The past few weeks have been a blur. Lots of job applications, several interviews, too much apartment-searching online, some discouragement and a few delays. (There is a happy ending though.)
Initially, I planned (hoped?) to be out of my extended stay hotel January 3. Soon after arriving in Tucson in December, I found a condo for rent online. The poster expected someone could move in December 13. She had just purchased the unit as an income property and needed to close on it before I could see it in person. “In a day or two.” The photos looked good: tile and vinyl “wood” flooring, an updated kitchen, a balcony with mountain views, in-unit laundry, vaulted ceilings, a pool. I was confident I had found the perfect place. Christmastime created delays in the real estate world, but I was willing to wait. “Sometime this week” and “in a few days” turned into weeks. Finally on December 31, I toured the condo. The aroma of cat urine filled my nostrils as soon as I walked in the door. Deal breaker!
So I had wasted time waiting around for what I thought was the perfect home. I extended my hotel reservation for two weeks (now checking out January 17) and returned to the internet for apartment searching. Back in Grand Rapids, I made a short list of apartments in my price range with in-unit laundry. I called those complexes: no units available until spring. I kept searching with no luck. Begrudgingly, I removed in-unit laundry from my list of must-haves. Then I began finding complexes with availability.
A friend taught me that Arizona is “on a different time zone,” meaning there’s no time sensitivity here. Nothing is urgent, appointment times don’t matter, people won’t call back. I experienced that strange time zone during my apartment hunt and job search. I had an appointment to tour a complex. When I arrived on time, the leasing office was empty and locked. I never got the tour. A week later, I had a round-two phone interview for a job. The guy forgot to call me.
On January 11, I turned 35. That morning, I received a phone call from a hotel to which I applied. The call turned out to be an impromptu interview, which led to an in-person interview that afternoon. That same day, I was scheduled to move into an apartment, but I ran into delays from the leasing office. On January 12, the hotel offered me the job — and I accepted. And I got the keys to my new apartment. So after weeks of delays and discouragement, my new life in Tucson fell into place within 24 hours. My first day of work was January 13.
I had a new home but I couldn’t live there right away; I didn’t have my stuff. I went to my apartment after work a few evenings to clean and unpack the items I had in my car. My UHaul UBox would need to be delivered and unloaded. Plus, I needed a new mattress. I scheduled the delivery of the full box and pickup of the empty box. Then it was delayed. I added another week to my hotel reservation (now checking out January 24) and bought a new mattress. The price was great, the mattress was guaranteed in stock and guaranteed for delivery days later. The day before the scheduled delivery, the mattress store called. “Due to COVID and the supply chain, your mattress is not in stock and therefore can’t be delivered tomorrow.” I channeled Angela and her Bath and Body Works rant, then canceled my order, drove to Target and bought an air mattress. I was not willing to live at the extended stay hotel any longer.
On January 23, I checked out of the extended stay — one day earlier than expected. Including arrival and departure days, I lived there for 48 days. I’ve only been in my apartment for one night, but I like it. Eventually, I’ll post some photos of my new home and my new job.
