I don’t know why I’m in such a hurry, but I want it all — now. I want a great job and a fantastic home, and dammit, why haven’t I gotten them yet? After all, I’ve been here for SIX days already.
I’ve been looking at lofts for rent. This weekend I found one I liked but it was rented out from under me. The one I looked at today was nice but way too small; it had a spiral staircase and I envisioned scenarios wherein the movers couldn’t get my furniture upstairs and the dog slipped and fell off them.
Still, I’m hopeful that I’ll find a cool pad somewhere near downtown, where I can be simultaneously bohemian and high-tech.
Yes, Kat, I would love to buy something, but without an income I might find it difficult to qualify for a mortgage. Plus, I don’t want to buy right away — I want to find a job then find a home near my office.
I’m realizing that I am going to have to bite the bullet and spend more than I had expected to. Originally I thought that a one bedroom would run $800-1,000; now I’m seeing that the minimum I can expect to spend for a nice place is $1,500. And if I was willing to spend $2,000, I could move in to a nice Tuscan-style house across the street from where I’m staying now.
I guess I have plenty of time — the movers tell me that my shipment is leaving Maryland today. Yes, I’d expected it to arrive this week, but it turns out that it hasn’t even left yet. My god, I’ve had nothing but disappointments from Allied Van Lines. Let this be a warning to you. This also means that I don’t have my portfolio, making it tough to apply for jobs.
As for my car, I still don’t have a clue when it’s coming.
So here I sit in someone else’s home, without my stuff, feeling like a fish in a plastic bag waiting to be dumped into a new tank.
6 days and you’re already restless?
Think of it as a vacation while you wait for your portfolio to arrive. A 10 day or two week vacation is normal and lord knows you EARNED it.
Relax, soak it all in.
Or maybe…
Make a list of employers you want to hit when your portfolio arrives. Start planing your next movie. Get a restaurant guide and start hitting a restaurant a day so when you move into your new place you have an idea of restaurants in that area.
Didn’t you have a bunch of things you always wanted to do but didn’t have the time? Well right now you have the time.
If you get an apartment do you have to sign a year lease or can you do 6 months? With your current cash reserves I doubt you would have trouble buying a house but I would still wait and get one close to work.
So many wonderful things to do.
The adventure begins.
Gene, I empathize with you. If renting is the way you want to go, go right ahead! It may be the best thing for you.
On the other hand, please let me tell you about my experience. Two years ago I got divorced. My ex told me I’d never find a house in a short period of time. I considered renting. But then a friend of mine basically said, hey, what’s stopping you except your fear? Well, I had a settlement coming, but not much- about 26,000. I was looking for a home to buy with that money, and settled on a tiny home I could afford. Just as I was negotiating for the house, I LOST MY JOB. Unbelievable. Here I was, no job, just a little money, stressing out because of the divorce. I was terrified that the mortgage company would leave me hanging because my employment situation had gone flat. I called my loan officer, who told me that because I had sterling credit and I was putting 20% down on the house, that they were going ahead with the loan. I closed on my house 2 weeks after I divorced.
It took me a year and a half to find another full-time job, and it’s not because I didn’t try. I faxed, emailed, interviewed until I thought I’d die. I was really becoming worried- I had a mortgage and property taxes and debt from renovating the house. Last February, I FINALLY got a job, and I am ever so grateful I didn’t rent, which I almost did. If I had done that, I would have pretty much thrown away a year’s worth of the little settlement I got from the divorce. I had to take money out of savings to live on, and sold some stock, but I survived.
This story is meant to encourage you. You have a substantial windfall from the sale of your home- I encourage you to at least THINK about it. Looking back, If I had been working while I was renovating the house, I would probably still be working on it almost 3 years later!
Of course I did what was best for me and this sort of approach may not work for you. Whatever happens, you can rest assured I’ll butt into your life again, hahaha! Have a good evening!
Kat
…or find a couple of hippies. Crash on their couch and see how long it takes them to figure out that no one there knows you.