Week Two: Apartment Hunting

Well, I have to say Im not SUPER motivated to find an apartment. Im living with 2 great people and we are having a lot of fun together. Plus, it is so convenient to get to and from work. I could walk in 10 minutes, but usually we are leaving a little late in the morning so Kate drives us. Plus EVERY night when we are leaving work it is raining. If it wasn't sunny every morning , I think this weather would be a bit depressing. I have to say though, all of the rain makes it so beautiful and green. To top all of this off, Kate is only charging me $100 for the month (God love her!) and this includes the maid service 2x a week. No more laundry/cleaning? Yes, have some! But...I do want to find my own place.......Enter Rigo! He is a great guy that kate introduced me to. He is a taxi driver here and does a lot of work for Habitat. Everyone in the office know his and uses his services daily. He drove Kate around when she was looking for an apartment and she said it was a huge help. So, at 10am I stepped out in front of the habitat office building and Rigo arrived shortly after to take me hunting!I have a good idea of the area I want to be. It is called Sabana Norte, its really close to a grocery store, the huge park in the middle of the city (la sabana) and most importantly, it is only a 10-15 minute bus ride to work. There are some really nice areas that I was considering, but I would have to take 2 buses and I dont want to spend and hour commuting everymorning. Plus, being close to the park would be great! We didn't have a plan...just drove around the neighborhood, and Rigo was awesome just stopping and asking random people if they knew of anything available. Here is one complex we drove by.....I have to look at the inside yet, but here are a couple where I took down the numbers to call. Just to give you an idea...... They look pretty safe, right? Rigo has a really good eye and spotted this sign in the window.
I looked up and down the street and I really liked it, big houses mixed in with a few apts, all well maintained. We rang the doorbell and the property manager came out. He said there were 2 apts available. I loved the outside. The white stucco and the red tile roof. Wood framed windows that open IN instead of UP ....yes, Ok, looks good........
We walked into this great courtyard with lush plants....this is so cute!!!Then he opened the door ..........

I love the furniture....yellow is one of my favorite colors this year....UGH! but that green carpet just ruined it! YUCK! Am I being too picky? Maybe, but tipically the places here have all tile or wood floors. If not for the carpet I would have taken it right away. The bedroom had one full wall of wooden cabinets and plenty of storage (not that we have anything) and it felt so fresco with the windows....DAMN that green carpet! I even love the tile in the bathroom and the chocolate brown toilet and sink...really I do, it just screams Latin America, it has character!
The kitchen: big, bright, and functional, plus a little patio off of it for sunny mornings.
But that damn green carpet! You know me, I can get creative and decorate....I dont want to have the same kind of place I would have in Atlanta (and I never would with that bathroom! ha)actually my mind has been thinking "how could I make that carpte work for me?" I think I will look at a few more before jumping. I have time, no pressure here in Costa Rica....pura vida as they say.....Im going to fit in just fine here!