Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Flat hunting: Day 1

We had a very successful first day of apartment hunting. Here's the rundown. Vote on your favorite!

#1: Very Modern Rowhouse at 54 St. Matthews Gardens
Pros: Modern! Partly furnished! Plenty (maybe too much) space! Free parking in carpark! (carpark=parking lot)

Cons: Longish walk to work. Longish walk to central Cambridge. House split over 4 levels. A bit sterile.






#2: Victorian rowhouse at 33 Emery St.
Pros: Character! Original floors, original fireplaces, HUGE master bedroom, adorable garden. 12 minute walk to office, easy enough walk (or even a short busride in foul weather) into downtown.









Cons: Just one non-original added-later bathroom off the back of the house with a slopey ceiling in which 6'3" husbands can't stand up straight. "Drier" is clothesline in aforementioned adorable garden. Not a lick of furniture.









#3: Paradise Street
Pros: STEPS to Burleigh Street and Grafton Centre (translation: butcher shop, charity shops, Robert Sayle, and movie theatres). Huge! Sunroom AND garden. Owners remind me of my parents. Or Santa and Mrs. Claus. They might leave the organ, so Grandma could play it when she visits. (Actually because it won't fit in their new house.) Oh, and they have two fat kitties.



(imagine these rooms without all the crap in it.)

Cons: Fat kitties not included. No furniture. Price is close to our upper bound of affordability.










#4: 9 Earl St. (In British, that's "Elll Street.")

Pros: Location, location, location. Traditional Victorian with modern kitchen and well-placed bathroom. Comes furnished. (John, honey, look away for a sentence.) Owned by TOTALLY HOT pilot for EasyJet who now lives in Milan. HELLO!! (Hey!-says the annoyed husband)









Cons: Just a little too small. Washer/drier is in the garage. (That's Gair-aaahhgghe.) Now occupied by 2 bachelors -- what have they done that we don't know about?


#5: Bailey Place, Rustat Avenue

Pros: Fully furnished (including TV!), in modern building. Certainly enough space. Nice balcony.



Cons: On the 4th floor of a walk-up with no lift (translation: elevator). On the "wrong" side of the tracks -- that is, literally (British: LIT-ra-lee) on the other side of the train station, making accessibility to town a bit more challenging.



#6: Modern rowhouse on Rustat Avenue

Pros: 4 toilets! Modern furnishings. Plenty of space. Garage.

(Look: ACTUAL clothes closets! The only ones we saw.)


Cons: No washer/drier (there's a place for it in the garage, it's just not there.). See previous note re: wrong side of tracks. A bit isolated.


We're scheduled (that's shed-uled) to see 11 more in the next two days -- stay tuned!