apartment hunt

i've quit my job. my house is under contract. the next step is to find an apartment in portland.

i'm flying to PDX on saturday at the butt-crack of dawn. i'll be there through monday night. hopefully i'll return having signed a lease on the best damn apartment in town.

i've been watching craigslist like a hawk. i also tracked down the websites of 6 or 7 different rental agencies. and i feel fortunate to have found a guy who blogs about apartment vacancies in one of the areas of town i'm interested in. i've done a lot of research. i know where i want to look, and i know (pretty much) what's available.

as prepared as i feel i am, i'm a nervous wreck. i'm the kind of person who cannot live in a box of white walls. my mood is hugely affected by my surroundings, and i know that i need to find a lovely place in order to maintain some level of sanity. i mean, let's face it... i'll be leaving a comfortable town full of friends and a house that i feel interconnected with. a part of me feels that living in an apartment that's not-quite-right will feel like even more of a sacrifice than i'm already making. i don't want feel doomed before i'm able to give portland a fighting chance.

hoo, boy. yeah, i'm putting a lot of pressure on myself. i'll be glad when this weekend is over and i can put my maps away for a while and worry about something else.