From The Pod to the Pad

After a bit of drama getting a temporary place lined up (fun tip I only stumbled upon: most brokers and property owners only think 30 days out, so the rental market realllllly dries up in the last week of the month), I'm in my permanent temporary home, conveniently located near, well, everything.

I need to walk about 10 feet to run into 100 restaurants, but I'm far enough away from the avenue to not be bothered by the noise. What's really cool is I have a balcony about big enough for a book and me, which overlooks a courtyard area inside the apartment building. They also have laundry facilities onsite, and there's a couple grocery places nearby. I'm going to miss this place.

One thing I've discovered here is how alive cash is. I can nearly count on one hand the number of times I had actual paper money in my wallet where I used to live; everywhere took plastic. But here, I feel like I'm the only person that doesn't have a wad o' ones at any given time. The businesses don't make it easy, either; Most everywhere takes credit, but there's a 50-50 chance they'll demand a $10 (or more) minimum. I'm one of those people that puts everything on a credit card and pays it off at the end of the month, so I'm still getting over the fact my brilliant finance management plan may not survive the city. Moral of the story: Cash is king.