Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Finally, we're not on pause!

So for just about four years, Dan and I have been in a long distance relationship.  Recently, he found out that he got a job in DC and will be moving back to Maryland very soon.

WOOOOOHOOOOOOO

I finally feel like my life is not on pause anymore, waiting for him to come back! Yessss!

So since the minute he found out (and to be honest before then because I'm a planner) we've been looking for places to live.  We started out looking everywhere and then narrowed it down to Laurel or Columbia, for the simple fact that they're both near major highways for commuting and they're both places that we're familiar with and know very well. 

We've mostly been looking in Columbia the past couple of days.  Yesterday I went to 3 house showings.  The first one was a no-go right off the bat, because it was set up like an apartment with people above which is what we really don't want.  The agent who showed it to me was my old boss from the gym when I worked there in highschool. RANDOM!

The second place looked good on the outside, but had dirty walls, really outdated carpet, and a not very impressive layout.  I was a bit grossed out by it, to be honest.

The third place I liked a lot.  With the exception of the pink carpet (whatup B and J! does that remind you of your place at all??) in the basement, it had what we were looking for: at least 1.5 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, a lot of space, an outdoor space for Codden, and it was within our budget.  I asked for an application and quickly sent all the pictures I had taken to Dan when I got home.  When I mentioned the street name to my father, he said he had heard about a lot of crime there.  Well I was curious, and checked online. YUP!  There was a shooting there in April of this year, where someone got murdered!  HOLY crap.  Many reviews said that people in the neighborhood didn't feel safe and that there were robberies all the time.  There was a car stolen recently too! Um, NO THANKS! So needless to say, we gave up on that one.

Today, Dan emailed me a listing he had found on craigslist of a cute town house in Columbia.  I emailed the girl and booked a showing.  It was AWESOME!  Minus the lack of extra storage, it has multiple bathrooms, it's in a great and safe neighborhood, and dun dun dun....LOTS OF CLOSET SPACE! Yessssssssss.

I emailed that girl about the house, so we shall see what happens.  I really hope we get it.  It's a tad bit over what we originally wanted to pay, but I really think it's been the best one that we've seen/read about/looked at and it's in such a good spot. 

Either way, I'm just thrilled about the notion of living with Dan!  Although living with a boy is a bit daunting because I've never done it before, I'm excited to have boyfriend time every day instead of just a couple weekends a month!  I'm excited to have Codden all the time too! (Dan's dog)  So no matter what happens, I'm just happy that we're moving forward (and in!) with our lives and although the next month is going to be hectic and crazy with the moving and unpacking, I couldn't be more happier about it all!

2 comments:

Allie {teaspoon of Life} said...

So excited for you, girl.
Colorado Springs is a little like Maryland in that you have dodgy areas right next to nice ones.
I learned that you can call or stop in to the police department and check out your neighborhood before moving in. (I learned this from the police officers who responded to my 911 call after having my house robbed while I was home alone. It was awesome.)
Not sure if the Maryland police are the same. But the CSPD have a rating system for each zip code for things like theft, violent crimes against persons, and other categories. Then they could search a lot of things. If you tell them you're goint o be living alone, they feel more concerned for your safety. But you can see how one neighborhood compares against the next. Our zip codes are small, but MD may have them broken out in a way that narrows things down for you.
Good luck and stay safe! And congrats :)

Jess said...

Oh wow, I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip! :)