It’s only been two days and already a lot has happened, so it seemed like time for an update. Oh, BTW since I haven’t mentioned it on my blog before, I just moved to Chicago to work at 8th Light.
I arrived in Chicago on Tuesday afternoon/evening and had an uneventful time finding my Airbnb in Edgewater on the north side of Chicago. I spent the evening searching house listings on Craigslist and Zillow, and sending emails trying to schedule viewings for the next few days.
Wednesday, and today I spent looking at different units. Wednesday was mostly sort of disappointing, especially in the kitchen department. But there was one unit that had a good location, and very nice amenities and layout; except for the kitchen was long and narrow and sort of awkward looking.
Today started out looking like more of the same, until my 3rd and 4th viewings. The 3rd place I looked at was right across the street from the best one from Wednesday, except it was two bedrooms, and a much more reasonable kitchen for only slightly more money. This seemed like a clear win, and I very excitedly applied for it immediately after I left.
I kept my final appointment of the day mostly out of politeness and curiosity. I really had no expectations for it, since the pictures in the Craigslist ad had been sort of iffy. But walking into the space I was pretty blown away.
This is what I wrote about it after seeing it (admittedly, several hours after seeing it). The TL;DR is that it’s really quite awesome.
Beautiful high ceilings with gorgeous detail work. Several built-in pieces of furniture including a floor to ceiling hutch in the dining room/kitchen with a glass paneled portion and a lower area with several full-width drawers. There is also a built-in dresser in the bedroom closet (which is large and walk-in, and has shelves REALLY high).
The living room area is large and has great windows and light, with an alcove-ish area perfect for a desk/work area. It’s on the third floor of a house where each level is a unit (called a “three-flat”).
The owner lives in the ground floor, another couple in the middle. there is an attic above me with some possibility of storing some stuff there. Two entrances, front and back. Front has an interior staircase with a landing at the top, perfect for shoe/coat storage.
The bedroom is a very nice size (not too big, not too small) and it has fewer windows so it’s not incredibly bright. Yet still has a reasonable amount of light so it’s not cave-like.
The biggest downside is the kitchen which has some awkwardness to the layout (counter space is separated from the range by the fridge, and the sink is on a different wall altogether. But the sink is awesome old pewter with a built-in dish drying area (slanted and grooved and with a lip). No dishwasher. But plenty of room for a dining room table, and there is room next to the range to put an extra tall-cutting board or general end-table. And the cabinets in the kitchen have interior shelves (not on top of the cabinet!) that go to the limit of what I can reach.
The bathroom is also quite small, with a claw foot tub/shower (which probably needs a special/double shower curtain setup. But it is gorgeous with some really amazing Turkish tiles in the walls.
So that’s pretty exciting. I guess I’ve found my new place to live. Now what do I do until I start at 8th Light in two weeks?