the ongoing search

I had a haircut earlier this evening downtown (at Vain), and on my drive home I felt a longing to be out among all the people walking downtown and going out for dinner or drinks and having a good time. I meant to write a post about that feeling before, back in May I think. There was some late afternoon I'd gone walking downtown and headed home in the evening, and it occurred to me that one reason why I liked walking home in the evening past all the bars and restaurants and coffeeshops on Pike and Pine is it makes me feel, or lets me pretend, that I'm part of the urban life, part of the scene, that I belong. I don't get to be out on the town nearly as often as I'd like; friends are busy with family, or other friends, or work and activities, or money's tight. That's another reason why I've been making a dedicated effort to attend at least one show a month, just to be out in the public nightlife. That's another reason why I'm disappointed that my home area, the confluence of the First Hill / Central District / Capitol Hill neighborhoods, is proving too expensive for me.

Last week I made my first offer, on a place in Greenwood that was fairly nice and modern, with a view west of the Olympic Peninsula, and 573 square feet; its only drawback was being in Greenwood, and at least it was on a major bus route and close to the major arteries. I did not win the bid because another party offered to waive the inspection (a tactic I am not adopting), but I wasn't really disappointed because that meant I could keep searching and hoping to find something closer in. Today, I looked at a place in Northgate, at least as nice and nearly 650 square feet, so a good comfortable size; its drawbacks were being slightly less accessible than the Greenwood place, and being on the ground floor with a view only of the steep hillside a neighboring condo sits on. Still, I expect to submit an offer on Monday (they're not taking offers until after they have an open house this weekend). I also expect to get outbid again - perhaps even hope to, if only to let me keep hoping to find something closer.

Why then am I even going to make an offer? I'm trying to avoid repeating myself, so suffice it to say that my concerns remain the same, and my search results continue to demonstrate that my likeliest chance of buying a condo is in the northern neighborhoods; there's little chance of finding an affordable and livable condo within walking distance of downtown. This place in Northgate has the best combination of size, niceness, and price I have yet seen, and it would be foolish to pass it up.

Also, I have learned that my landlord has found a new contractor after all, and should be starting the renovations soon. He said the work should take three weeks, which surprises me as the original contractor was supposedly going to take about six. He's also getting into a legal dispute with the neighbors over the exact property line. So there's reason to think the renovations won't start quite as soon as he wants, and a fair likelihood they won't be done as soon as he hopes. Even so, this renews some pressure on me to buy a condo soon.

All of this also begs the question of whether I really should be buying a condo at all, rather than just looking for a new apartment to rent - a question at least one friend has been challenging me with repeatedly. I never met with a financial planner back in May when I started getting into the process, but I really should still do so as soon as possible. All financial questions aside, though, just as I no longer want to move in with strangers as roommates, I now no longer want to live subject to a landlord; I realize that living in a condo, managed by an association, does not entirely avoid such issues, but still they would be my own problems, not someone else's.