Not Exactly a Day of Rest

Ben and I weren't expecting to be shown any properties today because it is a Sunday but much to our delight we were able to get ahold of the owners/managers of three properties who were available.

The first place we saw was right on the edge of a high crime area of the city, but the house itself was well kept and was right at the top of a hill and had a great view of the city.

Except it turned out that we had the wrong address and the house we were actually being shown was a run down half of a duplex with no yard.

Thankfully the owner had a second property he was able to show us which was slightly more promising, but I do mean slightly. It is on our "maybe" list...at the very, very bottom.

Then we drove for a good bit to a suburb south of Pittsburgh. The houses were old but well maintained. We were shown a property that had four bedrooms and a nice sized yard (Sadly, no pictures). It didn't smell so great but we were willing to make it work. Then, at the very end of our viewing it came out that no pets were allowed. *facepalm*

At that point I was feeling pretty discouraged. We did still love the townhouse end unit from the previous day...

...but had really been hoping to have at least a couple options to choose from. We realized we needed a mental break so we went and explored the city a bit. We also got our official citizenship cards.

And OH MY WORD a grocery store with free babysitting?!?? Has anyone ever heard of something so wonderful? I thought I was going to be seriously missing Publix but thankfully Giant Eagle is just as awesome (dare I say more awesome?).

After that Ben and I just trawled around the neighborhoods we want to live in, looking for realty signs, talking to people who lived there, and calling as many realtors as we could. 

Okay, I lied. Only Ben did the calling and talking. I just stewed quietly in social anxiety and tried not to look completely freaked out by talking to strangers.

We've decided to go ahead and apply for the townhouse. Tomorrow our only concrete plans are to be shown an apartment in a neighborhood we love (Aspinwall) and to go visit Ben's new workplace.

Never before has anywhere Ben's worked expressed an interest in meeting me and showing me around. What a hopeful sign that this is a place we will want to stay!

Despite the discouraging day of house hunting I am still loving this city more and more. I can't wait to really call it home!