the apartment

When I found out I was coming to CU, I wanted to live on campus for a number of reasons.  I had had really great experiences living on campus at JC.  It's a great way to meet people, it's convenient to live near classes, you don't have to write a rent check every month, meals are 'free', etc. 

I applied for housing, and learned that I was waitlisted.  I freaked out.  I knew nothing about the housing situation in Boulder, so I immediately started searching craigslist, random apartment ads, and asked everyone I knew if they knew anyone in Boulder who I could live with.  I was quite unsuccesful, and I really wanted to live on campus. 

What I didn't know was that CU has 29,000 students, and about 6,000 live on campus. 99% of those people are freshmen. I lived with freshmen for 3 years, and I didn't want to deal with that again, so not living on campus would be a better option for me.

Finally, I posted a "housing wanted" ad for myself on craigslist.  I explained what I was looking for:

• Rent between $400 and $600 a month
• Walking distance to campus
• Parking
• Furnished
• Laundry on-site
• No smoking
• An occasional party

You know, the important stuff.

I had way more replies than I expected.  Some didn't quite fit my description, and then I got one that seemed too good to be true.

A hall director in one of the campus dorms had a 2-bedroom apartment and wanted to rent one room.  It was fully furnished, had laundry in the apartment, cable tv, wireless internet, newly-renovated (3 years ago).  And rent: $450 a month.

I asked for pictures, and fell in love.  She then upped the price to $500 a month, but considering I have to pay for absolutely no utilities and it's fully furnished, it's still a steal for Boulder.

I love it, even though I still feel more like it's her apartment and I'm staying here.  I'll settle in eventually.  It's a pretty convenient location, and as I've said before, Christina has been amazing and very helpful.

Following are pictures that I took now that I'm more settled in:

Entryway

 

Living room via entryway

 

Living room 2

 

Dining room and kitchen via living room

 

Kitchen

 

Bathroom

 

My room!

 

Shelf, desk, and "music wall"

 

Dresser and closet

 

Christina's room

 

Laundry room

 

So the place has bamboo floors, which are pretty sweet!

I do most of my studying at the kitchen table, because there's more space there than on my desk.  And Christina's boyfriend always busy her flowers, so I have a lovely backdrop against which to study.

The kitchen features everything anyone could possibly want or need, including a garbage disposal and dishwasher.
 

The walls in my room are kind of bare, because not many of my picture frames have the option of hanging them.  I'll be working on that when I get a job and have money to spend on buying things other than food and school supplies.

I think that's all. 

Come and visit to see the place in its entirety.  It's a very nice apartment, and I feel very fortunate to be living here!