Columbia Ave., Cranston, RI
Jul. 15th, 2002 08:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sanpaku_backupI cannot begin to describe how busy I am. How in the world we will manage to fit moving in with everything else that needs to get done... the mind reels.
But anyway, the search is over.
The place isn't perfect, and we have the occasional second thought. But by and large we're pleased with what it's shaping up to be.
First, a word about the search. In the past few weeks, I had realized that the problem with what we had been looking for was that under "HOUSES FOR RENT" very little was listed, but "TOWNHOUSES FOR RENT" had some attractive looking deals. Also, my sister-in-law is getting keener and keener to move in with us. Don't know if that will happen, as she's in China right now, but it would be nice to have our dogsitter (and prospective babysitter) living nearby.
Also, one of the reasons I was originally stuck on the East Side, in addition to all the nice places to eat and see movies and so on there, was that there was a synagogue right in the middle. Being able to walk there on Saturday is a big deal to me, and something I regret about not having in Boston. We also went there one Saturday and found that we liked it. So there was that. BUT I knew there was one other Conservative place in Cranston, and the harder it got to find something reasonable on the East Side, the more I thought that maybe it was worth checking out. The map showed all these yacht clubs by the water. How bad could a neighborhood next to a yacht club be?
We came back from Maine on Wednesday. Dashed down to Providence for one more drive-through on Thursday night -- just to see what neighborhoods were OK, what was not OK, etc. Saw an attractive looking townhouse on the East Side, near Wayland Square (later found out: $2250). Then drove down to Cranston, this neighborhood called Edgewood. The water was. right. there. And there was a house with a sign for a 4 bedroom townhouse for $1250. This, perhaps, was doable. (What we ended up with was a block away.)
Made calls on Friday, Sun. morning. 4 appointments for Sunday, after stopping at the most awesome and excellent Modern Diner (another great reason to move to Providence, almost as worthwhile as the synagogue!) for some of the best french toast I've ever had. First appointment was a townhouse above a dentist's office. We got there, he had already shown the place out and rented it. Second appointment, an apartment in a triple-decker on Fourth St. The appointment was at noon, and we were waiting until 12:40, when the realtor decided to show up. He runs upstairs, then comes down and tells us the tenant has decided to stay another year. "Thanks, you fucking time-wasting asshole," I think to myself.
So we dash down to Edgewood to see the place we liked -- more in a sec -- then up again to the East Side to an apartment on Taft, a block from the shul. Nice, but I knew from before that Mrs. Sanpaku was not into the apartment thing, so it was rather perfunctory.
Drove back again to Cranston/Edgewood; decide to drive around the area. Stop in at the shul there -- an organ, but they told us it hadn't been used in a year (BIG sigh of relief) -- and note that it's exactly a mile from the place. Also near the place: a pastry shop, a coffeeshop, the library. And Narragansett Bay a block from the house. 15 minutes of drive through j'bib to a real honest to God beach with a lifeguard and everything.
So we go back to the place -- good thing we did, another couple had almost gotten it -- and shook hands.
And now to contemplate it. It is true that Mrs. Sanpaku woke up in a cold sweat last night thinking about things we hadn't thought about before.
The place is the 2nd and 3rd floors of one part of a big turn-of-the-century duplex house. 2nd floor is kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom; 3rd has 3 bedrooms. Lots of eaves and not quite bright enough... but mostly no bathroom up there. Hadn't thought about schlepping a baby up and down those stairs late at night.
But the landlord, who lives there, is adding on a deck behind the kitchen, with sliding glass doors. And the living room?
Fireplace.
That's pretty much the clincher for me, though there are also hardwood floors that he was polishing himself. For a landlord, he seemed pretty nice (they all do at first) and you could tell that the house was his baby.
So, I spent today doing a lot of yardwork, and contemplated not having to do any for a year. Or shoveling snow. Or paying for heat. And sitting in front of that fireplace. And how nice that it doesn't really cost a lot more than we pay now -- maybe even a wash, when you factor in the heat.
We'll see. It will be a pain to deal with the steps, and the cat likes to go outside, and the dog needs a place to go to the bathroom (there is a yard, and it's very nice, but we'll need to clean up after her). Mrs. wants a lot more counter space in the kitchen and to paint one of the bedrooms. At the end of the day, though, when you think about it, all the rooms are bigger than the ones we have now, except for the kitchen, and there's no basement, but it feels like a good trade.
And then of course there is the hell and expense of the move. I'm hoping that this time I'll be able to just rent a van instead of a truck, and to move in stages, so it will be a lot less stressful. Also it somehow feels as though we never entirely moved in here, since there are boxes we never found places for.
It will just be hard to leave this house. A whole house to ourselves where I can look out the window and see nothing but green and trees. Where we can pretty much leave our shit anywhere we want and not worry about a landlord's criticism. Where we can make noise when we fuck and not give a damn about our neighbors. (Sorry!)
But whole worlds open up in this place -- maybe we'll find people to hang out with, I can ride a bus! to teach, we can go to the beach, we're a 5 minute drive to downtown and the airport, etc. etc... And as much as this is a great house, we have gotten everything out of this place that we're going to, I think.
