Dream Come True

So on Friday, I mentioned that in the middle of my hike, I coordinated a big aspect of my move.  That big aspect was finding a condo to rent.  I am over-the-moon happy to announce that I was able to secure a unit in the building I lived in before moving to Charlotte!!!  I'm excited to tell you all about it and will be sprinkling in photos of my neighborhood along the way!

Lower St. Anthony Falls, September 2013

The rental market in Minneapolis is very active right now and the area I was looking to rent is highly sought after so I was really feeling stressed that I wouldn't find an apartment as fast as I was hoping.  Two units from my old building had come on the market as rentals but were snatched up before I had a chance to even talk to the landlord so I was starting to feel like it was unlikely I'd get a unit in that building.  Plus it's an owner-occupied building and the HOA really limits the # of units that can be rented, so I wasn't sure another one would become available... which is why I moved extremely fast when I saw a unit posted on craigslist on Wednesday morning.  When I got in touch with the leasing agent (in the middle of my hike) she had already heard from 4 other people who were very interested so I decided to act fast and ended up signing a lease sight unseen.

First Avenue Bridge, September 2013

Obviously renting an apartment having never seen it is not optimal, but it's the way it had to go.  I know the building so well so I felt comfortable renting it without seeing it.  Plus they are replacing all of the carpet and painting it before I move in so I know that I won't have any issues cosmetically.  Luckily a former coworker's daughter lives in the building so she went to see it on Thursday night and gave it two thumbs up and the leasing agent sent me a bunch of photos after showing it to her so I feel great about my decision to rent it.

Stone Arch Bride, September 2013

The funny thing is that the unit is actually on the same floor as my last unit, except this time I will have a river view which I am SUPER excited about.  I can't even tell you how excited I am to return to my old neighborhood.  I may be biased but I think it is one of the most beautiful areas of Minneapolis, and these photos sprinkled throughout this post that I took while walking through this neighborhood in September are proof of that!

Hennepin Avenue bridge with a view of the downtown skyline, September 2013.  My building is the brown one that is sort of the second from the left.

The last couple of weeks feel like a dream come true.  I've found way back to Minneapolis.  I'm excited about my new job.  I found an apartment I know I will love.  After having a string of shitty things happen to me in 2013, it's amazing to have a string of wonderful things happening to me in 2014. For the first time in a very long time, I can utter the words life is good.

It's finally starting to sink in that I am actually coming home!!!I'm closing out this post with the photo the leasing agent sent me of the view from my balcony!  I'm so in love with my new home!

MY VIEW FROM MY NEW HOME, April 2014