Finding a place to live - part 1

When Ming proposed in October last year, we have absolutely no housing plans. That wasn't our priority; we dived right into planning the wedding because the guest situation was... complicated. Back then my friends and I would be leaving college in May, so in order to make it possible for them to attend, the wedding needs to be held in within six months, and near Saratoga Springs. But then most of Ming's friends were living in California. And to justify all the time and money they put into attending this East coast wedding, the wedding better be a really enjoyable experience. So Ming and I based the wedding from a weekend-getaway destination wedding concept. We will host our guests for the whole wedding weekend, all food and activities included. It shall be fun, relaxing, entertaining, and all-age-friendly! We definitely started out with the best intentions, and a lot of ambition. The planning and execution of the wedding will be a very fun story to tell, I'll get to that in the future.

With the help of our beloved family, friends, and many smart, talented people, we had a heck of a weekend to remember :)

But, the point was that we did not have much free time nor energy to find a new home to move into after the wedding. Ming had to work, I was going to school; he was travelling on business a lot, and I was living in New York. So although Ming had started looking for potential homes since December, we still did not have a lease signed by May. So after our honeymoon, I moved into his place. A one bedroom apartment with simple taste. I'm sure there are many sayings out there that describes how a home expresses one's character. Ming's character is anything but simple, his apartment is the result of two conflicting personalities constantly in battle: if I can get by without it, then I'll not get it, fighting against, if I'm going to get it, then it needs to be perfect. Thus, when we shop, he would repeatedly ask me the same question, "Do you love it?" and I would always answer, "I don't know, I get it, I learn to live with it, then I'll love it."

I'm too impatient for perfection, nothing's perfect anyways, just keep moving and love would grow and hit you in the face. Come to think of it, that's similar to how we started dating and fall in love, but for now, back to the tale of us finding a place.

Ming's place is a one-bedroom apartment, and it's half an hour from San Francisco. We wanted to move back into the city, and we also need a bigger place. Hence, we spent most of our free time and precious weekends apartment hunting! Apartment hunting is comprised by passive prep work, and actively looking at actual properties.

The passive work

Elaine, 'Hey, I sent you a schedule of apartment showings with their information'

Ming, 'Thanks, I didn't get the attachment, where's the excel file?'

Elaine, 'I sent you a picture, in a text message.'

Ming, 'Omg! That's old skul...'

Looking at properties was fun at first, then at some point it gets frustrating. Especially, when we were viewing three to four houses or apartments in one day, in the end it was hard to remember which was which.  Through our mistakes, we learned fast. We started bringing measuring tape to apartment showings, we took pictures, and mapped floor plans (Thank you Anthropology fieldwork training!). But we would still miss some crucial details, "Was the closet on the left or right side of the room? And was it a standard door or does it slide open?" So then after all these apartment showings, we would discuss for hours, about how practical the property fits our needs and likings. The discussions were excruciating, they involved quizzing one's memory, interrogating one's lifestyle (Ming asks, 'Tell me, do you really want a garden.', and confessions (Elaine says, 'If I can see the TV while I'm cooking, that's a great bonus.').
Despite my impatient character, the one thing that kept me from caving in and renting a not-so-awesome home, is not quite Ming's perfectionist character; but the ridiculous price of San Francisco rent! (I mean, I refuse to break the bank for a crappy apartment) That said, I'm glad a while ago, we found a lovely place and quickly sealed the deal with the landlord. We'll move in soon and begin another adventure, can't wait!

It's not always all work and no play in apartment hunting. If we didn't have showings scheduled, we do fun things. 

Taken at Sutro Heights a couple of weeks ago in San Francisco :)