But anyway, the search is over.
The place isn't perfect, and we have the occasional second thought. But by and large we're pleased with what it's shaping up to be.
First, a word about the search. In the past few weeks, I had realized that the problem with what we had been looking for was that under "HOUSES FOR RENT" very little was listed, but "TOWNHOUSES FOR RENT" had some attractive looking deals. Also, my sister-in-law is getting keener and keener to move in with us. Don't know if that will happen, as she's in China right now, but it would be nice to have our dogsitter (and prospective babysitter) living nearby.
Also, one of the reasons I was originally stuck on the East Side, in addition to all the nice places to eat and see movies and so on there, was that there was a synagogue right in the middle. Being able to walk there on Saturday is a big deal to me, and something I regret about not having in Boston. We also went there one Saturday and found that we liked it. So there was that. BUT I knew there was one other Conservative place in Cranston, and the harder it got to find something reasonable on the East Side, the more I thought that maybe it was worth checking out. The map showed all these yacht clubs by the water. How bad could a neighborhood next to a yacht club be?
We came back from Maine on Wednesday. Dashed down to Providence for one more drive-through on Thursday night -- just to see what neighborhoods were OK, what was not OK, etc. Saw an attractive looking townhouse on the East Side, near Wayland Square (later found out: $2250). Then drove down to Cranston, this neighborhood called Edgewood. The water was. right. there. And there was a house with a sign for a 4 bedroom townhouse for $1250. This, perhaps, was doable. (What we ended up with was a block away.)
Made calls on Friday, Sun. morning. 4 appointments for Sunday, after stopping at the most awesome and excellent Modern Diner (another great reason to move to Providence, almost as worthwhile as the synagogue!) for some of the best french toast I've ever had. First appointment was a townhouse above a dentist's office. We got there, he had already shown the place out and rented it. Second appointment, an apartment in a triple-decker on Fourth St. The appointment was at noon, and we were waiting until 12:40, when the realtor decided to show up. He runs upstairs, then comes down and tells us the tenant has decided to stay another year. "Thanks, you fucking time-wasting asshole," I think to myself.
So we dash down to Edgewood to see the place we liked -- more in a sec -- then up again to the East Side to an apartment on Taft, a block from the shul. Nice, but I knew from before that Mrs. Sanpaku was not into the apartment thing, so it was rather perfunctory.
Drove back again to Cranston/Edgewood; decide to drive around the area. Stop in at the shul there -- an organ, but they told us it hadn't been used in a year (BIG sigh of relief) -- and note that it's exactly a mile from the place. Also near the place: a pastry shop, a coffeeshop, the library. And Narragansett Bay a block from the house. 15 minutes of drive through j'bib to a real honest to God beach with a lifeguard and everything.
So we go back to the place -- good thing we did, another couple had almost gotten it -- and shook hands.
And now to contemplate it. It is true that Mrs. Sanpaku woke up in a cold sweat last night thinking about things we hadn't thought about before.
The place is the 2nd and 3rd floors of one part of a big turn-of-the-century duplex house. 2nd floor is kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom; 3rd has 3 bedrooms. Lots of eaves and not quite bright enough... but mostly no bathroom up there. Hadn't thought about schlepping a baby up and down those stairs late at night.
But the landlord, who lives there, is adding on a deck behind the kitchen, with sliding glass doors. And the living room?
Fireplace.
That's pretty much the clincher for me, though there are also hardwood floors that he was polishing himself. For a landlord, he seemed pretty nice (they all do at first) and you could tell that the house was his baby.
So, I spent today doing a lot of yardwork, and contemplated not having to do any for a year. Or shoveling snow. Or paying for heat. And sitting in front of that fireplace. And how nice that it doesn't really cost a lot more than we pay now -- maybe even a wash, when you factor in the heat.
We'll see. It will be a pain to deal with the steps, and the cat likes to go outside, and the dog needs a place to go to the bathroom (there is a yard, and it's very nice, but we'll need to clean up after her). Mrs. wants a lot more counter space in the kitchen and to paint one of the bedrooms. At the end of the day, though, when you think about it, all the rooms are bigger than the ones we have now, except for the kitchen, and there's no basement, but it feels like a good trade.
And then of course there is the hell and expense of the move. I'm hoping that this time I'll be able to just rent a van instead of a truck, and to move in stages, so it will be a lot less stressful. Also it somehow feels as though we never entirely moved in here, since there are boxes we never found places for.
It will just be hard to leave this house. A whole house to ourselves where I can look out the window and see nothing but green and trees. Where we can pretty much leave our shit anywhere we want and not worry about a landlord's criticism. Where we can make noise when we fuck and not give a damn about our neighbors. (Sorry!)
But whole worlds open up in this place -- maybe we'll find people to hang out with, I can ride a bus! to teach, we can go to the beach, we're a 5 minute drive to downtown and the airport, etc. etc... And as much as this is a great house, we have gotten everything out of this place that we're going to, I think.
