Selling and Moving
Moving to Austin I desperately looked for a 6-month lease. After flying here, looking for two days, extending my trip to look harder, and coming back with nothing, I eventually found a place to live. I moved in a few weeks later, expecting the place to be disgusting.
It turned out to only be a little bit disgusting,--considering its price in the Austin housing market. My apartment did its job, but I am done with it. Every time I come home, there is a new, off-putting smell, there is no dishwasher, and I don't completely trust the neighborhood after my sunglasses were stolen out of my car.
Though it is cool to think that in these 6 months, so much has happened. Everything I've experienced in Austin this far has been in this time frame.
I remember the first few weeks having no furniture but an air-mattress with one fitted-sheet--using it as a couch and table.
Slowly I accumulated items and got more comfortable. But I never really felt like investing myself in the place. I didn't put up wall decorations (or do the dishes.)
The time came to move to the next place, and my boyfriend and I began selling the items I had accumulated.
Doing things on the internet scares me, so asking strangers to meet at my apartment to pickup furniture was a bit concerning. But everyone was really nice. The first was a younger guy, who I ended up offering to drive the couch to his apartment because the car he showed up in was tiny. Though he eventually just disassembled it to fit in his car. The next was a younger girl coming for the dresser who was clearly just as worried as I was because she brought another guy with in a separate car. And the last was a woman wanting the butcher's block table for her new house. We ended up talking for a while about Austin and how great dogs are.
With only a few things left to sell, the apartment is starting to look how it did 6 months ago. I surprised that I went this long without investing myself in the apartment, but I'm also thinking about how comfortable I've gotten here. From starting on an air mattress, I eventually settled in.
Now I'm thinking about how to get uncomfortable again.
