Saturday we got up early and headed to Cincinnati to hunt for apartments. We had compiled a list of 22 to see. A bit too aggressive. We actually made it to 13 places. We talked to 3 people and only saw 2 apartments. Seems the rental market in Cinci is the opposite of Indy. In Indy everyone is buying houses (those built in a month boxes that look like all the others in the still under construction neighborhood kind) so apartment places are begging for tenants. There are lots of weekend hours here in Indy and in Cinci only a few places had weekend hours.
A few places we saw (drove around) were nice, picked up info and may call to see if we take a look. Some others, well I just can’t imagine living there. We definitely aren’t a fan of Fath Properties – especially after finally talking to someone who works at one, rude, loud and just not a good vibe from those people. One place the lady was VERY nice and gave us directions to the mall to find food! But the apartments were not worth the $650 deposit. If it were half that – maybe.
The whole day was surreal. It’s strange to have NO point of reference when looking for a place to live. Here, 465 is this huge loop that defines the city and where you are in. And Indy is a planned city – mostly north/south and east/west streets; with few exceptions. It’s confusing in Cinci, we were on streets that randomly changed names and the block numbering was insane. At one point the house numbers were 5400 and then they jumped to 2600 and counted up from there for a bit then went back to 5500. I’m going to be so lost there for at least a year if not the whole time. And Troy, he has no sense of direction – he’s a bit doomed.
We did manage to find the university again without directions and from there we drove around the neighborhood called the gas light district, just a few blocks from campus. We jotted down numbers of places that were for rent. I’m thinking after being lost for hours that perhaps our best bet is to stick to that little area near campus or live directly off one of the highways with a straight shot to campus. It may not be a place to live in for years but it will do until we can get our bearings.
The next apartment hunting day will be an adventure in the strange land that is soon to be our future home. Anyone know of a good place to live in Cincinnati?