#1 is obviously out for the crime scene feel. I really think if we had moved furniture we would have found dubious stains and chalk outlines. I would not want to see the place through a UV light.
#2 is a darling little house, with front and back yard. Pro's include the high ceilings, skylights and ample closet space. The con's include the fact that it's just about $200/month more than we're looking to spend, and there's a whopping 3K deposit which just seems unnecessary. The purple kitchen cabinets could be a plus or a minus, depending on whom you ask. This one is pretty much out.
#3 is GORGEOUS inside. There are 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, a dedicated laundry room and lovely granite counter tops in the kitchen. Pro's include the small balcony off the master bedroom and the privacy; con's include the fact that its location is a little more suburban than we'd like and it's in one of those cookie-cutter developments where it looks like someone squeezed the units out of a Play-Do press. There's not even a pool, and if you're going to be in one of those developments you should definitely get a pool out of it. Nixed.
#4 is the current front runner. It's newly remodeled, right around the corner from our current place, and still just 1 block from the beach. It's above commercial space so it'd be nice and quiet on nights and weekends, and we don't share any walls with the next residential unit. Loads of counter space in the kitchen, lots of windows, and a functional fire place for us to curl up in front of on those long, cold, cruel southern California winter nights. (Slightly unnecessary, but it'll be a good excuse for hanging out in my pj's and drinking cocoa). Only real con is that it's slightly smaller than the others. Currently in the No. 1 position, and clearly Paul's favorite.
#5 is also in a cookie cutter development, but it's got a pool and high ceilings and a loft. I love this place. No, you can't walk to the beach in under 60 seconds and no, the washer and dryer aren't in the unit (there is a laundry room just down the stairs), but the loft. It's got a bloody loft. The bathrooms aren't brand new, and I wouldn't put anything in the cabinets before lining every shelf, but I think the amount of light we'd get from those windows would help my dissertation grow and blossom from it's current state as a little mental seedling into a big, juicy pomegranate tree with little bulbs of wisdom (and powerful body-boosting antioxidants) ripening on the branches. I also think that if I tell Paul that he'll punch me in the face.
I snuck into #6 yesterday, and Paul's going to see it tonight. I have a crush on this one, too, and the view from the back is really nice, but Paul's just not sure he can live with the wallpaper that's in the bathroom, and I'm not sure I can hold that against him. It looks like this place was attached my the same late 70s interior decorator as my parents' house.
