Day One:

#1. Ghetto. the outside sort of like the set of an 80’s horror film. No apartments available to see…I think I know what that means.

#2. More Ghetto. Smoke and dirt smell in the inside stairwell. Pictures of Evangelist Jesus with the Burning Heart glued to the outside of the neighbor’s door. Huge coffee stain on the off-white carpet in the 2nd bedroom. No thank you.

#3. Management yelling at a tenant in the management office for not paying her utilities. Outside looks like a nicer-type juvenile detention center. Same stale smoke smell in the hallway. Inside the apartment is nice. Could I close my eyes and nose until I shut the door behind me each day?

Conclusion: Maybe the subsidized housing in DC is not like The Gateway. Also, I think we’ll be adjusting our budget.

Day Two:

#1. Basement apartment of a member. Nice neighborhood, 60 minute commute for Dave. Cute house, nice woman, huge space. What? That stack of storage boxes filled with rubber band guns will stay against the wall and in the closet of the bedroom until they sell? Oh, this is the oven-less kitchen…coming off of the master bedroom rather than the living area? Maybe smelling having my sheets smell like salmon would be worth the great back yard. Maybe not?

#2. Window-less metal door into the apartment. Sort of feels like entering a XXX store. Stale smoke, again. Scanning the door numbers for #110…I see a cockroach on the wall instead. No need to find the apartment now, I’m leaving.

#3. $2100 per month for a one bedroom with den. Does not include utilities. Maybe we can live in style, Dave can have a short commute, and we can all become anorexic?

Conclusion: I need a Jamba Juice. Too bad there aren’t any here! Maybe some Whole Foods 2 for 1 pizza and a rootbeer float. I love my husband, and am so glad his interviews went well. Maybe I’ll take an apartment search break tomorrow and go wander the darling streets of Georgetown.