Day Twenty: Movin' On Up...

I have very recently embarked on a new leg of life -- I'm becoming a real renter. When I graduated college, I arrived home with a tightly packed sedan full of odds, ends, furniture bits, clothes, and shoes. I winced as I pondered the impossible physics that would be necessary to fit my massive accumulation of crap into a small, modest bedroom that was already amply furnished. So, I rented a storage unit. It was, and still is, my only experience with being a renter of any kind. I learned words like "pro-rate" and was given a tour of my where my tiny piece of real estate would be located. For the past year and a half, I've been dutifully paying $45.00 a month to house my random shit and keeping myself, my parents, and my "landlord" happy.

But now, I'm going to be actually renting real, honest property. I'll be paying a substantial amount of money to keep a roof over my head, heat in my person, and food in my stomach. It's a huge weight over my head and I'm frightened. What if I can't afford what I'm paying? So after about a week of deliberating with myself, my bank account, and other people, I've decided that now is as good a time as any. So today, I emailed my first landlord, asking to look at a place. I looked at an apartment once before, with three other girls in college, but we didn't have a clue what we were doing and it didn't feel nearly as serious as it should have been.

So luckily, all will go smoothly and easily, and I will schlep my crap from my trusty storage unit several towns over into a one-bedroom apartment that I can call my own. I'll save $45.00 a month, and a lot of money on gas, but I'll be spending $800 on something so much more important. And I'll have a new place to call home, which is a completely bizarre concept to me. I'm not sure I can fathom truly living somewhere that isn't home, and being able to call it home. But I guess it's something I'll get used to. In the meantime, I'll get some life experience in hunting down apartments, keep saving, and try my hardest to not freak out. And hopefully, I'll have a new place by the end of February. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.