Who wants to be a Millionaire?

Yesterday, I went into the city and watched the ING Direct Cycling Criterium. I didn't know what that was either. Apparently, a criterium, or crit, is a type of bike race held on a short course (usually less than 5 km), often run on closed-off city centre streets. My BF is into cycling, he wanted to go, and it ended up being a really fun day. The weather was awesome, the race was fun to watch and we ended up getting free cute, little orange cow bells. Very cool. I took a quick video of the final two laps, the annoying high picked noise is everyone ringing their cow bells like a bunch of maniacs. Can anyone say, "More cow bell?"

On our way back to Virginia we ended up going past a condo building my BF had been telling me about, The Odyssey in Arlington. He can see it from his office and really thought it looked cool. So we drove around it and then found out they were having an open house. So we thought, why not pretend like we were able to afford the place and go inside. It was crazy! The one unit we went to was 1.2 million dollars.... Yeah, Million! For a two bedroom condo. It was insane. The whole one side of the unit was windows and it overlooked DC. It was so pretty. But my favorite part was the kitchen. The appliances were amazing and the whole layout was so open. If anything the whole experience just made me sad that I'm "poor" and can only afford a condo one sixteenth that price.

We did go to a more affordable unit. It was an efficiency, but the layout was again, really open. It didn't feel like a studio at all. Only problem was it was going for $349k, which I felt was a bit much for a condo. Ok and also out of my price range. But it was really cool! Oh well, I guess I will have to eventually come back to earth and maybe look at things within my budget.

Decisions Decisions

Going through my finances and looking at apartments, has made me also think about possibly buying a condo. I found out I could afford it, but only after I save for a few months. Now I have to decide, do I want to move right away into an apartment and continually pay rent until maybe years from now when I might have saved enough money to buy a place? OR do I want to stay in my current windowless apartment which is not as close to the city as I would like, but save up a good amount of money so that possibly if the market stays good for buyers I could buy a condo?

Here is my Pros and Cons list:

Apartment
Pros
Get to move now
Won't have to fix things myself
Could have cool amenities
Could change places after a year
Dishwasher
Washer/Dryer
Windows

Cons
Have to pack now
Rent could raise
Could have insects
Could have weird neighbors
Landlord might stink, not actually smell just be horrible

Condo
Pros
Can paint it
Can hang things on the wall
Could redecorate
Could upgrade appliances
Windows
Hopefully Dishwasher
Hopefully Washer/Dryer
Would get a tax break
Feel grown up (not sure if this is pro or con)
Could make some money when I sell it
Good investment?

Cons
Have to Paint it
Might have to do some work
Could lose money when sold
Condo association
Condo fees
Have to fix things when they break

My lists aren't done, so far I'm no closer to a decision. If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate the help. Thanks!

Home is where the heart is.

Recently I started researching and scrutinizing apartments to find a new home. I'm not moving far, I haven't changed jobs, nothing like that. I just feel like after living in the same apartment building since my last year in college maybe a change would be nice. So I have begun scouring the Internet and itemizing my budget to figure out what I want and what I can afford. Why is that so difficult?

I have some musts... Such as must have windows. Not something that many people think of as an amenity when searching apartments, but after living in a windowless apartment for four years, I need windows! Second and a bit more luxurious, a dishwasher. Ahh, to have a machine to wash my dishes for me. That would be the life. In that line of luxurious amenities, I would also like a washer/dryer in my own apartment... yes, my own clothes washing machine. Something that needs no coins and my neighbor, the roofer, won't put his tar filled clothes into. I don't think that is asking too much.

My search has only started, I haven't seen many places yet. But last weekend, my boyfriend and I went to look at three in the Alexandria area. We started off with what we felt at the end of the weekend, was the best. Which was unfortunate for the later two, it had a lot to live up to. The first place, Riverside, had awesome amenities (not just windows, it also had a fitness center with aerobics room and classes!) and it was super pretty! Which you know is very important when finding an apartment. The only problem with the Riverside was that I haven't decided if I want to pay that much for rent yet. I guess I'll have to figure that out after I see more places.

The second place was cute and the amenities were cool, everything just seemed a little less polished as the Riverside. Plus with the extra fees it felt a bit like I would be nickel and dimed to death. The last place was the worst. The apartments themselves weren't horrible, they were actually cute and very affordable. It was the halls and the outside of the building that gave me a very distinct feeling that I might be bludgeoned to death near my car or raped in the hallway. Also every single hallway had its own distinct mixture of the aromas of old buttered popcorn, curry and gym socks and a few other things that could not be distinguished.

At the end of the weekend, the first of many apartment hunting weekends I'm sure, I feel slightly more unsure of where I might be able to find an affordable, yet non stinky safe apartment with the three things I need.