The Search for New Housing Begins

Katie D.

April 17, 2011 - 8:18 PM

I have lived in my current house for almost three years now. Affectionately referred to as The Danger Zone, this house has seen some of the best years of my life, and has held some of my dearest friends. I love living with my current roommates, and couldn't possibly ask for a more fabulous room. But the era of the Danger Zone is coming to a quick end.

Next year the roommates will scatter to the far corners of the world (literally, we'll at least have Portland and Uganda on the list), and the house will pass to new owners, who will hopefully use it for further hilarity and joy.

Our lease ends on July 1st, and I have become completely obsessed with finding new housing for next year. Obsessed to the point of distraction, actually. You see, I have taken it into my head that next year I might live alone. I've lived with three roommates for the past four years, the dorms for a year before that, and my earlier life was spent with my family. The longest I've lived alone was for a week and a half one summer when all my roommates were gone. I don't really know what it would feel like to have my own space, and to be alone in a home.

I've loved living communally for all this time. I love the action, the easy associations, and the spontaneity of sharing space. I love when my roommates throw parties and potlucks. Since we have so many friends in common, we have shared many celebrations and events together over the years, and I have benefited enormously from my daily associations with these wonderful people.

And yet.

And yet, next year I will be writing a masters thesis. That, if nothing else, is cause for some increased personal space. I'll be researching, analyzing, and writing on a daily basis. I'll be stressed and bored and lonely and blissfully focused. That's probably just in one afternoon. And the more I imagine accomplishing another thesis with a house full of people trying to convince me to come hang out for a little while, the more I feel that a year without distractions is the way to go.

As these images solidify, I've realized I cannot wait to live alone.

I want to find a studio somewhere. Maybe a loft, even. I want to be closer to campus, or maybe closer to downtown, so when I choose to be social I can do so easily. I'm looking at all my household items in a different light now, wondering if I have enough pictures for the walls, and if I should invest in some nicer knives. I'm pondering the relative values of counter space and skylights. I'm taking new interest in other people's living space, and trying to re-envision my own.

I haven't found the perfect place yet. I don't need anyplace too fancy or too big. Just some space for me to put down roots for a single year: a place to write and research and entertain friends. A place I might put an indoor plant and have it live. A home.

So anyway, wish me luck. I haven't been housing hunting for a long time. Years, actually. So there's some nervousness in all of this, as well as excitement. Let me know if you have a spare kitchen table sitting around. Or a spare arm chair. I have more bookshelf space than you can shake a stick at.

Mostly, just send some vibes of patience and luck. And imagine me scanning Craigslist and neighborhood "for rent" signs with renewed interest. Hopefully I'll have some housing news to report very soon.