We Have a Home!

We moved into our apartment yesterday and the dogs took it surprisingly well. We haven't left them alone yet and plan to take them to the dog park tomorrow to work off the stress and extra energy they've accumulated through the moving process.

Details on our apartment:

• 2 bedroom 1.5 bath apartment on the 2nd floor (also the top floor)
• Vaulted ceiling in the living room
• Fenced in porch that we're hoping my hammock will fit on
• Huge kitchen with lots of counter space for Brandt to channel his inner chef
• No AC, which is normal around here (they're crazy but we're getting used to it)
• Fire place
• Heaters in every room's wall with a designated thermostat
• Wet bar
• Washer/dryer
• Decent sized front porch with a private entrance (this means the dogs won't bark at people coming up the stairs to go to other apartments)
• We're located near a trash bin and recycling bin for easy access
• The complex has a 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool, and hot tub
• The best part: They accepted our three dogs and didn't charge us an appendage to let them live here

We started looking for places to live while we were still in Kansas. We wanted to get a feel for what they had to offer in Portland and the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, rental houses are near impossible to find unless you want a 4+ bedroom, which we could neither afford nor needed. We had to settle for an apartment and no yard for the dogs.

The hardest part about apartment hunting was finding a place that allowed three dogs. Portland is very dog friendly but apparently most apartments draw the line at two. After that, too bad. What's one more dog going to do that two couldn't accomplish on their own? I thought it was ridiculous because there's no limit on kids and I've seen them destroy houses/apartments before. To be honest, I've seen adults destroy homes before. Brandt and I each had an apartment rep ask if we could "find another place for one of the dogs" while we lived there. I stared at my phone in bewilderment and said thanks but we'll look elsewhere. What were we supposed to do? Pick the dog we like the least and kennel her/him for an entire year? Take one of them to the humane society and say we just didn't have room? No chance we'd ever do that!

There were very few places that would allow all three of our "fur babies," as I often hear them called. "Fur herd" is another term but we're a pack, so I don't use that one. Most apartments that would allow more than two dogs wanted to charge an outrageous amount in deposit (upwards of $500 per dog) or a huge pet rent. We could handle a pet rent but the rent out here isn't cheap. Adding an additional $50 per dog on top of rent wasn't going to work either. Plus, neither of us have jobs so it wasn't easy to qualify to live in some of the complexes that would allow our dogs. Our choices were very limited.

We found a great place at a reasonable price that even had a unit ready for us on the short notice! We looked at a one bedroom but we just have too much stuff, even though we sold half of it before we moved. We'll be squeezing in here but I think we'll enjoy it. Not having AC isn't terrible because with the rain, it stays fairly cool or has a cool breeze. We keep the windows open when we're home and I woke up yesterday to a freezing house! That's insane for me to comprehend at the end of June, being so used to Kansas weather. I can sleep with the windows open now because Portland doesn't wreak havoc on my allergies like Kansas did. If I slept with the windows open there, I'd wake up and my head would feel like iron rods had been inserted in my temples and the front of my face wouldn't function (sinuses). It was horrible.

Now, what you've all been waiting for: pictures of our lovely and lavishly furnished apartment!

Open kitchen with lots of counter top space.

Our high-end seating for the next week and a half.

The girls enjoying our lavish queen size bed.
We had to steal dog blankets since we don't have any.

The wet bar with the little alcohol we have.
You can see the wall heater in the reflection.

Ellie enjoying the view yesterday.

I will post more pictures once there's something worth looking at. We should have our things on the 7th, or around then. If you read my last post, you know I don't have high hopes for U-Haul providing anything worthwhile and I expect them to be late on the delivery. Who knows, they'll probably even lose one or all of our pods.

For now, we're enjoying our indoor pool floaties as chairs or lounging beds. The dogs love the open space and I'm sure Cedric will be devastated when we get our furniture. He was just running around like a race car and doing some pretty sweet sharp turns in the living room.

The location is great too. We're technically in Portland but if you drive two minutes south or east, you're in Beaverton. If you go slightly west, you're in Hillsboro. I have no idea why or how they drew the city lines. We're just north of a highway so we have easy access if we dare to drive on those insane and packed roads. For now, we've been driving around Beaverton/Hillsboro/Aloha getting to know the area. I really like it so far! Columbia Sportswear's headquarters is literally just down the road from our complex. I drove past Nike's headquarters on my way to get our internet modem yesterday. It was gorgeous, from what I saw.

I'm happy with our location, the apartment, and our rent. I still wish we had a yard so we didn't have to leash up the dogs and so they could run to their hearts' content. It just means more dog park trips and lots of walking!