Day 2: The Nooks and Crannies of Boston

Winner of the Worst Living Quarters: Down a random side street just off of Northeastern’s campus you will find today’s winner. First hesitation - living with a bunch of undergrads. I suppose I’m an undergrad myself but still. Nonetheless, I would like an adult living situation and leave the 18 year olds to the other 18 year olds. I find the building with a worn, cracked, wooden door with “41” on it. I try to go in to meet up with the agent I have been working with but it’s locked. So, I call “Chris’” office and get his snarky assistant who seemed to be annoyed that I was calling and asking for a guy that I didn’t even realize had an assistant. She tells me that there’s someone who will let me in and I wait. Warren, the maintenance man who sounds exactly like Tracy Morgan. Chris is no where to be found but Warren kindly takes me to a few different units that are available. The first, being on some strange under level to the building is a 1 bedroom. It’s dirty, broken, and barley sanitary. It has exposed brick in the way that it looks like someone ripped off part of the wall after some horrible accident, a back door to a massive room of pipes and meters, and my very own NU undergrad build in what could be my bed room. The next are no better. It looks like they purposely ripped through everything they could in order to deter me and every inch of the apartments are covered in some form dust and/or dirt.

I would really like to meet the person who created these floor plans. They created the steepest stairs I’ve ever been on which are most similar to a ladder. When you enter the apartment there may or may not be a common area, which is bizarre to me. As you continue through the bedrooms you realize that not everything has been created remotely equally. One place had a decent sized bedroom with a large walk in closet. If you go through the closet you realize there is another room attached which is about the same size as the closet which is apparently the 2^nd bedroom. If you go across the common area/kitchen/bathroom you will enter the 3^rd bedroom who’s closet is no wider than me. Fantastic. Wonderful job, crazy architect.

So, we’re off!

Obviously the first go around of things unveiled some less than desirable places. It’s going to take a bit longer than I first thought but it’s ok. So, I’m back in Beantown. I’m taking the rest of November for a vacation/road trip/house hunt. Up on the itinerary: LAS – BOS, Fourth row tickets to Ben Folds in Boston, New York, possibly Harry Potter, Dogfish Head brewery, Washington DC, Richmond, Boston, NY for Thanksgiving, and then Boston J

Day 1: Boston Living Quarter's Hunt

Thursday November 4 2010

7:30am - Wake up. Mind you, I am still on west coast time, which is 3 hrs earlier. I did not feel the effects of this last night when I chose to talk on the phone until 1:30am eastern time. Apparently, I have a hard time waking up at 7:30am to fulfill employment duties in my Vegas job, but I have no problem waking up at 7:30am eastern time when I flew in the night before from the west coast. Interesting…

We take the train into town. It is a high of 47 degrees Fahrenheit with gusting winds and consistent raining. I can see my breath. I’m a happy girl. I’m making my way to what may or may not be the dodgy end of Jamaica Plains or, as us hipsters call it according to Willie Light, JP. I get off the Orange line and proceed the wrong way down Green Street; the "wrong" way being toward the nice end by Centre Street and the “right” way being past the scary looking car repair and just beyond the police department and onward to my potential home.

I was wondering why there were so many police cars around. I was thinking there might have been some mishap in the creepy alley I just passed or in the questionable looking buildings surrounding me but I was mistaken. I cross the road to a dead end street where there are 3 buildings to choose from. One, painted bright blue building with white trim and a clean and kind demeanor, two, colored a fantastic purple with reminisce of Halloween via pumpkins on the fence and a friendly touch to it, and three, a building with rusty burgundy paint peeling off in hopes to run away for dear life, a broken something that looks like it once represented an intercom system, and a rotting pumpkin with holes from wormy friends I would like to stay un-acquainted with. This is the one. This is #8 and this is the locale of my craiglist's find's abode. Lovely.

She was a kind woman who is active and involved in may different non-profit sectors throughout the city. The place is left to be desired with the exception of the size of the available room and the potential non-crazy roommate. There is part of me who was hoping this would be it and my search would be over but what's the fun in that? I have about 4 places to check out tomorrow so updates on my Bostonian findings will be posted.

You may be saying to yourself, "if you only saw one creepy place in JP, what in the world did you do all day?" Well, non-definitive questioning person, I will answer your slightly-judgmental-but-none-the-less-valid question. It was raining heavily and gusting winds throughout this mid-40 degree day so what did you think I did? I went to Brookline's Booksmith and proceeded to JP Licks where I enjoyed some wonderful cappuccino crunch ice cream and a hot cup of organic breakfast tea with a bit of milk and honey. Perfect brunch. Done and done. Then I spent about 3 mindless hours in the Pru(dential Center) to avoid being blown away never to be found again.

Today's MVP award goes to...my plaid Forever 21 jacket! (Cheers!)
When my converse and jeans failed against the crude Boston weather my jacket with rain-resistant lining and a hood kept my upper half warm and dry. Success to my jacket! Time to go shopping for boots, galoshes, gloves, a rain coat, and a proper commuter bag. Chucks, you may have to wait until spring :(