In search of...

The Great Apartment Search moved from online research to location visits today. My lease doesn't run out until the end of May, so depending how much resistance I get from my landlord, I may not be able to move until June 1. I'm hoping he'll be understanding about the situation with my lousy neighbors, but his reaction is the big question mark for now.

So that I don't stir up any potential trouble, I'm not going to say anything to him until I feel I'm sufficiently packed and capable of moving. Chances are he will only be losing me a month or two early, about the time that the college students will be looking for housing for summer and the following school year, so I'm crossing my fingers that he'll release me from the contract. I don't see anything in it that penalizes me for breaking it, but I'm no legal expert. If I have to suck up living here for the duration of the lease, then that's what I'll have to do. I'm praying I won't.

I haven't seriously looked for a new place to live in a long time. There's more easily accessible information for prospective renters now, but what's out there can be incomplete and, frankly, overwhelming. I've looked at a lot of internet apartment guides and management sites. Most do not impress. Photos of the leasing offices are not helpful. Prices vary from site to site, and square footage may not be listed.

Visiting apartment rating sites are like negotiating minefields. It was very discouraging to read the comments. According to the anonymous raters, everywhere was terrible. I think it's fair to assume that those most likely to bother rating apartments are also the same people with axes to grind. If you're happy where you're living, why would you go online to rate it? Still, I couldn't help feeling like I didn't know what to do.

Kristin knows I am looking for a new place to live. She suggested a couple complexes she's driven by and thought might be good for me. She also offered to go along when I looked at some places if I wanted. If you ask me, that is friendship. Kristin had no obligation to help me in this way, but I really appreciated her support.

She found two very promising places. I couldn't dig up any black marks against them online, and the management's website was more polished than the others I've come across. We took a look at both of them as well as another place nearby that piqued my interest during my apartment guide trolling. Kristin's input and observations were helpful in processing all the information. I prefer one place over the other, but I feel confident that either of my top two choices are excellent options. While I'm no closer to moving than I was before the day began, it's a relief to have identified where I would like to be.

In knitting developments, my Knit Picks order arrived. Hooray! Scarves for Donna and her husband just got a step closer to becoming reality. Also, I have the yarn to make myself a hat. Next I need to find a pattern and be pointed in the right direction for knitting something that isn't a rectangle.

Thanks to everyone for the discussion about knitting for yourself versus knitting for others. First and foremost, this statistically insignificant sample size suggests that knitters are generous. Shock of shocks.

For those of you who have trouble knitting for yourselves, I give you permission. For Donna, who doesn't think she's good enough yet to give away her creations, I'm sure you're doing fine. Even if your projects aren't perfect--and trust me, my first few weren't--how can the recipients not be touched by the thought, effort, and time you dedicated to doing something for them?