Be or not to be.. or better the where-to-be..

Living in Hamburg or Munich teaches us, that finding an apartment at all is not easy and requires quite some flexibility in pretty much everything. With other words: You stop smiling as soon as you open www.immobilienscout24.de the first time until that day, where you finally move into your new place..probably 3 months later as you expected to move.

In this area, this is quite different. If you want to rent an apartment within an apartment complex, you just start walking around in the area you wish to live and watch out for signs outside of the complexes. In my case "Now renting: 1 bedroom". Within one day you can already be a new tenant of an apartment of your choice.

The leases, I got offers for, today, were from 1 month up to 14 months on a fix base. So if you want to break the lease (which means basically getting out of the contract just so) because you have to move out for some reason, they charge you in general a break up fee of about 2000 - 2500 USD.

Well, you can, of course, also decide to buy a house here in the area..but if you look at the price, you would pay a tiny bit more..although, the following house looked quite appealing and is situated on Villa St, quite in the center of Mountain View :-) :

But the price is something, what is kind of ridiculous. Only because Google's HQ is in Mountain View should not justify these prices here.

I'd better stick on keep looking for apartments to rent, instead, and leave the buying to the Google folks, who actually have a chance to afford this kind of toy.


Five apartment complexes I had a chance to look at, yesterday. Four of them were quite cool - but none of them really in my original price range. Currently, I am keeping two of them in focus, a third one is just a fantasy, but it makes you feel like living permanently in vacations. 8-) I try to stay realistic and re-focus on the other two. So, here are my choices:

Aviana Apartments:
Their price range is from 1445 - 1465 USD. Although this is quite much, it is still within the price range, you gonna get an apt here around this area. 

Birch Creek Apartments: 
Then the one, which is most probably gonna be my choice. I have already kind of decided. Paying 100 USD less here, but get everything fully remodeled. And this is really a nice apartment. All new, especially the kitchen, etc.
The only downside: I can move in on Nov, 1st. So I would need to find a solution, where to stay the next 4 weeks.

Then, I just got my car deal done!
Will get to my car within the next 2 till 3 weeks, the transfer is fluent. It will be the Ford Escort, I mentioned, earlier. Old model, but if it drives me to the coast and back reliably - I won't complain. :-)

Will post pictures, as soon as I took some - of my car and later, of my new apartment.