Day 4

We got up at six this morning and began our apartment hunting. They do open viewing on Saturday so we had a list of 13 flats to visit. Only problem was getting to all of the showings in time. We took the bus to the first location. It had new carpet but was in a very sketchy building... you had to walk over a large opening in between buildings to enter the apartment. It also did not have a fridge. We then walked at least 5 miles to the next location trucking up and down hills. We saw the ocean for the first time. I would have loved to stop and take it all in... but we were in a hurry. The next apartment was very cool looking with a spiral staircase and only a few blocks from the beach! However it was unfurnished... we went to a few more but did not take applications. At one place the agent thought we were from Ireland. He said that we had Irish accents. Then we got lost walking for a about an hour. It ends up that we walked past the place we were looking for a few times. We missed appointments for a few that we really thought we would have liked because we simply ran out of time. The next flat that we looked at was the one! Although it costs $350 a week, it is in a quiet neighborhood close to campus and not too far from the beach. It is fully furnished and in great condition. It came with a real sized refrigerator!!! The agent thought that we were from Canada and was pleased with our standings. He was sympathetic and even drove us to his office to sign the paperwork and put down a deposit. He was a funny man, we liked him very much. So we have a place to live!!! We will move in on the 13th... ahhhh what a relief. We will post pictures as soon as we can get into the place!