There's this luxury apartment complex called Sunset + Vine that I've driven and walked by for a couple years now. I've always wanted to check it out. So I was around the area during the apartment's office hours and decided to go on in and see what this place was all about. There was an apartment available in December, which would go for around $2,350. The sales lady took me to a demo one bedroom apartment that had a different layout, but would at least give me an idea of what a one bedroom looks like. My first thing was to try and compare it to the size of my current apartment. First, the living room was deeper than my current apartment and perhaps just as wide. The kitchen was perhaps about the same size as my current kitchen though my current kitchen is a bit more rectangular. The bathroom was about the same size, as well. Connected through the bathroom was a large walk-in closet. Even though it was rather large, I'd say the big different is that my current apartment has much more closet space.
So the size of the apartments are probably very similar; however, that's about where it all ends. Two big selling points to living at Sunset + Vine are: there is a laundry and dryer inside the apartment and there is central air. When you live in an apartment that has a community laundry room, there are those unfortunate Saturday/Sundays when one family has about four months of laundry to do and they start the process at noon, which locks everyone out of the laundry room until 10 p.m. When that happens, it really stinks. And as for central air, during those three or four weeks when the temperature is just outrageous, central air would so help improve my hours of sleep.
There were other nice things about the apartment. It has what I guess is currently in vogue, the polished concrete floors. There were Quartz countertops in the kitchen. The kitchen came with refrigerator, microwave and stovetop. There were lovely outdoor living areas with fireplaces. There was a 24 hour fitness facility (which honestly I'd probably seldom use.)
There were the negatives. The price is obviously steep. And while walking around, I only saw people in their early twenties. I couldn't help but think that these were kids with rich parents. After reading the details; however, I learned that 2 people are allowed into a studio, 3 people in a one bedroom and 5 people in a two bedroom. Three people in a one bedroom seems like a squeeze, but perhaps this is what is happening. If you fit 3 twenty year-old college kids into a 1 bedroom, each pays a reasonable $800 a month rent. For Los Angeles, that probably isn't outrageous. Either way, kids with rich parents or three students squeezed into a 1 bedroom doesn't exactly sound like a place I might want to live. I have nothing against college kids other than the fact that we have different sleeping patterns. To off-set this, I was told that the windows were sound proofed, but though the windows might be sound proofed the walls might not be -- thinking strong bass on the stereo playing a 1 a.m. on a Tuesday night; the college kids are studying for finals while I'm needing to wake up early to go to work in 6 hours. The other negative, and perhaps this is me being picky, if I'm paying $2,350 a month, shouldn't the complex throw in free cable and high speed Internet access for free?
Anyways, I tossed this idea of moving to Sunset + Vine to a couple of friends. Both think I'm crazy for entertaining the idea and think I should just continue saving for a house. Oh well, I'll probably check out a few more apartments over the course of the next few months and see what else is out there -- especially those with central air.
Note: If you live in Los Angeles and went through this recent (felt like 3 weeks) heat wave during late August/early September, you know why I'm focused in on central air.
Notes from Vivace
No comments:
Post a Comment