Monday I made my first call and she wanted me to come see it that day. I programed my trusty GPS and off I traipsed to Detroit. I looked at the apartment and could tell the landlord was very proud of all the work she had put into it. It was a 2 bedroom, located in a fourplex on Philadelphia Street and was 1,000 sq feet. It wasn't bad and her phone seemed to be ringing nonstop with interested renters. The CL ad said the apartment was $400/mo and despite it being way bigger then what I need, it seemed like a good deal.
When she placed the ad, there were 3 units available. One had been reserved that morning, leaving two. She gave me my choice, coaxing me with offers of the better set of appliances and the unit with the brand new plumbing. Despite knowing I should never take the first thing I check out, I gave her all the cash I had on me, $35 to hold the upper east unit. We had plans to meet the next day to sign the lease for an August move in day. If I paid a year's worth of rent up front, she wouldn't charge me a deposit or pet fees and would even give me one month free. As we were trying to figure out what I would need to bring money wise the next day, it came out that the apartment was really $500 a month, the $400 was just a first month move in special. I still thought it was pretty decent for the price and left my $35 with her.
I decided since I was already down in the city I would check out a few of the other places I scoped out. I quickly realized I could pay less and live closer to campus. especially when taking utilities into consideration. I found a great little place on John R, but having learned my lesson, I did not commit and said I would be back on Wednesday if I decided to take it.
On Tuesday, I texted the landlord of the Philadelphia Street apartment and made an excuse for backing out (I'm not so good at conflict!) I scanned CL again and created a spread sheet to compare costs for the various places I was interested in looking at. I was feeling really good about the place on John R. It was about 2 miles from my main classroom building, but was on a bike trail that would eventually go all the way from campus to the Riverwalk. The neighborhood seemed pretty decent (all things considered) and it was 2 blocks from Tiger Stadium (I don't think I'll ever be able to call it Comerica Park.)
Today I plotted my route and was prepared to check out about four places before heading over to the John R apartment. It was a challenge getting a hold of people to actually show me their units. I finally decided to drive by several of them before deciding if I even wanted to see the inside. I ended up discounting several either becasue of their distance from school or becasue the "vibe" just didn't feel right to me. The last one I drove by was advertised as part of a Hippiesh Enclave on CL. I drove down the street and the vibe felt good. I tried calling the property manager's number again and left another message. I drove to my main classroom building, a mere six blocks away and an easy bike ride. He soon called me back and I took a look around inside.
Aside from being on the small side (but what can you expect from a studio!) it was just perfect. I immediately went to the bank, took out cash for a deposit and went back to reserve a rear corner unit on the second floor. I am thrilled to find a place that feels like it could be "home." As I left, I took a few pictures along the block.
The resident peahen strutting in front of my future building.
The community fire pit for the street! How cool is that?
Lots of peace signs on the streets and homes. My kind of place!
So, after feeling somewhat depressed about my living prospects on Monday, I am feeling much more energized and hopeful. There is much I want to write about in terms of the poverty and the depressing *feel* of Detroit, but I will save that for another night. I am happy that when I return to Detroit from my July trip to Denver, I will have a place to call my own.
Peace and compassion.
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