In the event that something strange doesn’t happen, I get to spend the next month and a half trying to research, visit, and decide on a place to live. This isn’t exactly an easy task as I have some really tough requirements to fulfill to meet my needs.
1 bed / 1 bath minimum – After living with my brother for a while in what is essentially a studio apartment, I know I need a bit more space and separation between rooms. The more space, the better. (I’ll even take a 2/1 if the price is right. Would be nice to have a guest room/office.)
South Austin – My new job is located across the highway from the airport. I’m currently staying with my brother in north Austin. In good traffic, it’ll take 30-40 minutes to get to work. After looking at Google’s Typical Traffic maps, getting back will definitely take longer. Even at 30 minutes, that’s WAY more time than I want to be spending in my car. This means moving to the other side of town.
Near Specific Bus Routes – If I don’t want to drive, another option would be to take the bus instead. There is a major downside to this method as well: 2 hour ride. But I like having the option of riding the bus instead of driving, not just to get to work but other places as well, such as downtown. So I’d like to have a place that’s near one of the following routes:
- MetroBus 228 – only route that takes me to work
- MetroRapid 801 – route to downtown
- MetroBus 30 – offers connections to above routes
The nice thing about these three routes is that they all connect to the South Congress Transit Center, meaning I can get to work, downtown, and other places along the 801 or 803 (via downtown or Westgate) Rapid routes.
Approximately 600 square feet or more – As I noted above, I know that I need space. My bro’s place is about 520 square feet. My last apartment was 670 square feet. It was nice and big for my needs so having that much space would be nice but can try to meet somewhere in the middle if need be.
Approximately $900 or less per month – The above requirements alone are probably going to make this price point really tough to meet. I’ve been doing a bit of looking around already and it can be possible but it’ll take some work. Right now, I’m just using sites like Truila and Zillow to compare prices. There might be better deals out there hiding. How knows.
Low crime – This one is just obvious. Considering that I’d like to have the option to ride the bus, being in an area where I don’t have to worry about walking outside (or even to/from my car and apartment) would help reduce any level or worrying I might have. It’s something that many would like to have I’m sure.
BONUS: Google Fiber – Google Fiber is being lit up in South Austin in December. Needless to say, this is something that is very much wanted. BUT it’ll only be available at specific complexes. Google has released a map showing where it’ll be available. If I were a complex, this would be a major selling point. Hopefully I can get a place that has it.
In the end, I might have to get an apartment hunter to help me find just the right place. More importantly, maybe they’ll have a better chance at finding a good deal that I will using public websites and tools. And more power to them if they can pull off matching my needs. We’ll see how things go.