adrian_turtle (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
adrian_turtle) wrote2013-02-05 12:45 pm
adrian_turtle) wrote2013-02-05 12:45 pm
Entry tags:
lifestyle changes
It's kind of shocking to realize the ten years in this apartment is more time than I've ever lived in one place. I don't think of myself as moving around all that much. But here I am.
Or not. My landlord is raising the rent in April, and it's really not feasible for me to stay here. (It would have been financially prudent for me to leave last year, but I was afraid to give up the class tokens then.) Now I live in a familiar neighborhood, right next to a supermarket and a drugstore and a library and a reliable* bus. My apartment has thin walls, no A/C, and a dishwasher that doesn't work...but I have privacy. In addition to my books and clothes and desk, I have room for my living room furniture and enough kitchen stuff to have half a dozen people for dinner.
Obviously, I'd like to keep all my stuff. And live near the T. And still have laundry in the building. And not pay more than $1000/month. If you know of such an unlikely place, please do let me know. But I think my plausible options are:
1) A studio apartment near a red line stop. I don't like the idea of giving up so much stuff. It feels like a loss of possibilities, or acknowledging that the possibilities are lost. But it might be the way to get affordable access to groceries, laundry, transit, community...which are more important than furnishings.
2) A smaller 1 bedroom apartment than I have now, in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Any advice on what neighborhood is likely to be good? (Medford Square? Malden Center? Union Square?) I want to be near a supermarket and a library. Coffee shops fit my lifestyle better than bars. If I'm not near a subway stop, I want buses that run well into the evening. Beyond that, I'm afraid of being isolated, without the social energy to make new connections in a new neighborhood.
3) Sharing a house or large apartment. With the right person, and the right space, this could work out really well, but I have no idea how to find that right person. It seems like most of my friends are no longer interested in house sharing on this scale, thinking of it as something to do when you're starting out and haven't established a family or career yet. It's scary to consider moving in with a stranger. And even thinking about what I want** in a house-sharing situation makes me feel like an unreasonable fussbudget that nobody would want to live with.
*Every 10 or 20 minutes, depending on time of day. Runs from a little before 5am until a little after 1am. This is painfully different from places where the last bus comes at 6:45pm, even if it comes exactly at 6:45 on schedule.
**I want to actually share the common space, not just take turns walking through it to our bedrooms. I want somebody who is ok with that, and also ok with me taking big chunks of alone-time. I don't want to live with a dog, a cat, a smoker, or a drinker. I don't want tv in common space. I want people who can be careful about when and where they apply perfume and nail polish. In short: aaargh.
Or not. My landlord is raising the rent in April, and it's really not feasible for me to stay here. (It would have been financially prudent for me to leave last year, but I was afraid to give up the class tokens then.) Now I live in a familiar neighborhood, right next to a supermarket and a drugstore and a library and a reliable* bus. My apartment has thin walls, no A/C, and a dishwasher that doesn't work...but I have privacy. In addition to my books and clothes and desk, I have room for my living room furniture and enough kitchen stuff to have half a dozen people for dinner.
Obviously, I'd like to keep all my stuff. And live near the T. And still have laundry in the building. And not pay more than $1000/month. If you know of such an unlikely place, please do let me know. But I think my plausible options are:
1) A studio apartment near a red line stop. I don't like the idea of giving up so much stuff. It feels like a loss of possibilities, or acknowledging that the possibilities are lost. But it might be the way to get affordable access to groceries, laundry, transit, community...which are more important than furnishings.
2) A smaller 1 bedroom apartment than I have now, in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Any advice on what neighborhood is likely to be good? (Medford Square? Malden Center? Union Square?) I want to be near a supermarket and a library. Coffee shops fit my lifestyle better than bars. If I'm not near a subway stop, I want buses that run well into the evening. Beyond that, I'm afraid of being isolated, without the social energy to make new connections in a new neighborhood.
3) Sharing a house or large apartment. With the right person, and the right space, this could work out really well, but I have no idea how to find that right person. It seems like most of my friends are no longer interested in house sharing on this scale, thinking of it as something to do when you're starting out and haven't established a family or career yet. It's scary to consider moving in with a stranger. And even thinking about what I want** in a house-sharing situation makes me feel like an unreasonable fussbudget that nobody would want to live with.
*Every 10 or 20 minutes, depending on time of day. Runs from a little before 5am until a little after 1am. This is painfully different from places where the last bus comes at 6:45pm, even if it comes exactly at 6:45 on schedule.
**I want to actually share the common space, not just take turns walking through it to our bedrooms. I want somebody who is ok with that, and also ok with me taking big chunks of alone-time. I don't want to live with a dog, a cat, a smoker, or a drinker. I don't want tv in common space. I want people who can be careful about when and where they apply perfume and nail polish. In short: aaargh.
no subject
And for location: I don't know many neighborhoods here yet, of course, but I can say that Teele Square has the 87 bus which runs right by the Shaw's in Porter Square, and there are rumors of a grocery store going in where the Foodmaster used to be. I go to the library just outside Davis Square, which is tiny but so far has had books I wanted to read. (After I run out, I'm assured that there's excellent interlibrary loan around here, so I'm not too worried.)
no subject
It's interesting that you think of Teele Square in terms of bus accessibility. I always walk down to the Davis T station from there. (I lived in Powderhouse when I first moved to MA, right near the football field, and I thought of the location in terms of how long in took to walk to Davis. Or sometimes, to walk up the hill from Davis...)
no subject
That's one of the complications of poly. You aren't so much ruling out your lover as your lover's lover, who she lives with. (I like having a cat, and have a commitment to this cat, but Andy is the one who needs to have a cat.)
no subject
My ad was fairly wordy, but I think it helped find people who really are compatible. I also got a bunch of replies from people who clearly were just replying to every post they saw, but that's the nature of advertising, I think.
I think of it in terms of the bus because I live near a stop for the 87, 88, and 89--riding into Davis Square is much faster and warmer than walking. Teele Square is maybe halfway between here and Davis Square. Though moving from a place where I bussed or biked everywhere and there wasn't really an equivalent to the T might also affect how I think of it.
Lately I've been grocery shopping by getting off the T at Porter, shopping at Shaw's, and then taking the 87 home. I'm not sure it's as near as some stores, but it's more convenient.
no subject
The last time I moved I posted a "housing wanted" and then got on with reading the "housing available" ads. I didn't get any usable leads directly from the ad I posted, but I wrote to lots of people with ostensibly-suitable brief ads of what they wanted to rent, and pointed them to my longer ad and asked if we were a good fit.
no subject
found one!
(BTW, if you hear of a large 2BR in your neighborhood, we'd love to know. Other than the gorgeous place on Garrison Street, which has no laundry.)
Re: found one!
Re: found one!
no subject