12 posts tagged “apartment”
My
mom was kind enough to make us some curtains for our living room, which she
brought out here on her recent visit.
They look awesome and match the rest of the room perfectly – an impressive
feat considering she did this based on rough measurements and a simple picture I took!
So now our "guest room" will give our visitors a little more privacy. Which is great, because I know how much all of you like walking around in the buff.
In case you missed the memo: in our apartment, we
have a really old bathroom. It’s the
kind of retro place that thinks pink is cool and that all of one’s storage
needs can be fulfilled with one tiny, behind-the-mirror medicine cabinet. We’ve adjusted to our colorful restroom over
the past several weeks (it helps knowing that the property manager still has
plans to renovate the bathrooms in this building, probably sometime next fall). However, we were having trouble getting the
sink and tub to properly drain.
Our landlord took a look at the drains several
weeks ago and decided to call in the plumber.
He came by a couple of times before determining how to get at the
problem – basically, it would require power tools, a replacement part and a whole
lot of noise. On Thursday, he went
to work on the sink and tub, and had both fixed in under an hour.
Part of the plumbing issue? A bottle of perfume, a tube of red lipstick and a AA battery, all pulled from somewhere within the piping. Oh, pink bathroom, you never cease to amuse us.
The view:
The bedroom:
On Friday of last week, we left town to a Saturday
forecast (in both Washington and Vancouver) of 80% chance of rain. I was sure the West Coast was preparing to
hit us with a wet, welcoming bitch-slap on moving day. However, we miraculously managed to avoid the
rain in BOTH locations, loading and unloading our moving van with nary a
sprinkle until nightfall. Much gratitude goes out to
Ian, Mary Jo and Rick for helping us avoid getting drenched! (And for cramming the bulkiness of
The Couch™ up two, tiny flights of stairs.) You guys rock.
We've spent the days since unpacking, unpacking
and then doing some more unpacking. It
is truly insane how much stuff we’ve
accumulated over three-plus years of living together. Thankfully, this apartment came with plenty
of storage space – both in our suite and in our storage locker downstairs – so
we found a place for everything and then some.
I would especially like to give a shoutout to our kitchen closets, which
are totally (and roomily) awesome.
There are still a few finishing touches we want to put on the place before the official “unveiling.” But no worries, Internets, we will give you a virtual tour soon! And you too can experience sitting in this very chair I am typing from. Except without the having-to-wash-dishes part that is about to follow (you lucky bastard you).
In other news, The Couv underwent a federal and provincial inspection today. Aside from needing (ridiculously expensive) daytime running lights (seriously, it felt like I was back with my Focus for a moment), our Prius passed with flying colors. Next stop: registration, license plates and insurance, all of which are apparently taken care of through B.C.’s Autoplan, whatever that is. (I guess we’ll find out...)
Yesterday,
we landed in Canada as permanent residents. It took us an hour and a half to get through
the border – exporting The Couv from the U.S., importing it to Canada and then going through
the paperwork to make our immigration official.
At the end of everything, the customs officer presented us with two tiny
Canadian flag pins and said, “Welcome to Canada!” It was very cool.
We
arrived in Vancouver in the early afternoon
and drove directly to our apartment. We met
up with the building manager and got a tour of our new digs. While I was disappointed to learn that the
bathroom was NOT renovated as intended (hello, pink tiles!), everything else was
in order. Shane and I agree that this
will be a good fit for us starting out, although it will be a very different experience
not having a dishwasher (hello, dishpan hands!).
Our time so far has been split between cleaning the apartment (in preparation for moving in next weekend) and running around town to check off items on our all-important To Do list. Today, we went and applied for our Social Insurance Number – or SIN – cards (the equivalent of U.S. Social Security Numbers), met with representatives from some local banks and…wait for it… GOT LIBRARY CARDS. This last one is exciting on many levels for me, not the least of which is the awesomeness of being able to check out materials from the spectacular central branch downtown.
The next few days will involve more errand-running and generally enjoying life in Vancouver (before the serious job-hunting starts). Then on Friday, we’ll head back down to Seattle to shop for apartment stuff and spend the night (before retrieving our shipped belongings on Saturday).
By
the way, for those of you wondering whether we were able to transport
our wedding sand vase intact, we did!
And we’ve got a sweet little nook in the apartment that fits the vase perfectly.
Our weekend was absolutely insane. We kicked off with a Friday-night goodbye party, generously organized by our Three Amigos – Carrie, Jon and Shannon. Many, many thanks to them and to everyone who took the time to attend and wish us well! We had a blast (at the ever-delicious Chatterbox) and stayed up well past our bedtime. (And as much as I would love to post some photos from said event, well, it’s really hard to take pictures and be farewelled at the same time. FYI.)
When we finally got up on Saturday, it was time to start packing. We spent the entire day not only loading boxes, but writing down EACH packed item on a special form for immigration purposes. Now, I’m as detail-oriented as they come, but this was a whole new level of crazy. I suppose it’s fitting, though, considering how voluntarily moving cross-country and then across the border is not exactly for the sane-of-heart.
Sunday was spent much the same way, slowly transforming our meticulously organized apartment into chaotic piles of paper, cardboard and furniture. By the evening, we had cleared out every cupboard and closet, taken down every last picture frame, and begun to worry (already) that we had packed something important we’ll need.
And just think: this is merely a hint of how we’ll feel for the next several weeks. (Oh my HELL.)
WE HAVE FINALLY SECURED A VANCOUVER APARTMENT. Starting April 1st, we will have an address in the West End (downtown). Thank you, karma (and everyone else who sent positive vibes to us these past two weeks).
