Our trip last week to Portland had me feeling anxious, nervous, and excited. Now I think I'm just excited. We saw a lot of apartments and the VERY last one we saw will most likely be our future home. It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartment in Vancouver, just across the OR/WA border, 20 mins away from Dustin's school, but is awesome!
Option #2 is a 2 bed/2 bath in Portland only 8 mins away from Dustin's school. Here's the low down of our 2 favorite options.
Cascade Park in Vancouver:
Specs: 2 bedroom, 1 HUGE bathroom, 1029 sq feet, completely recently remodeled. And by recently I mean that the apartment we would like to move in to is going to be remodeled as soon as the current tenants (of 10 years) are moving out by the end of the month. The whole complex started remodeling last summer and this is the last apartment to be redone. The current tenants did not want the remodels while they were living there so once they're out, everything will be redone-- granite counter tops, new appliances, new flooring, new paint, new cabinetry, the works. We will be the first people to live in this basically new apartment. Washer/dryer is included, wood burning fireplace, large deck with outside storage, they even have a spice drawer in the kitchen! I'm kinda in heaven.
Added perks: tennis court and basketball court, big pool, year round hot tub, WATERFALL by the pool/hot tub that lights up at night, gym, tanning bed, yeah, it's a great place. The price is right and utilities are in the right price point as well.
Cons: It's farther away from Dustin's school and for a one car family, that poses a little problem. We're trying to come up with solutions as distance to the school is REALLY the only con. The neighborhood is actually really good, and grocery stores, restaurants, everything basically is close and we'd still get the same kind of "hometown" feel like what we have in Spanish Fork/Salem. We really like the idea of that.
Solutions..... A) Convince my parents to let us use the extra car that wouldn't be used until Dallin gets home from his mission in March. Which at that point, my dad should buy himself a new car and let Dallin drive his old car. Brilliant.
B) I won't get a job when we move and Dustin can take the car. That's right, just kick it at home doing fantastic things with my day all day. We figured out that if Dustin decides to do school year round aka continue during the summer instead of taking one quarter off (thanks for this idea Julia, it's PERFECT, AMAZING, LEGENDARY really), we'd have enough money to pay for life instead of having to save some money from each quarter to fund the quarter off summer break. The reasons this would be so great: Dustin would finish in 3 years instead of 4! We'd have money to live! Afterall, we're going to be getting student loans for the same amount of school time, just might as well finish earlier. I'd be able to stay home and be a happy wife to make a happy husband! Honestly, this plan is very doable. Dustin's quarters are each 10 weeks long with 1 week of finals and then TWO WEEKS OFF. Which means he gets a decent break between EACH quarter. If I wasn't working, we could spend those two weeks TOGETHER. We could come home and visit family. We could take little trips to the coast or Seattle. If I was not working full time outside of the home, I could do all the cleaning, cooking, laundry, exercise, EVERYTHING. So Dustin could wake up to a hot breakfast, have his lunch packed lovingly with secrets loves notes inside, then come home to a clean home, and dinner ready. Then he could spend the evening studying and ending the night with a game of tennis or a soak in the hot tub. Happy wife = happy life.
Now just to be clear, it's not that we couldn't do this same setup if we lived in the Portland apartment, but the Vancouver apartment is so much better and we would feel so much SAFER. The area, community, and features are just so much more US. That's how we roll.
Also, before anyone starts thinking that I'm completely LAZY and INCOMPETENT because I have zero desire to work when we move out there, I will still find a job, at least part time, if not something full time. I was just starting to freak out about how much life would cost and that I'd HAVE to get a job if we want to eat. But with this set up, it wouldn't be mandatory and I could find a job that I enjoyed. I did interview with Accountemps while I was in Portland and they have my resume and had me do skill tests so they can place me somewhere. I'm just not going to keep actively looking for a Portland job right now because I keep getting the same response--you don't live here so we won't hire you. This plan just makes more sense to me. Dustin and I have both decided we can sell plasma twice a week (I should be a pro after the 9 blood draws this year!) for extra income and I would love to teach a bunch of piano students. Vancouver would also be a better area for this because there are more families instead of city living adults. I'm still voting for employment at Costco.
Option #2 for apartments I'll be brief on since this is turning into a long post and I'm sure you'd like to see pictures. I'll include other trip details in another post :)
Star Crest Manor in Portland: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 980 sq feet, good location in relation to the school and decent neighborhood. Washer/dryer in apartment, functional floorplan, gym, no pool though :( It was nothing super special, but it was decent and well under our price point. Problem is that there aren't a lot of grocery stores nearby. It's city living, just not downtown city living. But since the school is close enough, I could drop Dustin off at school and take the car to work, wherever that will be. Perk: It is close to the plasma bank.
Basically we want Cascade Park. So here are some pictures of it :)
Big bathroom. Yes, that is a DOUBLE vanity. I'm a fan.
Wood burning fireplace in the family room.
Big pool. Can you see the waterfall? It's not super clear in this picture, but it looks really nice in real life!
Hopefully we'll be putting out a Welcome mat there soon!
