Call the moving trucks (again)

I moved to Charleston 7 1/2 months ago. Sometimes I still feel like a stranger in a strange land. I only recently learned which road people call the "Crosstown Express" (that's not on any map!), and I can still only get about four places without my GPS. One of those is the grocery store across the street.

We chose a nice apartment when we moved, one in a quiet, suburban neighborhood 10 minutes from The Cit. But we paid a high price for it. I guess I might as well say it here because, well, it's no secret. Between our rent and the cats' rent, we pay about $1,200 a month. The mortgage on the Memphis house was (much) less than that.

Our current complex in MTP is now advertising an $875 rate (yay, economy!!), so Paul stopped by to try to renegotiate the lease. Nothin' doin'. The best they'd offer was $75 off our current rent. ...

... So we're moving. Our lease is up in early May, which gives me about a month to clean out (again), pack up (again), and try to settle in someplace new (again). We toured a much newer complex five minutes away and signed a lease on a unit today. It's 1,040 square feet -- the exact sqft of our current apartment -- for $200 less a month, no pet rent, two months rent free, and what amounts to a 13-month lease on a 12-month schedule. (In other words, 13 months for 10 months' rent). Other bonuses: door-to-door valet trash pickup five days a week; huge, screened-in porch; on-site private theater; on-site gym; and a bigger master bedroom with walk-in closet.

Biggest bonus of all: location. Our unit is on the back side of the last building in the complex, which puts it on the Wando River -- with a sunset view (really!) and the Ravenel Bridge (a.k.a. the Kekeke ^_^ Bridge) in the background. And there's a pond on one side with a little walking trail.

And yet the thing that seems to excite Paul the most are the alligators and lizards. O_o (Boys!)

I still don't know where I want to end up long-term -- I'm not terribly happy in Charleston but don't feel like I can just give up, pack up my bags and move back to Memphis -- but as long as I'm here, this is a really nice place to be. :-)