Everything’s Bigger in Texas

Z and I started looking for a new place to live over the last week-end. Well, actually, we’ve been looking into it for the past couple of weeks. The thing is, our original plan was to maybe buy a house – basically, to establish some permanency in our lives, which we have pretty much lacked since getting hitched. I’m tired of moving, honestly, and I just want a “home.” Somewhere  where I feel confident in re-decoraing and just … relaxing in, long-term.  Kinda like this →

*image from google

But, earlier this year, the Las Vegas market turned. See, for the past couple of years, it was definitely a buyer’s market. Foreclosed houses a plenty meant lots of choices for homebuyers to choose from, as long as you could secure yourself a loan. But now there’s a lot of housing inventory that’s tied up in lawsuits, which happened soon after government bail-out money for the banks came to a grinding halt. I’m not really sure of the logistics of it all, but the end summary is that there are more buyers available than houses. *sad trombone*

Also, I’m not really interested in getting my (err, our) finances raked through the coals either, which is inevitable when you buy. Besides that, when I sold the last home I owned, the closing company was siphoning money into the CEO’s gambling habit and I was thisclose to not getting my mortgage paid off. {The asshat is in federal prison now for the offense, if you care.} But the point is, I really have bad memories with home ownership.

On the other hand, I’ve had recent good memories with renting from an apartment complex when we lived in Austin, Texas. Getting approval to rent was a piece of cake, and move-in was almost immediate. And the amenities (pool, fitness center, gorgeous no-maintenance landscaping, etc.) were so, so, so worth it.

But we’re not in Austin anymore, which is something I need to keep reminding myself. Cuz the apartment complexes here are just … not as nice. And I’m not even talking about that shithole the Roomies moved into. Even the “nicer” complexes just don’t have the square footage that was available in Texas. (I know, everything’s bigger in Texas.)

Not so long ago, I had a checklist for all my requirements in the next place I live, which were as follows:

① Outdoor living space (for my cats, but also for us too)

② Granite countertops

③ A fireplace

④ Storage space

Over the last few weeks, Z and I started actively looking for a new place, now that our lease is expired & we’ve declined to renew it. Fortunately, we don’t have a deadline to move but at the same time, the owners of our rental can insist on raising the rent without a signed lease, so we don’t want to wait too much longer to find a new place. Cuz this I know: our current residence is far from my ideal.

It was only supposed to be a temporary living space – no more than a year; and that year expired last month. So I am ready to move on. We know which area of Vegas we want to live in, and there are quite a few very nice apartment complexes there to choose from. The first one we looked at was actually a condominium development that was built to sell as homes, but soon after the grand opening (several years ago, after the economy tanked), the developer filed for bankruptcy & skipped town. Then the bank sold it to a management company that is now using it as a rental complex. So, there are some residents that actually own condos there, but most are renters. Interesting mix, I’d say.

On the bright side, the condos are simply stunning on the inside – amazing square footage, top-of-the-line kitchens & bathrooms, and no expense was spared. After all, they were built to sell as private (upscale) residences. But there’s a few negatives in my book:

① No fireplace. Sigh.

② Half of the development never got finished (Phase 2, if you will), so there’s a dusty, dirty lot next-door. Not very visually-appealing, in my opinion. (((But on the completed side, the landscaping is very nice indeed, and the condo in question {the one available for rent} does not face the dirt pile.)))

Anyhoo, because of the above, we decided to keep looking. Last weekend, we toured quite a few apartment complexes. All of which had GORGEOUS landscaping, but the apartments themselves? → Tiny and efficient. As in efficiency kitchens. Or to clarify, postage-stamp-sized kitchens. Which is one of the biggest issues with our current house. There was not one apartment we viewed which had anywhere near the size of kitchen that would be acceptable to us.

And I’ve come to the conclusion that apartments in Vegas were just not built for people to live in long-term. In fact, they were probably built as vacation “homes” for non-residents (aka returning tourists). And Z and I have agreed that, while they seem okay to live in short-term, we’d end up moving again a year from now when we realized the space was much too small.

So, basically, the final outcome? My original checklist has gone by the wayside, and we’ve submitted our application for the condo rental. Cuz, as I’ve recently learned, it truly is a diamond in the rough desert, considering, and I could definitely see us living in it for years to come, if needed.

We’re crossing our fingers that we get it. If so, then I’ll be posting about its awesomeness. And then I’ll start packing our things (yet again).