A New Home

So the animals and I are in the market for a new place to live. Which is both good and bad. The good news is, I think we're done with apartment living. The bad news is, I hate moving and I hate looking for a new place to live.

Today we saw three places. Two two bedrooms, and one one bedroom. One place was too new, too fancy, too much like where we live now. Yes it had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two car garage, but it didn't have a yard and I just felt like I'd get tired of going up and down the stairs in a tri-level all the time. Also, the most expensive of the bunch.

The other two bedroom was a darling house. I loved it. I have to find a roommate, but its gorgeous. Hardwood floors, beautiful new kitchen and bathroom, small but nice backyard, etc. It comes with a washer and dryer, and a gardener. But finding a roommate is hard. Finding someone to pay as much as I want them to pay (half, or $1100) is harder. And I don't know if I want to live with someone. In theory, it could be good for me. I'm such a loner these days, I sit home by myself most evenings and weekends. Living with someone might improve my social situation, even marginally. And I'd save a bunch of money over what I pay now. Which would be good for the debt paydown plan.

The last place was a one bedroom duplex. Right now it looks like absolute shit. There were roughly 4 people in there now. I could not tell you how many live there. They smoke, they are filthy and had way too much gross crap. But the landlord is planning to gut the place. Thee will rip up the carpet and refinish the hardwood floors. They'll repaint everything (god knows it needs it). Put a new stove in the kitchen. It could be really nice when it's all done. I peeked into the other unit, which was just finished, and it does look really nice. I wish I could have seen all of it, but the tenant was not there. It has a big front yard, fenced in, and a nice fenced in backyard. There's a garage with hookups for the washer and dryer, and also a place to park the car, although the garage does not open easily. Eventually they plan to put in an automatic garage door, but not right away.

So I'm torn. The house is close to where I live now (5 blocks) and I really loved it. But the roommate situation could be hard. Clearly, its cheaper on a per person basis than a place of my own. $1100 v. the $1325 they want for the duplex. The duplex has a big yard, two really. But it lacks things like garbage disposal and a dishwasher. It would be a lot like living in my first apartment again. It looked so terrible today its hard to imagine what it might look like in a month. I just don't know. I guess I could put in an application on both, and see what happens.

Thoughts?