Mi Casa

Many of you may already know but Adam and I moved apartments earlier this year. Mostly because our landlord was going to raise rent but also just because we wanted a change of scenery and an apartment with outdoor space.

Apartment hunting is never easy but Adam was able to find an amazing one on Domain.com.au, the go-to apartment listing website here in Australia.

After a few house guest, a trip to Tasmania and a trip to Western Australia, we were finally able to get it into picture taking shape.

We are a couple blocks farther from the water but have way more space, a parking spot, outside storage space, a proper laundry room and best of all... an awesome balcony that looks over Bondi.

Living Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Guest Room

Bathroom

There is a positive correlation between balconies and wine drinking

Real estate in Sydney, as in New York, is a blood sport. Prices are out of control and competition for homes is intense.  Real estate agents, who obviously never heard the phrase "A rising tide lifts all ships", plaster their faces around the city like they're rock stars for selling a place.

During the 15 minute showings for rentals it's not uncommon to have 10 other people looking at the apartment with you. As in New York, if you like a place you pretty much need to submit an application right away; the landlord then picks the best candidate. It's hard not to eye up the other people and judge which ones might look good on paper.

The apartment Sharon and I got when we first moved here was a five minute walk to the beach and had just been renovated. It would have been perfect but for two major reasons: 1) It had no outdoor space and 2) it was on the ground floor next to a major walkway, so we kept our shutters closed so all the people walking by wouldn't peek into our home. We felt like we lived in a bunker.

When our landlord decided to raise our rent, we decided it was time to find a new place. Sharon and I looked at a couple apartments that turned out to be dumps, and one day I went solo. It was the best I'd seen so I put an application down. Apparently, on paper we looked the best because it was offered to us.

We moved this past Saturday, which proved exhausting since we had several flights of stairs (and no elevator!) to contend with at our new location. But it was worth it: we've got a big balcony with a decent view (the trees are semi-blocking the water, but in winter when they drop their leaves we'll have a fantastic view), natural light streams in from big windows, and we're on the top floor so the only passers-by are some birds.

A view and a balcony are much more conducive to drinking wine, I've discovered. After all, savoring wine is about savoring life, and that's hard to do in a bunker. We might have opened one bottle of wine to drink by ourselves during the year in our old place; we already put down a bottle our first night here while wolfing down some Dominos. We just need to get a couple of chairs and a small table for the balcony and then it'll be off to the races.

Oh, and now we're a 15 minute walk to the beach, but I think we can live with that. :)

Its starting to feel like home!

I can't believe it's almost been  4 months since arriving in Sydney! Sometimes it feels longer and other times it feels like I just arrived. Probably because I've seen so much but miss my friends and family terribly. Either way its been 4 months and its starting to feel a little like home.

Our first month here we were living in a sublet in Double Bay, or as we call it "Double Pay." Our second month we moved into another sublet in Elizabeth Bay, all thanks to our friends Tess and Scott. Third month we finally moved into a place to call our own but to our disappointment our stuff that was picked up in NYC back in October still had yet to show up.

Literally, the day before my sister arrived so did our stuff! It's been a slow progression of unpacking boxes, buying furniture and getting this place in order but I think its safe to say its now starting to look like a home.

BEFORE

 AFTER

(queen bed in the guest room!!)

We now live in Bondi, literally 2 blocks from the beach. It's a really great area as it's always bustling with shops, restaurants and lots of people coming and going from the beach and CBD.

New Apartment #2!

Our "apartment plan" is to sublet until our furniture and stuff arrive late January.  For our first month we were subletting a bedroom in Double Bay. Now for our second month we are subletting our friends', Tess and Scott, apartment until January. Come January we will be in another place and then February we will be in our final apartment. Phew!

So as of today we are in our new place and loving it! It is a 2 bedroom located in Elizabeth Bay in the Eastern Suburbs and has a huge balcony. Everyone in NYC should be totally jealous right now.

Here are a couple pictures.

Living Room with view of Harbor

Kitchen

Bathroom