decor. I emailed all my friends about this place. The anticipation was almost more than I could handle. When I arrived at the building, I waited for the agent with whom I had spoken to several times. I waited, and waited and waited and waited. Did I have the day wrong? Was I at the wrong address? After waiting a half hour, I spoke with the agent who had forgotten to call me and cancel our appointment because she had just found a tennant. I was not only being stood up, but I was being rejected by someone who had never met me for another person. Ouch.
Now as a seasoned online dater, I can tell you that this cycle of emotions beginning with seeds of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, excitement again, and the finally disappointment is very like that of the emotional roller coaster one experiences with online dating. Once I made that realization my whole approach to apartment hunting changed. Like online dating, I began to just approach like it never hurts to just look!
I found another apartment, this one didn't have any pictures and it was a little bit farther north than I would have preferred, but since it never hurts to look, I figured why not?! I scheduled the appointment later that week and didn't just cancel all my plans to check it out as I had several of the others. The day of the viewing I was Switzerland neutral, I was calm cool and collected, I hadn't allowed myself to be duped into becoming emotionally attached.
When I walked in it was a bit of a mess, boxes everywhere, the slightly naseating smell of cat pee in the air, but sunlight drenching the small cozy room. It had a cute little kitchen, with DVDs stacked on the wire cabinet. The adorable dining nook had bunk beds in it for the previous tennants two small children. Somewhere in the apartment a cat was loose feeding on the leftover garbage, scratching the vintage pine wood floors. It was oozing with potential, it just needed a female touch, and buckets and buckets of pine sol. It felt like meeting a man with the perfect smile and sense of humor who hadn't gotten a hair cut or been shopping since the early 2000's and thought that cargo pants and floppy hair were still in... ouch. A bit of work, but great potential. I applied immediately!
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