Pros and Cons of Living Alone (Future Edition)

[Sliceanddice]

its simple im a home body who has her own ideas of fun. i have never understood the appeal of bars of any kind. i like doing stuff whee when im done i can curl up somewhere and sleep, even if my bed isnt there (friends house or bothers house i can curl up somewhere and sleep after we eat tons of chinese food gummy bears and caffinated drinks and spend 10 hours watching disney movies while there maybe judging and playing firefly board game and settlers of canton plus others for 10 hours) at a bar im surrounded by strangers, will get funny looks for watching disney movies and playing goes without ordering a drink.

[Jester]

I like both....other than the caffeinated drinks, of course.

[Sheldonrs]

I loved living in Scotsdale, AZ but since I don't drive and the buses in AZ stop around 9-10 at night, it's not a great place if you like to go out.
I wish I could have taken my apartment with me though. $600.00 per month and that included all utilities. :-)

[Jester]

Sheldon, while I do have a vehicle, my goal is to get a place within a certain radius (say, 2-3 miles) of downtown Tempe/Mill Avenue, so that I can go out and use my bike to get there and back, or perhaps even the new light rail in the area. Been scouting for various places that fit the bill, my budget, and my particular preferences, and what I've found so far leaves me rather optimistic. But first I need to save the funds up to make that move, which is a work in progress.

[Sapphire Silk]

Well, I will add this.

I did a travel assignment in Phoenix a few years ago. Stayed in Mesa. LOVED IT.

I'm seriously thinking about moving there when I retire.

[protege]

Actually, I plan for the second bedroom to serve as a guest room/office/library. My bookshelves around the walls with a fold out futon or sofa in there, along with my computer desk and computer, giving me more room in the master bedroom to be comfortable, and giving me a chance to have a more traditional living room than my current library of a living room.

That's what I did with my second bedroom. Right now it's a mess, but it serves as my office. There are several bookcases in there, plus my desk and computer table. Also in there, is a small cabinet with some models.

Sure, living by myself is a bit lonely at times, but it's nice to come home to peace and quiet. Plus, I don't have to deal with drama if I don't want to.

Another plus, is that I don't have to put away the hobby stuff. I can build models in the living room or kitchen, and not have to hear about it.

[Jester]

Here is my plan for my 2 bedroom Tempe apartment, as I see it in my head:

Master bedroom: my bed with a nightstand or two and large closets for my clothes. Also my current medium sized tv (22 or 26 inch flat screen, I can never remember which).

Guest bedroom: futon/sleeper sofa (which I'll nees to buy), desk with computer, bookshelves with most of my books, closer with extra clothes and space for guest clothes if needed. The good bike hanging from ceiling, out of way of where occasional guest would sleep.

Kitchen: kitchen with all the kitchen stuff I have neatly organized, plus perhaps a few more items if needed. Pantry housing usual pantry stuff and craft beer stock. Also, spade permitting, a dining room table.

Living room: only room in the house I really have nothing for at the moment. Gonna have to buy a nice couch, a nice chair or two (recliners, of course), a big screen tv, and the appropriate tables for all this. Have the wooden coasters for the beers already. Maybe one bookshelf if needed for space in second bedroom. Wine rack with wine.

Balcony: hammock chair, small table, and whatever else is appropriate for balcony.

I did a travel assignment in Phoenix a few years ago. Stayed in Mesa. LOVED IT.

I'm seriously thinking about moving there when I retire.

Mesa is good and bad. A lot of bad, especially with the dickhead cops that work for Mesa PD. Still some nice parts of Mesa to live in.

[Sheldonrs]

I bought a lot of good, used hotel furniture when i lived in AZ.
Here is a link to the place I went to:

http://www.ircahotelservices.com/Showrooms.html

[Gilhelmi]

I am thinking of buying a house. The mortgage/taxes would not be that much higher then rent.

[wolfie]

Jester, a few suggestions:

For the love of Dog, PLEASE don't get a U-haul. Go with Penske (or virtually any other company) instead. U-haul is notorious for crap equipment, and for taking reservations that they don't have the equipment available to fulfil - and you only find out when you show up on the day you booked, only to find that the truck isn't available.

For transporting the Jestermobile, there are 2 options: a dolly (supports front wheels, rear wheels on ground) and a trailer (entire vehicle is off the ground). Spend the extra bucks and get a trailer. If I remember right what you've posted about the Jestermobile, it's a rear-drive, and some vehicles have issues when towed with the drive wheels on the ground. Also, a dolly will put your rearmost lights roughly level with the front doors, while a trailer will have them at the very back - the extra 10 feet or so could make the difference between an inattentive idiot behind you stopping in time, or hitting the Jestermobile. Finally, with dollies it's recommended to avoid backing up (I believe it has to do with stresses on the wheel tiedowns, and the steering wanting to "give", if you turn while backing). Trailers can be backed. Whichever route you go, be sure to tie the Jestermobile down securely (rubber-tired vehicles are among the hardest loads to secure properly). If you have a choice, tie it down using the tiedown eyes in the frame, rather than wheel straps - you'll avoid suspension bounce. Be sure to position it properly on the trailer - you want around 10% of the total trailer weight on the hitch ball. Ask at the rental place about the proper way to load and tow.

