I'd like to start by making it clear that I am not planning on blogging every day of my time in San Francisco. It has, however, been interesting to transition to an entirely new city, and go through the process of finding a place to settle. Here are some of the initial trials and tribulations, as well as first impressions – for better or for worse.
To start with, I am already loving the weather in San Francisco. Today was cloudy and a bit chilly – just how I like it. Why do I like that? Because I can wear jackets. I have a thing for jackets, and my favorite jacket company is based right here in San Fran.
While we would have been wise to have all of our apartment visits planned out, pre-selected, already contacted, and perhaps even rented, the time before our move got unsuspectingly busy and we had only enough time to actually make it to SF; not enough time to set things up for ourselves. We were able to do some work on the drive down, using this amazing notification app for Android. While we were busy rolling down Interstate 5, this handy app let us set our search parameters and notified us of each new posting, ensuring that we were amongst the first to reply to any new opportunity.
In all, we were able to view five apartment units today. I consider that a major victory considering that we didn't have any planned before the day began, that we were very open to neighborhoods and hadn't yet begun to target our search (more on that later), and that we were able to successfully navigate a new city without making too many wrong turns or missing appointments (again – major help from our smartphones on that front).
Speaking of getting around, we are planning on being car-free during our time in SF. For the time being, however, we are driving Poncho, our beloved 2002 Dodge Ram Van, that is currently filled to the gills with all of our earthly possessions. This makes navigating the hills, narrow streets, and high-volume traffic of San Francisco a bit challenging – especially parallel parking on these hills. So far, so good, however, and we're hoping to be able to land a place by the end of the week.
In addition to using our real-time Craigslist searches, we have been having lots of success using a mash-up tool called HousingMaps.com. It doesn't do anything more than map the address of Craigslist posts, but you'd be surprised how helpful that can be when you're thinking about a large area. As we moved around the city today, however, it quickly became apparent that many of the neighborhoods that had previously been in the running should no longer be considered. Some of these decisions had to do with location (too far from Ally's work), some had to do with housing styles (trying to find some San Fran charm – you know, bay windows, etc.), and other reasons just didn't feel like "home."
So, as the day draws to a close, we have a new plan for attacking the listings tomorrow, starting with anything that may have been posted overnight. From today's viewings, we submitted one application, and have four apartments that we are not interested in, but that we learned something from. The very first apartment that we looked at was by far our favorite, and we're hoping that something will work out with that one soon.
In the meantime, we'll continue to pound the pavement, mostly in Poncho, and keep our heads up. Having a good attitude about the search is nearly as important as getting out there and looking. Thanks a lot to those who've offered their support – it means so much.
Later this week, look for more impressions about the city itself, and maybe even some pictures of our adventures!
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