Home Sweet Home

Praise God I have found an apartment! I was a freakin' mess last week. I do realize that I have six weeks until I move but I needed closure!

Apartment hunting in Chicago is completely different than most places I've lived. There are no "apartment complexes" that show you a nice clean demo and tell you what units they have available. Apartment hunting here is like a rat race. You have to call frantically, be open to seeing anything and hope for the best. The pictures make a slum look like a palace. Plus there are thousands of other people on the hunt too. We're all looking for the best apartment at the cheapest price in a prime location. It's a game of "take what's 'okay' now or risk losing that for a chance at something better...or much worse." I would have preferred getting a shot that put me out until this whole miserable hunt was over! But God is faithful, as always. I'm shocked by my lack of faith in this whole thing.

I saw some real treasures. Most three bedrooms have two bedrooms that are nice in size and the third that could barely fit a twin bed. Or they are just fantastic but located in a place where I'd fear for my life. I'm so glad I'm a girl. I am clean, smell nice and care about hygiene. I mean, we have a chore chart! Most of the apartments we visited were occupied by the male gender. I had to walk over clothes to peak in a closet. I saw cigarettes on the ground, beer bottles turned over on every table, unflushed toilets (for the love!) and I even once saw a syringe. Want some pot? I can tell you where to get it. This place smelled like stale sweaty underwear, a crack pipe and fresh syrup. I need another shower even after just talking about it!

So we've found our dream place that overlooks Lincoln Park and Lake Michigan. It's bright, HUGE, 3 bedrooms and 3 baths. It has character, wood floors and an elevator! I'm a happy happy girl!

I'll be sure to throw a housewarming party soon!