With a cube van and trailer, you'll find it somewhat harder to find parking for meal stops. Your best bet would be truck stops - for some reason, they tend to have long (70 foot) parking spaces. Names to look for are Pilot, Love's, Flying J, Petro, and TA. If a particular location has RV spaces (in the "car" side of the lot), use one of those rather than a truck space - and count on the truck spaces being full as of early evening. Note that a lot of TA locations (not all) have motels - regular motels may or may not have "large vehicle" spaces. If you're a member of AAA, ask them about motels that can accommodate vehicles with trailers (someone with a pickup and a horse or boat trailer would need the same sort of facility).

[Jester]

For the love of Dog, PLEASE don't get a U-haul. Go with Penske (or virtually any other company) instead. U-haul is notorious for crap equipment, and for taking reservations that they don't have the equipment available to fulfil - and you only find out when you show up on the day you booked, only to find that the truck isn't available.

Good information to have. Of course, I may not have a choice, as I don't know if there are any other companies besides U-Haul in the Keys. I will look into it, of course. I do know that when I moved my niece from northern Florida back to KW, U-Haul was not an issue, and all their stuff was just fine. Not that that means they always will be, of course. But it was that time.

For transporting the Jestermobile, there are 2 options: a dolly (supports front wheels, rear wheels on ground) and a trailer (entire vehicle is off the ground). Spend the extra bucks and get a trailer.

There's never been a question in my mind about this. It's trailer all the way.

Whichever route you go, be sure to tie the Jestermobile down securely (rubber-tired vehicles are among the hardest loads to secure properly).

Ask at the rental place about the proper way to load and tow.

Oh, I will. I will ask them to tell me AND show me, as not only will I be hauling it across the country, but there will be various places where I am going to want to unload the Jestermobile and drive it, so I am going to want to know the best way to load AND unload it, as it will be on and off the trailer multiple times.

With a cube van and trailer, you'll find it somewhat harder to find parking for meal stops.

Thanks for looking out for me. Now, while this will be my first van and trailer trip, it certainly won't be my first road trip by an stretch, and I already knew that certain things will by definition be different, including the information you mentioned.

[Jester]

So I've been enjoying a lazy Sunday morning (I don't work Sundays), just laying in bed, chilling, and I've been doing a little bit of apartment reconnaissance for my future move back to AZ. I can't call it apartment hunting, since it's gonna be at least a year before this happens. But it's been entertaining looking at what's available, and for how much, and where. And in the course of my little exercise, I've found a few amusing things in some ads. Submitted for your laughter:

--I've been using Craigslist, and so I've been looking in the East Valley portion of Phoenix Craigslist, as I want to live in or around Tempe. One listing came up for a mobile home, which I wouldn't normally look at, but the price was low, and it's not like we get a lot of hurricanes in the desert, so I decided to check it out. Not recognizing the address, I panned out on the map. And out. And out. And even further out, until it dawned on me where this address was: just outside of Nogales, which is on the border of freakin' Mexico. Not only is that NOT in the East Valley, it's about an hour south of TUCSON, or almost three hours outside of the entire Valley of the Sun. Misplaced ad much?

--I know some places feel the need to brag about as much as they can, to make themselves look better than their competition, but this one just left me scratching my head: "wood-like floors." Um....okay?

--Another ad very proudly proclaimed that the available rental had "Large walking closets!!!" I don't know about you, buy I prefer that my closets stay the hell where they are, rather than taking a stroll around town.

--I am looking for my own place, but this one ad for a room for rent caught my eye, as it seemed rather...small. Maybe it's just me, but would YOU want to rent a room that was 12 square feet?

--This last one seem not to be a typo or error on the part of the person writing the ad, but rather a serious flaw in design. A house for rent apparently had 5 bedrooms, and 1.5 bathrooms. Anyone else see an issue with that?

[purple]

--This last one seem not to be a typo or error on the part of the person writing the ad, but rather a serious flaw in design. A house for rent apparently had 5 bedrooms, and 1.5 bathrooms. Anyone else see an issue with that?

Nope but then again I live in a city where you end up with 10 (5 couples) or more people in a house with 1 bathroom. Most I've done is 5 people 1 bathroom (toilet in bathroom) and it was only an issue if one of us wanted to soak.

[wolfie]

--This last one seem not to be a typo or error on the part of the person writing the ad, but rather a serious flaw in design. A house for rent apparently had 5 bedrooms, and 1.5 bathrooms. Anyone else see an issue with that?

Actually, it's fairly common in real estate listings. A full bathroom is your normal toilet/sink/tub (or sometimes a shower). A half bathroom is a toilet and sink, but no tub or shower.

[Jester]

Oh, I know what a half bathroom is. I just see a problem with a household that has five bedrooms (meaning 5-10 people potentially) and only two toilets....and only one shower.