In Search of ... a new apartment
My roommate is moving in with his girlfriend. After a year and a half of stable shelter, I’m once again looking for a place to live.
Ugh.
He’s not moving out until the end of January so I have a lot of time to find a new pad. But it’s nerve racking nonetheless. I’m visiting the Orange County Craigslist at least twice a day in search of a room in Huntington Beach, preferably closer to the beach.
Yup, I’ve decided to splurge a little and live near the beach. I might as well while I’m here. Next year I could be back in the Midwest for grad school or to satisfy my building wanderlust and I’ll be able to say I lived a few blocks away from the sun and sand, the pounding waves, and the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean. Everyone will be jealous. My mom lived on Fifth Street in Santa Monica…twice! Once with a roommate and once with dad after they got married. I’m jealous, but I’m going to try to beat their five block proximity. (It’s not really five blocks. Five blocks gets you to Ocean Street and Palisades Park. Then you have to descend the stairs along the cliff and cross the PCH before you’re on the wide beach.)
Of course, gone are the days of cheap beach shacks. In development mad Huntington Beach they’ve been replaced by three-story townhouses my uncle calls “tall and skinnies.” They’re beach shacks for the wealthy and retired, and they’re not for rent. Well, those that are aren’t cheap; we’re talking thousands per month. But despite the encroachment of the rich over the last few decades, many single family homes, duplexes, and triplexes remain in the original HB grid, the city’s small footprint before it grew exponentially in the 1960s and ‘70s. (Huntington Beach was the fastest growing city in the United States during the ‘70s. In 1950 the population was 5,237; 11,492 in 1960; 115,960 in 1970, an increase of 909 percent; and 170,505 in 1980. The 2008 population is estimated at 201,993.) Most are rented, which is good for me.
Bad for me is the price, which varies depending on the number of roommates. A room — just a single room in a two or three bedroom apartment — can run as high as $1200 a month. Yowza, but they can also be as low as $650 or $700. My current room is $665 (in Iowa City I could rent an entire two-bedroom apartment for that), but I’m three or four miles from the beach. I’ve decided, for the sake of making future acquaintances jealous, that I’ll go as high as $900. Surprisingly, there are a lot of places within my price range.
Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist. My best friend. The simple design and post links remind me of searching for a place in Santa Cruz. I browsed the listings in the morning, during the day at work (if I was working), and at night. The key is not responding to any posts more than a day old; most likely the posters from the previous day already have people selected and scheduled for showings. Most people didn’t respond to my emails, and a few of the posters I’ve written recently have done the same. The silent treatment. It doesn’t bother me. I’m not roommate material for everyone, I suppose, but how could you resist this:
Admit it: Based on that description I’m the ideal roommate. Who wouldn’t want to rent their spare room to me? I’m quiet, courteous, and pay the rent on time. Of course, some may ignore me for my own protection. There are some seriously fucked up people here, as there are everywhere.
Ugh.
Ugh.
He’s not moving out until the end of January so I have a lot of time to find a new pad. But it’s nerve racking nonetheless. I’m visiting the Orange County Craigslist at least twice a day in search of a room in Huntington Beach, preferably closer to the beach.
Yup, I’ve decided to splurge a little and live near the beach. I might as well while I’m here. Next year I could be back in the Midwest for grad school or to satisfy my building wanderlust and I’ll be able to say I lived a few blocks away from the sun and sand, the pounding waves, and the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean. Everyone will be jealous. My mom lived on Fifth Street in Santa Monica…twice! Once with a roommate and once with dad after they got married. I’m jealous, but I’m going to try to beat their five block proximity. (It’s not really five blocks. Five blocks gets you to Ocean Street and Palisades Park. Then you have to descend the stairs along the cliff and cross the PCH before you’re on the wide beach.)
Of course, gone are the days of cheap beach shacks. In development mad Huntington Beach they’ve been replaced by three-story townhouses my uncle calls “tall and skinnies.” They’re beach shacks for the wealthy and retired, and they’re not for rent. Well, those that are aren’t cheap; we’re talking thousands per month. But despite the encroachment of the rich over the last few decades, many single family homes, duplexes, and triplexes remain in the original HB grid, the city’s small footprint before it grew exponentially in the 1960s and ‘70s. (Huntington Beach was the fastest growing city in the United States during the ‘70s. In 1950 the population was 5,237; 11,492 in 1960; 115,960 in 1970, an increase of 909 percent; and 170,505 in 1980. The 2008 population is estimated at 201,993.) Most are rented, which is good for me.
Bad for me is the price, which varies depending on the number of roommates. A room — just a single room in a two or three bedroom apartment — can run as high as $1200 a month. Yowza, but they can also be as low as $650 or $700. My current room is $665 (in Iowa City I could rent an entire two-bedroom apartment for that), but I’m three or four miles from the beach. I’ve decided, for the sake of making future acquaintances jealous, that I’ll go as high as $900. Surprisingly, there are a lot of places within my price range.
Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist. My best friend. The simple design and post links remind me of searching for a place in Santa Cruz. I browsed the listings in the morning, during the day at work (if I was working), and at night. The key is not responding to any posts more than a day old; most likely the posters from the previous day already have people selected and scheduled for showings. Most people didn’t respond to my emails, and a few of the posters I’ve written recently have done the same. The silent treatment. It doesn’t bother me. I’m not roommate material for everyone, I suppose, but how could you resist this:
Hi.
I'm writing about your room for rent post on Craigslist.
I'm a guy who just turned 26. I'm a writer. I mostly write short nonfiction but am currently in the process of planning a novel. I work at UC Irvine full-time as an editorial assistant. I'm originally from Iowa but have lived in California since Sept. '06 and in Huntington Beach since Jan. '07. I'm quiet, easy going, and mellow. In my spare time I keep busy writing, running, reading, watching football, shooting hoops, and chilling out at the beach. I don't surf but I want to learn.
I don't have any pets and I don't smoke. I enjoy drinking a couple beers on the weekend but I'm not a partier.
Let me know if you're interested in meeting. You can write back or call me at the number listed below. Thanks.
~[The Quiet Man]
Admit it: Based on that description I’m the ideal roommate. Who wouldn’t want to rent their spare room to me? I’m quiet, courteous, and pay the rent on time. Of course, some may ignore me for my own protection. There are some seriously fucked up people here, as there are everywhere.
Ugh.
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