details on the (latest) possible apartment

[jaeclectic]

So by now most of you have already heard me babbling at length about how impossible I am finding it to choose between cheap and nice, and of course how impossible it seems to find anyplace that is both, and of course especially how impossible in The City or indeed in those parts of the East Bay that I know and love.

The latest specific possibility: A loft apartment near Lake Merritt BART. The space itself is really very cool, and has quite captured my imagination. Basically, one big room, I mean one HUGE room -- approx 18 x 56 -- with windows along the long wall. The one-big-room thing would be mildly inconvenient once or twice a year when I have out-of-town guests, and the rest of the time would (I think) suit me just fine. I keep thinking about how I might arrange the space, it is really extremely intriguing.

It has all the amenities that I enjoy now (in-unit laundry, off-street parking, gas stove) as well as the wood floors I yearn for, albeit not the prettiest wood floors I've ever seen. And of course I wouldn't be considering it unless it met my fundamental criteria: accepts cats, walking distance to BART.

And the price is about $300 a month less than what I pay now (offset by the fact that my BART expenses would probably go up $50). Which is not quite in the sweet spot I was aiming for, but would certainly make some difference.

My main worry is that I don't know the neighborhood. I know there is cool, fun stuff on the other side of Lake Merritt, a couple of miles away, but the immediate environment seems really barren -- not in scenic beauty terms, the lake is swell, I mean in community/neighborhood terms. I have been spoiled rotten (both in my current SF neighborhood and my previous Berkeley neighborhood) by having grocery stores & restaurants & cool bookstores & etc, all within a matter of blocks. I just don't want to have to go back to jumping in my car every time I need a quart of milk.

But the thing is, I really don't know -- I walked around for about 45 minutes on Sunday, and saw the BART station & the lake & some imposing public buildings, but maybe if I had walked in a slightly different direction I would have found the charming corner store & the taqueria & the coffeeshop...

Another factor is that the move-in cost is likely to be high. Fairly high deposit, for one thing. And for another thing, the one-big-room has no closets. None. Zero. Zilch. Meaning: IKEA, here I come. Which in a way is kind of fun but... not likely to be cheap. Which is sort of the point of the whole venture (although not the only point).

So anyway, I am going back on Wednesday evening to look at it again. If anyone reading this has any pertinent information or even an opinion, please share!