The first day and a half, Max, BIL, and I didn't leave the hotel. We had no way of getting around and really didn't want to take a bus or cab. My mother ended up letting us put a rental car on her credit card, which was really nice of her as it made our trip so much better. And driving in LA is really not as difficult as one would think. I'm assuming we got a bit lucky because we never ran into any crazy stopped traffic. The 405 expressway (have to get used to not calling it a "thruway") was pretty intimidating, but not so bad once I got used to it. The road itself is the worst part - you can tell there hasn't been road work done in years. Bumpy and uneven, the road pulls your car back and forth and makes it difficult to slow down at times. But as long as you're paying attention, it's not so bad.
We went to look at apartments all day Monday. We saw five different apartments, all with varying pros and cons. The first two we saw were in the same complex. The only difference was the size and location of the bedrooms. The whole complex was absolutely gorgeous. Everything was brand new. Granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, new carpeting...just really nice.
Apt 1.) This one had a decent sized living area, nice sized galley kitchen, and a hallway leading down to the bedrooms. The bedrooms were next to each other, which was something we didn't necessarily want. (Privacy and all that.) The "master" bedroom had a nice walk-in closet and a private, en suite bathroom. I would have my own bathroom, too, but it wasn't attached to my bedroom, which meant all guests would use my bedroom. That's not really a big deal to me at all, but it's something to think about. So this layout, while offering more living space, gave us slightly smaller bedrooms that were close together. Washer/dryer and dishwasher in each unit. Also, the building had an awesome gym and an Italian restaurant on the first floor. (Made for me, or what?)
Apt 1-2.) As I said, this was in the same complex, but offered a different layout. This one had a similar sized kitchen, but a smaller living area. The bedrooms were on either side of the apartment, giving us the privacy we desire. We would each have our own bathrooms off of our bedrooms, which is great for us individually, but when guests come over it would mean a trek through our bedrooms to use the toilet. I'm not sure how dedicated I can be to the task of constantly keeping my bedroom clean. The only thing with both apartments is that the bedrooms are pretty small. I expected as much, but when I finally saw them, I coudldn't really imagine anything more than my bed fitting. It's not that I have a lot of furniture, but I had imagined that at least my dresser and papasan chair would fit. But for how gorgeous these apartments were, I'd be willing to hang all of clothes. Even my underwear.
And can I just show you some exteriors of this complex to give you an idea of how in love we are?? Here's the rooftop deck:
And the exterior of the building:
Apt 2.) So the second location we went to was a bit different. Or a lot different. The guy who was supposed to show it to us was over a half hour late, and the girl who was moving out of the unit we were seeing apparently didn't mind that strangers would be judging her slovenly ways. You'll see what I mean in the pictures. This apartment also had two bedrooms, but one was actually up a flight of stairs, so it was almost like a small townhouse. The bedrooms were tiny, though, and the place was just yucky and obviously not well maintained. The guy kept bragging about a private "roof deck" above every apartment, but it was really just a small spot surrounded by tall adobe walls. Not worth the money, so we decided to take it off our list for good...but here are some pictures so you can agree with us:
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Apt 3.) The third apartment was about a 10 minute drive away from the first two complexes in a neighborhood called Franklin Village. The area was gorgeous, but unecessarily far from where we wanted to be. We pretty much went to see it because we felt like it. We had no idea we'd like it so much. The funniest part is, the place is being completely gutted. Frankly, it looks like shit. The bedrooms are right next to eachother. There are really no amenities or any views to speak of. But we loved it. It reminds me of Melrose Place...only lime green. We're probably not going to take this place, just because there are too many cons, but that doesn't mean we won't make it work somehow if we still love it a month from now.
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Also, look what was right down the street...
Apt 4.) The fourth place we saw was absolutely gorgeous. Large bedrooms, fireplace, brand new kitchen, beautiful grounds...but it was the most expensive place we saw. The laundry room was coin operated and in the parking garage. The gym was tiny. The building manager was bitter. And it was sort of removed from everything, back in a neighborhood in Burbank. But it was so nice, we're keeping it on our list for now.
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As you can see, a touch choice. I'm pretty sure we're leaning towards Apartment 1. Which layout, I'm not entirely sure yet. Most likely the one with seperate bedrooms. But we're not counting out Apartments 3 or 4 completely yet.
I apologize if this wasn't very exciting - I wanted to get the pictures of the apartments up quickly. I'll write more fun LA stories later. For now, I leave you with my fam...
xoxo
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