For the past few months, we knew that we would be moving out of our current room once the lease is up, and we were quite eagerly anticipating it. There's (always) something just not quite perfect with the current room and so, the promise of a better apartment beckons.
The reality, however, is not so rosy.
Our lease runs out end May and we've been looking at a few places. I guess, irritatingly, we cannot find all that we wanted. Again that cliché holds true: cheap, good (furnishings) and convenient (location) -- choose any two.
What follows is a rambling monologue of our search attempts.
1/ We first tried a house near downtown Toronto. It was central and priced reasonably, but it was creakingly old. Nah.
2/ Next, we checked out a couple of properties along Spadina Road, a few blocks north of where we're staying. The rentals there are a bit cheaper, and the area looks quiet. However, we looked at two buildings (70 and 66 Spadina) and they were cheap, just not in the monetary sense. The buildings were quite run-down, though we thought we could live with that. However, what decided it for us was the online reviews, which unanimously said those places sucked.
3/ Then we tried the building immediately to our south (666 Spadina). It was perfect, it had everything we wanted and a bit more... except for the price. That was also a bit more than what we felt comfortable paying.
4/ Last week, a seemingly golden opportunity came up. One of our biggest grouses with our north-facing unit is that it faces a tall office block; we felt like we were in a fish-tank. That particular building is made up of four office floors, which are right in our face, and a narrower residential block. Then our property manager told us that a south-facing unit on the 5th floor in our building was available. It was slightly more expensive but still reasonable, overlooks the low building south of this apartment and it had been fully renovated. In fact, it looked really good. It was perfect and very convenient for us, and we told the manager that we would like it, only without the furnishings (which cost $400 more each month!)... then the building owner changed her mind, saying that she wanted to keep that unit furnished. It was a perfectly reasonable business decision on her part, but we were quite pissed nonetheless.
5/ The next day, our property manager told us of another unit in our current building that should be available come July, a north-facing 7th floor unit. We went up, took a look and were not so impressed this time round. That unit still faced the tall building, though now it only faces the residential block, which is further away. Somewhat acceptable. However, while the toilet is renovated (ours isn't), the kitchen sucks (ours is renovated). Overall, not a big improvement over our current unit. We filed it away as a last resort.
By this time, we were getting a little stressed and frustrated. Trouble is, our current location (a part of town called the Annex) is hugely popular and quite expensive. It's fairly close to downtown, Chinatown and Koreatown. Bloor Street is akin to Holland Village in Singapore, only longer and with more shops; it's extremely bustling and I love shopping there.
The end of month looms and our search intensity went up a notch. We thought we shouldn't discount places that are a little further away; for example, east of Yonge, there are some cheap places that are about equidistant to downtown. We walked down last weekend, and while the place is all right, fairly quiet, there aren't as many amenities (grocers, etc.). We tried to muster enthusiasm but the thought of traveling halfway across town to use the gym (our gym is just one block down from our current apartment) or having to move our stuff just depressed us. Online reviews were generally bad, and most people tell us that those areas are rather unsavory.
We were seriously considering just moving to that 7th floor unit.
Today, I called another property I saw on Craigslist -- a house; location looks good and rent is cheap, so we'd go down tomorrow to view. Mike called the office-cum-residential block that faces us (720 Spadina), and amazingly, they had a unit available. We just went to take a look and Mike loved it. Me, the only problem I have with it is the carpeting because I would much rather have a hardwood floor. We're also apprehensive about the negative online reviews, which include a roach problem. Well, we'll take a look at that house tomorrow and then decide between the two. The end of the month is coming up and we will have to inform the property manager soon of our intention to move.
By this time tomorrow, we should have decided either way.
And then we only have to move.
The reality, however, is not so rosy.
Our lease runs out end May and we've been looking at a few places. I guess, irritatingly, we cannot find all that we wanted. Again that cliché holds true: cheap, good (furnishings) and convenient (location) -- choose any two.
What follows is a rambling monologue of our search attempts.
1/ We first tried a house near downtown Toronto. It was central and priced reasonably, but it was creakingly old. Nah.
2/ Next, we checked out a couple of properties along Spadina Road, a few blocks north of where we're staying. The rentals there are a bit cheaper, and the area looks quiet. However, we looked at two buildings (70 and 66 Spadina) and they were cheap, just not in the monetary sense. The buildings were quite run-down, though we thought we could live with that. However, what decided it for us was the online reviews, which unanimously said those places sucked.
3/ Then we tried the building immediately to our south (666 Spadina). It was perfect, it had everything we wanted and a bit more... except for the price. That was also a bit more than what we felt comfortable paying.
4/ Last week, a seemingly golden opportunity came up. One of our biggest grouses with our north-facing unit is that it faces a tall office block; we felt like we were in a fish-tank. That particular building is made up of four office floors, which are right in our face, and a narrower residential block. Then our property manager told us that a south-facing unit on the 5th floor in our building was available. It was slightly more expensive but still reasonable, overlooks the low building south of this apartment and it had been fully renovated. In fact, it looked really good. It was perfect and very convenient for us, and we told the manager that we would like it, only without the furnishings (which cost $400 more each month!)... then the building owner changed her mind, saying that she wanted to keep that unit furnished. It was a perfectly reasonable business decision on her part, but we were quite pissed nonetheless.
5/ The next day, our property manager told us of another unit in our current building that should be available come July, a north-facing 7th floor unit. We went up, took a look and were not so impressed this time round. That unit still faced the tall building, though now it only faces the residential block, which is further away. Somewhat acceptable. However, while the toilet is renovated (ours isn't), the kitchen sucks (ours is renovated). Overall, not a big improvement over our current unit. We filed it away as a last resort.
By this time, we were getting a little stressed and frustrated. Trouble is, our current location (a part of town called the Annex) is hugely popular and quite expensive. It's fairly close to downtown, Chinatown and Koreatown. Bloor Street is akin to Holland Village in Singapore, only longer and with more shops; it's extremely bustling and I love shopping there.
The end of month looms and our search intensity went up a notch. We thought we shouldn't discount places that are a little further away; for example, east of Yonge, there are some cheap places that are about equidistant to downtown. We walked down last weekend, and while the place is all right, fairly quiet, there aren't as many amenities (grocers, etc.). We tried to muster enthusiasm but the thought of traveling halfway across town to use the gym (our gym is just one block down from our current apartment) or having to move our stuff just depressed us. Online reviews were generally bad, and most people tell us that those areas are rather unsavory.
We were seriously considering just moving to that 7th floor unit.
Today, I called another property I saw on Craigslist -- a house; location looks good and rent is cheap, so we'd go down tomorrow to view. Mike called the office-cum-residential block that faces us (720 Spadina), and amazingly, they had a unit available. We just went to take a look and Mike loved it. Me, the only problem I have with it is the carpeting because I would much rather have a hardwood floor. We're also apprehensive about the negative online reviews, which include a roach problem. Well, we'll take a look at that house tomorrow and then decide between the two. The end of the month is coming up and we will have to inform the property manager soon of our intention to move.
By this time tomorrow, we should have decided either way.
And then we only have to move.
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