(no subject)

Possible apartments...

Saturday I looked at two apartments -- a one-bedroom about a mile from Silver Spring Metro, and a condo that would be shared with the owner.

The one bedroom was fairly nice, sensibly laid out with little wasted space. The building pays for water, gas and electricity, but since my biggest bill besides rent is generally phone/DSL, that's not as big a draw as I wish it was. There are balconies or patios with every apartment, and a laundry room on every floor. The bus stop is also right besides the complex, and I could walk to the Silver Spring farmer's market on Saturday.

However, the minimum income for a one bedroom is significantly more than I make . If I got a roommate, I could get a two-bedroom (with a dishwasher). Also, I would not be able to walk to the Metro in the mornings, because traffic is bad and it's too long compared to a bus ride.

The roommate situation is significantly cheaper, even with splitting the water/gas/electric/phone/DSL bills. There's a washer, dryer and dishwasher in the condo, and a fairly large living room. However, the bedroom looked cramped -- the fact that there was a queen-size bed didn't help -- and if I have my bed and loom and a computer (even using my sewing machine as a desk) in it there won't be any space.

The owner/prospective roommate, while a very nice woman, doesn't seem to actually live in her living room, which might be a point of conflict. I do live in my living room -- and wouldn't be happy confined to the bedroom.

Frankly, I'm hoping the place I'm supposed to see tonight is the one, because both of the ones I have seen I have serious reservations about.