Before I begin the subject of this post, I would like to bring to memory the victims and heroes of the tragedies of September 11, 2001.
I am quite attracted to apartment life and the benefits it offers, especially to a single guy and student such as myself. I have been living in Provo, Utah, for over two weeks now and am feeling nicely settled in. In recent years I have aspired to having my own abode-like-hobbit-hole, if you will (even now I’ve still yet to attain that goal… but I suppose I’m as close as I’ve ever been). If you have ever lived in an apartment, however, and I know this from the personal past experiences of family, friends and even strangers, you know very well that not everything about it is so glamorous!
The infamous security deposit (these days more considered a mandatory gift to the property owner), as far as I understand it, can be ridiculously difficult to obtain again, even if a tenant does not damage the property beyond ‘normal wear and tear,’ as stipulated by the average contract upon departure. In my case however I have full faith that my deposit(s) will be reimbursed upon my leaving, but that is beside the point. The apartment complex I reside in has been most equitable and reasonable thus far, and past tenants have given me positive comments about the landlord company. Surely I am in the minority compared to others in the world.
As a former resident in a rural or even suburban home, a person having just moved to an apartment just isn’t used to their personal haven being so accessible to outsiders. This applies to me. It must be every day that some random person walks up to my door, knocks on it as obnoxiously as possible, and then tries to sell me something. And all this after I frantically hurry from the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to my foot and/or an unzipped pants zipper or worse. I guess it adds a little more excitement to the day, but at times it makes me want to put some scary sign on the door:
In a college setting sometimes roommates can be a big minus as well, but fortunately I am blessed in this way also… my two apartment roommates are cooler than a frozen bag of peas, more or less. A typical apartment dweller will also have to deal with noise from surrounding cubicle homes, and unfortunately to do my part and not become part of the problem, I must restrain the bass on my subwoofer! Okay so owning a home on average is better than an apartment, but hey… I have an elevator!
And dont’ forget about the neighbors that like to break dance in the room above your bedroom at 3 am in an apartment complex!
I have to say that my apartment does not fit your views. I do spend a little more than most in Vancouver, WA but the perks are worth it. There are a lot of retire folks around me. Silent time for the complex is 10PM which is not very nice when I get home from work around midnight.
The security deposit sure is elusive isn’t it?
I miss my apartment life – owning a home is not all that it is cracked up to be – besides when you rent a “pad” you can move if things turn south but try doing that with a home – and then there’s all that grass to cut…….
Good points everyone. And Curtracks I can definitely see what you mean! An apartment most surely does eliminate a lot of work in many regards.
Oh yeah and in order to avoid solicitors I posted a scary sign on my door…