Daily Archive

My FW friends are trying to convince me to move back to that side of the metroplex.  Since my housing situation is so blah right now (I live in a cool part of Dallas but pay an arm and a leg for rent) I’ve been debating whether to find another place to rent, buy something and even considering going back to F Dub. And honestly I don’t think I’d mind it.  The only drawback is the commute, which would probably double in time.  Other than that… closer to friends, cheaper living, less crazy traffic, etc etc.  I can’t really decide on anything at the moment, I guess I’m just waiting to see which way the wind blows.

In her spare time, Mary has been working as my real estate agent.  She goes on walks and takes pictures of places with ‘For Rent’signs in the yard.  We decided to go scope out a couple places today since I was in town.  Talk about humorous.  

First spot on the list is a duplex that’s super close to a new wine bar.  I call the phone number on the sign today after breakfast and when the guy answers I ask for info on the duplex.  ”It’s got uh, new carpet…. uh, new paint…. uh, redone bathroom… uh, its a one bedroom studio”.  My ears perk up because this sounds like a one bedroom with another room that could be a studio (aka office for me).  I ask what a “one bedroom studio” is just to clarify.  ”Its uh, well… you just gotta see it to understand”.  Mmmmk.  We go ahead and make plans to see it 15 minutes later.  Oh. my. gosh.  Gross.  There’s super dark, thick carpet thats been put down (it runs into the fireplace, in other words no usable fireplace), the upstairs “studio” is like a very tiny attack.  You could maybe, maybe, squeeze a twin bet or cot up there.  The stove is lime green a la 1969.  The owner and her son keep interrogating us asking questions.  ”Well, compared to what else you’ve looked at how does this compare?”  Truth is I haven’t looked at anything else, but I think I might rather live under I-30 in a box before moving into this place.  After a few more questions and a “I’ll let you know” we escape.  

We drive around for a bit looking at spots and see a ‘For Sale – Open House’sign outside what looks like a new townhome.  It looks nice from the outside so we pull over and go in.  Nevermind.  We just walked into a $1.25 million house.  The real estate agent handed me a flyer and I didn’t really know what to say besides “I think this is a little out of my price range”.  She was polite and totally could have been a snob because obviously I wasn’t dressed to throw down a million dollars today or ever (wearing a tshirt, workout shorts and tennis shoes).  She did kindly offer up another house they will be showing the following weekend that might be more in my budget.  Well, if I can’t afford 1.25 million, surely I can afford 750K.  Sure.  We surveyed the place for a few momentos with a little drool running from the corners of our mouths and then we vamanosed.  

Talk about extremes.  We went from a $600 a month “one bedroom studio” to a mansion.  Maybe next time we’ll find something in the middle.  Or maybe I’ll win the lottery and be able to afford a 4 bedroom, plus game room, dining room, den, living room, “spa” bath and a walk-in closet the size of Carrie’s dream closet in the Sex and The City movie.  Clearly my real estate agent still has her work cut out for her.