More details to come...
EDITED TO ADD: As Shane mentioned in the comments, we will be living RIGHT next to Stanley Park (and only blocks from the ocean). So although we are giving up certain indoor amenities (like a dishwasher), we are definitely gaining perks in location.
We were lucky enough to view the exact second-floor suite we’ll be renting during our January trip (alas, I have no interior pictures to share). The kitchen, bathroom and plumbing were being renovated at the time, so we don’t have a full idea what the finished apartment will look like. But we approved of what we saw; the floors are hardwood and tile, a long row of windows lines one side, and because there’s no balcony, the interior felt fairly roomy (for ~650 square feet). Barring any unforeseen surprises (or bedbug infestations), we will sign on the dotted line and receive our keys on the 31st. I will be holding my breath a little until then, since we still need to SEE that everything is in order when we arrive. But I am very, very excited to finally have our name on a potential future residence.
Our attempts to secure an apartment for April have been going terribly. At the end of February, we called the places we had visited in January to see which had availabilities. We were pleased to find that many had open rooms, but it’s been a bitch getting the managers to commit to a lease. The same people who assured us a month ago they work with immigrants “all the time” are now acting as if the concept is completely foreign to them.
Shane and I are both having a hard time with this. We are used to places rushing to sign papers with us (ah, the life of the middle-class); the hesitation we’re facing now is bizarre and unbelievably frustrating. We are beginning the application process with our THIRD apartment building today, and we are hoping against hope that the outcome is positive. It is almost too much to handle the stress of finding a place to move in at the same time we are preparing to move out. (Just writing this post makes me want to throw up.)
Anyway, we should hear something by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed that it’s good news, okay?
On my way home last night, I noticed that I had received a voicemail from our apartment office earlier in the day. The property manager had called around 10 a.m. to give me a heads-up that he would be showing the apartment (in January? seriously?) to someone from out-of-town at 5:15. He apologized for the late notice, but this was the only time that worked.
By then, it was well past 5:45, but I proceeded to FREAK OUT anyway, worried that I had left the apartment in a state of disarray unfit for human sight. Fortunately, that was not the case. The laundry was (mostly) put away, the bed made, the kitchen (fairly) clean...and the porno safely stashed.
Thank you, borderline-OCD tendencies, for not letting me down this time.
1) Cupcakes from Cupcakes are still delicious (especially the new red velvet cake/whipped cream cheese frosting ones).
We arrived at our hotel to see a dozen colorful little cakes behind the front desk. My mom pointed them out, and I noted they were indeed from our favorite downtown bakery. Imagine our pleasant surprise when the person checking us in handed the whole lot over to us! Many thanks to Jon, Shannon, Soopa and Carrie for what will go down in our personal histories as the Best Lunch Ever.
2) Apartment searching is rather exhausting. We managed to squeeze in around 15 apartment viewings in the short span of three days. Since we flew directly into YVR and opted out of renting a car, this meant walking from one side of the West End to another, often scrambling to make back-to-back appointments on opposite ends of town. Combine this with the pressure to find out As Much As Humanly Possibly about each potential future residence and you get three very tired, very early-to-bed individuals (one of whom practically overdosed on Jasmine tea to stay awake). 3) Vancouver appears to have one-bedrooms we like AND can afford (assuming we find jobs that pay us...and don't develop an affinity for the B.C. bud). We will undergo a definite change from our sprawling suburban pad, with its ensuite laundry, new EVERYTHING and 820-some square feet of space. The buildings in Vancouver are around 40-plus years old, although many have renovated bathrooms/kitchens (with semi-new appliances). Most of the apartments fall in the 500-700 square foot range and have the typical shared laundry room. But the layouts in our top ten are all nice and cozy (with hardwood floors!) and happily within the limits of our guesstimated budget. We’ll be calling our favorite places in February, to see which (if any) have vacancies for April. Until then, we'll be keeping our fingers (and toes) crossed we get in somewhere good!
4) We can look forward to a much brighter living space, wherever we end up.
The biggest difference between Vancouver apartment layouts and the ones we’ve seen in the Twin Cities area: windows, windows, and more windows. Most floorplans we saw are designed to maximize the amount of natural light coming in, with long rows of glass lining the outside walls. Since many of the rooms are located in hi-rise buildings, that also means we witnessed some kick-ass views of downtown, the mountains and the ocean. Even without the scenery, though, I am quite excited to leave behind the much darker confines of our Minnesota apartment.
5) My mom is more adventurous than I tend to give her credit for being.
Not only was she willing to try Greek, Malaysian and cooked Japanese food, she also ate sushi for the first time ever! We started her with a basic California (for you non-sushi eaters: vegetable, no fish) roll, then moved to a shrimp tempura (fried) roll, then up to a B.C. (salmon/tuna) roll and finally to some straight-up salmon sushi (raw fish on top of rice). She’s not a full convert, but did admit it “wasn’t bad.” Considering the source, that’s practically a ringing endorsement.
6) We hope to have many visitors post-immigration.
Okay, I didn’t really need another trip abroad to realize this. I just want to reiterate how much fun we have experiencing the city with friends and family; I believe this is the third or fourth time we’ve acted as “hosts” (and don’t even live there - go figure). We really enjoyed having my brother and his roommate Zach spend Friday afternoon/evening with us, too. So here’s hoping more of you can muster up the plane ticket or car ride to visit us in the amazing, beautiful city we will soon (rather unbelievably) call home.
* All photos courtesy of my mom and her new digital camera (which has turned out NOT to be the explosive combination I initially thought).
