Tuesday, June 01, 2004
I've restarted my apartment search. I've decided to take my rejection as a sign that I was headed down the wrong path. My original apartment search was focused on the area in Center City Philadelphia east of Broad Street (Broad dissects Center City in half - most Whartonites live west of Broad). There were a few of reasons I focused on an area of the city less popular with the Wharton Brood. 1) I knew I could get a better deal for the space, 2) I didn't want to run into Wharton students EVERYWHERE I went, and 3) I'm a little bit of a rebel and I don't like doing what everyone else is doing.
Well, now that I've had to go back to square one of the apartment search, I've decided to rethink my strategy. I'm focusing my search on University City (which is the area west of U Penn) and the Fitler Square area (which is the area between Rittenhouse - Whartonite Land- and the lovely Schuylkill (pronounced Skew-Kill) River). Both areas are serviced by the free U Penn shuttle. My preliminary search indicates that there are places in my price range and with much of the character I was looking for (hardwood floors, high ceilings, etc.) in both of these areas of the city. And some of the places I'm interested in are 5 blocks from Huntsman Hall. But ultimately what made me rethink was the realization that being around my fellow Whartonites might be a good thing. All of my classmates that I've met so far have been amazing people. It would be cool to live in close proximity to all these folks. So there's no need for me to hibernate in Old City, Washington Square, or Chinatown. I think being around all of these incredibly terrific people may actually enrich my two-year experience.
Oh and I found out more about why my application was rejected. It seems I'm on some tenant blacklist because of some problems I had with a previous landlord. The problem was resolved and is explainable, but on the blacklist I will remain. Apparently for the rest of my life - which seems excessive and unfair. Hell, even bankruptcies fall off your credit report. But I digress. I was glad to find out that the reason for my rejection was the blacklist, and not because I was judged to be a degenerate credit-wise. My credit is imperfect but it's not bad enough to keep me out of an apartment. But it still sucks that I've been blacklisted.
Well, now that I've had to go back to square one of the apartment search, I've decided to rethink my strategy. I'm focusing my search on University City (which is the area west of U Penn) and the Fitler Square area (which is the area between Rittenhouse - Whartonite Land- and the lovely Schuylkill (pronounced Skew-Kill) River). Both areas are serviced by the free U Penn shuttle. My preliminary search indicates that there are places in my price range and with much of the character I was looking for (hardwood floors, high ceilings, etc.) in both of these areas of the city. And some of the places I'm interested in are 5 blocks from Huntsman Hall. But ultimately what made me rethink was the realization that being around my fellow Whartonites might be a good thing. All of my classmates that I've met so far have been amazing people. It would be cool to live in close proximity to all these folks. So there's no need for me to hibernate in Old City, Washington Square, or Chinatown. I think being around all of these incredibly terrific people may actually enrich my two-year experience.
Oh and I found out more about why my application was rejected. It seems I'm on some tenant blacklist because of some problems I had with a previous landlord. The problem was resolved and is explainable, but on the blacklist I will remain. Apparently for the rest of my life - which seems excessive and unfair. Hell, even bankruptcies fall off your credit report. But I digress. I was glad to find out that the reason for my rejection was the blacklist, and not because I was judged to be a degenerate credit-wise. My credit is imperfect but it's not bad enough to keep me out of an apartment. But it still sucks that I've been blacklisted.
