Ready for a van down by the river*

The apartment-hunting thing? Not the funnest. I sent GF off to the Avenues in SLC to check out a couple of great-looking, affordable listings. Turns out there are reasons why they're so affordable. The first one had no air conditioning and one washing machine shared by 11 families. The second was on a street entirely populated by crazy people who shouted things at GF as he got in and out of his car. It gave him a few mission flashbacks.

And then I practically had us signed up for a place in SLC and was so excited about it because there was a pool and a fitness center and everything. Then I got on Apartment Ratings and discovered that the police call the complex "Little East L.A." and that there was a shooting last year.

So. It's a learning experience. And by "learning experience" I mean "sucks absolute bricks." But I'm getting better at this. I've learned that "cozy" means "get ready to spoon whether or not you feel like it" and that "up and coming neighborhood" actually means "get a gun." Also I'm learning to ask the right questions:

How many hundreds of dollars a month are the utility bills?

By "close to the freeway," do you by any chance mean "under the freeway"?

How many yards from the train tracks are you, exactly?

I'm sorry, but telling me there's a Wingers nearby does not answer my "how's the area?" question nor does it inspire confidence. So let me repeat that.

And is the murderer still living in the complex?

*

Posted in: a better way to live