As promised yesterday, here is a list of what we’ve decided with regard to our Boston house hunt.  Obviously what’s important to us may not be important to everyone, but for our situation and for our lifestyle, this is what we’ve decided.  We may change our minds along the way, but we have a very fortunate living situation at the moment that will enable us to take our time.  In other words, we have the luxury of being picky.

Must haves:

• Location, location, location – we’re looking in Downtown, the Financial District, North End, Faneuil Hall, Waterfront, Fort Point, Theater District, Beacon Hill, Back Bay and the South End.  Our ideal location is in the Fenway because you get more square footage for your money, the crowds are younger, and there are plenty of bars and great restaurants. (Source.)
• Location within the location – we are willing to live on a residential street, but it must be within walking distance to bars, restaurants, shops and other amenities we’d actually use.  Public transportation is great, but not when you’re feeling lazy and it’s –473029472 degrees outside.
• A separate bedroom – most condos in our price range in these areas are studio apartments, and that just isn’t going to fly.  I love KnightlyBoyfriend, but sometimes I need to watch wedding shows and he needs his XBox. (This will be Maverick.)
• More than 400 square feet – pick your jaw off the ground and see “Concessions.” (Source.)
• Natural light – no dungeons or basement units for these nitpicky house hunters.

Wants:

• Closet space – a reasonable amount of closet space or storage would be nice.
• Laundry on-site – we’d love to have laundry in the unit, but that’s really rare.  The option to install a washer/dryer is something we’re looking at, but for now I think we’ll be lucky if we don’t have to leave the complex to wash a shirt.
• Decent-sized kitchen – I would like to have a kitchen with enough counter space to cook, and a dishwasher/disposal already installed (otherwise, guess who will be installing it…coughcough KNIGHTLYBOYFRIEND coughcough).  A gas stove would be a bonus.

Concessions we expect to make:

• Space – square footage is the single most difficult compromise we’ve had to make.  We have wavered back and forth on this for months, deciding whether it’s better to live a little further out to have more space, and in the end we decided that, at this point in our lives, we’d rather be in the middle of the action.  We don’t have a ton of stuff, we’re not home that much and we understand that we won’t live in this condo forever. (This should say “Boston.”)
• Immediacy – as nice as it would be to find something tomorrow and get settled in our new home, we are in a very fortunate living situation, thanks to KnightlyBoyfriend’s parents.  Although we’ve been looking seriously for the past six months, we’ve been monitoring listings since I moved here.  Occasionally a real gem will come along, so we’re trading our excitement for patience and waiting for something close to perfect.
• Turnkey – we’re pretty ok with this one.  It would be so nice to get the keys and start moving in, but this city is OLD.  That means that about half the condos for sale (and the majority of those in our price range) need upgrades like whoa.  We don’t want a fixer, but we’re ok with updating the kitchen or flooring, or making other minor improvements.  This is where the small space comes in handy – it’ll cost less to fix up a closet than a house.  AND the upgrades will boost the resale value of the property…something that is important, as it would be nice to move into something a little bigger – like maybe a WALK IN closet – down the road.
• Public Transportation – so the way Boston works is that the Green line between North Station and Copley is DECENT, but anywhere outside those stops is a joke.  The Orange line is scary and completely unreliable.  The Blue line only has like two stops and the Red Line is awesome but nowhere near where we’re looking.  Ideally, we’d be in the city near an Orange or Green line, but we’re probably going to have to push into the “CRAPPY” territory on the Green line, and it will be at least a 10 minute walk…again, no big deal until it’s so cold your pee freezes (see kitteh above). (Hilarious Source.)

Anyway, most of the concessions are one faced by every homeowner to be.  The space issue is the one that is, and probably will be, the most painful.

Question: What are concessions you’re most willing to make in a house hunt?  What are your must-haves?

• 4th May 2011 at 11:40 am
• About Me, Discussion, House Hunting, Tips
• Leave a comments

Story Time

Once upon a time, there was a girl and a boy…

They met one special October night at UMass Amherst, and a friendship quickly developed…once the shy and awkward girl was capable of speaking in full sentences around the handsome boy without sounding like a complete and utter imbecile, anyway.

What?  Moose IS a funny word, ok, and it’s totally an appropriate topic of conversation when you’re trying to get a boy to notice you.

Miraculously, the boy somehow managed to get past the nerdy glasses constantly slipping down the girl’s nose.  And her frizzy ponytail.  And her questionable musings about mooses and funny words.

We don’t even need to get into her obsession with carbs, cats, and all things Harry Potter.

They began a blossoming romance that was sealed when the boy took the girl to a romantic gourmet dinner at a restaurant on the blue and sparkling shores of Cape Cod for her birthday.  (Like everything worthwhile, it all began with an impressive restaurant.  Done and done.)

Unfortunately, this picture-perfect tale took a turn for the worst when the girl found out that she’d have to transfer 1,800 miles back home to finish college.  The boy and the girl vowed to make the relationship last.  And they did.  For three and a half years.  Upon graduating college, the girl moved back up to the Boston area, and two years later they decided they were ready to take the next big step:

Not that.  That’s his sister.  I’m the loser standing behind her trying gracelessly to put my heels back on.  I’m referring to our decision to move in together.

House Hunting in Boston (also known as, “The Biggest Pain in the Ass Known to the Land of Young Professionals”)

It’s always a very tricky business to decide how much of my personal life I want to share on the blog.  After all, this is – first and foremost – a food blog.  But while food remains the star, Boston is the backdrop to the story told here, and I want to share the aspects of my life that intertwine with this city I’ve grown to love so much. 

(Source.)

KnightlyBoyfriend and I have been discussing this move for the past two years, and the majority of the past year has been dedicated to working out the particulars and narrowing down the areas in which we were planning to look.  We originally considered Boston proper, as well as surrounding towns like Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville, Medford and Watertown.  However, now we’re focusing on just Boston proper.  Nothing else.  We’ve decided that a central location is not something we want to compromise.

Looking for a house is always a difficult business that requires compromise.  It does not matter where you’re moving, how much you’re spending or whether you’re renting or buying.  Something’s gotta give.  Always.  However, as we’ve gone further down the Rabbit Hole, we’ve discovered how difficult it is to find a place that’s livable for two people and one (or two…cough, cough) cat(s) for a moderate budget.  We want to share this experience, lessons learned, and all the glory and frustrations that come along with our quest with other young professionals who are looking to buy in the area.  Especially when many of the places we’ve seen look like this:

(North End, 505 sqft…I see no windows, do you?)

Or this:

(This is all one room.  And those teeny windows are the only ones.  I especially like the ceiling that looks like it belongs in an elementary school cafeteria.)

Or….this:

(That space would be the entire condo.  See that ladder?  It leads to the bed.  Fun, huh?)

I won’t be sharing anything that could compromise our negotiations, so condos we’re seriously considering need to stay under wraps in case we decide to put in an offer.  Our budget also has to stay a secret, at least for now, so seller’s agents can’t use it against us. 

I’ll tag all house hunt-related articles under “House Hunting” for easy access.  And if you have any questions, email or comment on the posts!

Check back tomorrow for a list of our must-haves, wants, and compromises we’ve made along the way.

• 3rd May 2011 at 2:52 pm
• About Me, House Hunting
• 2 comments