Apartment hunting 1

Day 1 of apartment hunting began with me waking up at 8 am. Because its 6 am Phoenix time, this was a slight endeavor. Grabbed a quick breakfast in the lobby. Like some other budget hotels trumpeting a "deluxe hot breakfast" they had a do-it-yourself waffle iron, which was provides a hot crisp waffle. I had a bit of free time before my first scheduled appointment, so first place on the list was:

Hafner Court Apartments
This looked like a good cheap option. Under $530 a month, with an in-unit washer and dryer. The washer and dryer are a plus, but that and the price are the only things going for this apartment. It's pretty cheap, very similar to the gobs of student apartments which surround ASU. Plastic laminate countertops, carpeting and vinyl tile. The place doesn't have central cooling so it relies on wall units which would be new for me. Driving up to it, I passed a big yellow street sign: Caution: Area prone to Flooding. I asked the woman who showed me around about it and she said that a few years back there were some really bad floods that actually flooded a lot of St.Louis, including these apartments. She told me that since then, the state had dredged out the rivers and that they hadn't had any problems since. It's close to the ethnic food strip, which is a positive, but according to one of my friends I met later for lunch, its in a higher crime area.

7360 Tulane Ave. 
This place I was excited to see. A house, a bit more pricey, 2 bed. The neighborhood is really nice, very beautiful with a lot of trees. Not too far from school, but a little far. Cool things- washer and dryer included, an enclosed garage, nice hardwood floors, very spacious. Historic, too. Its actually a duplex, the other guy is a WashU student as well apparently. The only catch is they dont want pets. Nada, at least, that was the impression I got from the agent showing the house. I'm going to call the owner this evening to figure out if there isn't some way to get around it. We're talking about an overweight, declawed, neutered, 11 year old cat who spend most of her time sleeping. Money, as they say, solves a lot of problems.

6270 Cabanne Ave
We had high hopes for this place. The photos make it look great, but it was kind of a dump to be honest. The current residents apparently ripped up the carpeting in the basement, which was "partially finished." Partially finished looks like the workmen just dropped their tools and walked away, leaving a kind of mess. It also smelled kind of funky and smokey. Apparently, one of the renters had lit the the building exterior on fire accidently, melting some of the vinyl siding. The neighborhood looked really bad too, it looked very run down. When I pointed out this property to my friend, he said "try really really hard not to rent there."
The rent is cheap, it comes with a washer and dryer and yes it would be our own place, but my overall impression was no thanks, not so much.

743 Heman Ave
This was the other property shown to me by the same company as the Cabanne ave house. This one was in a better location, closer to the school and very close to Delmar Loop, which is the main drag of University City. This apartment was in much better shape than the house. Not a terrible option, but not really one that gets me excited. Coin-op washer and dryer in the basement, although they do offer hookups in the unit. For the price, I'd much rather be someplace that excites me a little more.

After checking out these apartments, it was about time for me to meet up with a friend for lunch. Richard graduated from ASU's planning program and went straight into the Wash U masters of architecture. He just graduated from there and is still living in St.Louis, so he offered to show me his place and grab a bite to eat.

He lives in an apartment tower in CWE (central west end) although I think of it as the central EAST end since its on the east end of the giant central park. Its a luxury place with a garage with a guard, doormen, upgraded finishes, etc. etc. His one bedroom apartment was bigger than some of the 2 bedroom places I'd seen. It was interesting to see what apartment tower life could be like, but its not quite what I'm looking for. Pricy, and pretty far from campus.

Richard did take me to a great BBQ joint in town called Pappy's Smokehouse, which has apparently won numerous awards and is a considered one of the best BBQ places in StL. Richard warned me about the line, and indeed it did stretch out of the restaurant and around the corner. There's only 1 cashier. Actually it works to regulate the number of customers so that by the time you get to the front, there's a seat available. We spent about half an hour standing in line. By the time I got to the end, I was half expecting to get on a pig-themed ride. I got a pulled rib sandwich which was pretty darn good. Best rib sandwich I've ever had (not that I've had many) but very nice meat. Next time got to try the brisket.