Gimme Shelter

I'm writing this post from tens of thousands of feet in the air, old-fashioned style (on paper), on my return trip from Seattle, currently en route to DC via JFK in New York. I am extremely happy to report that my apartment-finding mission was a success.

After three long days of Craigslist checking, bus riding, walking up and down hills, calling, asking, and being disappointed by no-pet policies and rents just out of reach, I found a place for me and Wally to call home. The apartment is a spacious one-bedroom in a neat building a few blocks off of the main drag in the thriving, fashionable neighborhood of Capitol Hill.

While the location of the building isn't exactly where I wanted to be—I was shooting for closer to 15th Ave., in the more grown-up part of Capitol Hill, rather than Broadway—I can't really complain. Finding an apartment in a strange new city in less than a week's time is no easy feat, but I did it. I fucking did it! And thank god, because I was nearly losing it this week worrying and wondering about my oh so uncertain future and what might happen (or not happen). Now that I found a place of my own, I have one major goal off my back.

With all the running around this week, I didn't have much time for fun. I hardly took any photos. I ate quickly and cheaply. And I made no unnecessary purchases (i.e. records). I was however able to hang out with a few friends. Sara, an ex-girlfriend who has been in Seattle for a while, was kind enough to help me out by letting me use the store she works in as a sort of home base for my apartment search, offering free Internet access and a clean, private toilet. As thanks, I treated her to tasty dinner at Thai Tom over in the U District before heading to the Bus Stop back in Capitol Hill for a beer.

And then last night, after handing over the deposit for the apartment and breathing a huge sigh of relief, Kevin swung by and picked me up from my new neighborhood and we drove out to West Seattle and Alki Beach, both of which I had failed to see during my June trip. It was beautiful and awesome driving along the coast. The sun was setting with the Olympic mountains in the distance to one side and the downtown skyline and Queen Anne to the other. Keving and I chatted as we wound our way around West Seattle and took in the sights. That's when it hit me—I live here now. I'm looking at home. I felt a strange mixture of contentment and anticipation, and I knew I'd made the right choice.

C Ya

Now that the cat's out of the bag at work (and has been for a while—Friday was my last day!), it can now be told: I am moving to Seattle at the end of the month. For those of you who didn't already know, I've been planning this for a quite a while. My trip to the Emerald City back in June was in fact part vacation and part reconnaissance mission. And having checked it out as thoroughly as possible, through my visit, personal recommendations, and reading through several books (namely, this and this), I have decided to give a whirl.

As for my reasons for moving, I won't get into the details. It's just not that interesting. DC isn't doing it for me anymore. That's basically it.
And I picked Seattle because, in all my years as a so-called “army brat,” I never spent any time in the Pacific Northwest. So why not?

I'm flying out tomorrow to find an apartment. I've got three solid days of looking and hopefully securing a place to live and then it's back to the east coast to pack my stuff, sell whatever else I can, and then get the hell out of here on the 1st. Oh, and I guess I've got some hanging out to do before I go. I'm heading to the beach to spend some time with my brother and his family for a few days next week, for one. And then there's the going away party that's supposed to happen here at the house. More on that later, though.

I'm pretty fucking excited—I've never lived in my own place before. And I wanna do it right. It's supposedly a renter's market out there, but they go quick. I have only a few neighborhoods in mind and what I want is pretty specific (old building, 1BR, hw floors, cats allowed, in hip-but-not-too-hip neighborhood). Still, I am cautiously optimistic.

Wish me luck.