Sunrise over San Francisco Bay, as seen from the stern of the Larkspur ferry.Where have I been? I went apartment hunting this week. Fortunately, the process turned out to be a huge success and I now have an actual address to move to. Whew!

Given that I’m loading up the truck just five days from now, you might imagine that this development is quite a relief.

I’ve never had quite such a housing challenge as this, however. Which means, I wasn’t exactly sure how to approach the whole apartment-search scene in Marin County…until Craigslist was suggested to me. (As I now know, this online service began and is headquartered in San Fran, so, from what I can determine, its popularity seems to be especially huge there.) This turned out to be a really valuable piece of advice, though the sheer number of possibilities soon proved to be overwhelming. I started reading the North Bay rental listings on Memorial Day weekend and promptly discovered that there were lots and lots of available places; for example, there were over 200 new listings in the North Bay area posted on Memorial Day alone. However, from my frame of reference, by anywhere-in-Oregon standards, the apartments were renting for exorbitant prices.

Well, I just decided to keep breathing…and to keep reading. My plan was to show up in Marin directly after my last day of work in Oregon…which meant finishing up my job here on June 15, then immediately driving down to San Fran.

Prior to the trip, I constantly checked for new postings online; I did this practically hourly for over two weeks. It was very easy to fall behind in my reading, but by regularly checking in, I felt I was pretty much able to track the kinds of, and locations of, the openings that were being announced. At both work and home, 24 hours a day, I had one browser window opened to the appropriate Craigslist page and another opened to a Google map of the area.

Now, in case you don’t know, most Craigslist ads are pretty much slightly-expanded versions of what you’re used to finding in a classified section of a newspaper (you know, the old fashioned way of doing things). They give the price, number of beds/baths, the location, and whatever other info the owner thinks might attract the interest of prospective renters. However, an ad that caught my eye fairly early on was the one written by an individual who wanted to find someone to take over his apartment so he could escape his lease. Instead of giving just the basic information about his place, he provided a short, rather-compelling essay, which I quote in part, directly and without permission, here:

This is for all of you nature lovers who like to feel like you are living in the mountains. The apartment is surrounded by trees, and the sound of wildlife. It even smells like the mountains, yet you are only a 25 minute drive from downtown SF, and minutes away from main highways, ferrys, and towns. And even though you are so close to these centers, you can’t hear them or see them. It is really the perfect balance for us “over the mountains, but want to live by a city” folk.

The apartment is up on Mt. Tam, and has a wonderful view of the Kentfield/Ross Valley. There is a large sliding glass door that leads you from the living room to the deck overlooking the view. On hot summer days, I like to keep the door open and let the warm breeze through the apartment. Sometimes I eat out on the deck. At night, I like to sit on the deck and watch the twinkling lights of houses across the valley, and the stars above. Even in the winter it is nice, since there is a deck above me that keeps the rain off of my deck.

The living room is spacious, and has an operational fireplace that I use all of the time. The fireplace fills the entire room and dining area with light from the fire, and in the winter, it generates enough heat to be able to keep the central heater off more often.

The kitchen is cozy, but functional. I love to cook, and it has served me well. There is plenty of cupboard space.

The bedrooms are both good sized. The master bedroom is large enough for my queen sized bed, a couch, my piano keyboard, large computer desk, dresser, night stand, guitar amps, and recording set up, while still leaving an 8X8 foot open floor area in the middle of the room. Plus, there are large walk in closets in both bedrooms with ample space for storage and clothes.

The bathroom is good sized, and has a shower/bathtub. There is a secondary sink right outside the bathroom in case two people want to use sinks at the same time, or if someone is taking a shower, and the other person wants to get ready to go somewhere.

There are 2 large closets in the hall way and entry way for storage.

There is an additional storage facility available for tenants.

There is one designated parking spot for the apartment which is covered, and plenty of communal parking if you have a second car.

There are 3 pools, laundry facilities, a gym, and hiking trailheads in the parking lot.

Pets are not allowed.

Water and garbage are included. Utilities you would be responsible for are gas, electric, and anything else you add on.

The apartment is in a complex, however, it is very quiet here and people pretty much keep to themselves. I have never had any problems whatsoever with noise or annoying neighbors. It is so quiet here that you can hear your heartbeat at night... The neighbors above and below are all wonderful, and welcoming. http://www.skylarkapartments.com/ is the website if you would like to see photos, and other details.

The apartment is roughly 900 square feet, measured roughly by me... If you count the deck, it’s probably about 1000 square feet, which is strange to me because this apartment feels bigger than that... Probably because most of the wall in the living room is windows. The master bedroom is about 13 X 15.5 feet, and the second bedroom is about 13 X 13 feet, not including the 5X5 walk in closets in both rooms…

He then went on to give some personal information about himself and why he was leaving his perfect living space.

Well, on the basis of this ad, I became pretty interested in this complex, especially because it was only about a mile from my new campus. I wasn’t particularly interested in his place, though; as (described) it was sandwiched between two other apartments and I have a strong preference for the top floor. However, I contacted the managers by email and was informed that there was going to be a 2 BR upper unit becoming available around July 1 (my target date).

Well, nothing is ever simple, I guess. When I arrived there last Sunday (a week ago today), I was informed by the assistant manger that they had nothing open. “July 1?”, she asked. “I don’t think so…”

Disappointed, I began my search in earnest. I had come prepared with printouts of over 40 places to check out, so I started exploring the addresses on my list. I drove round and round, searching for another 8 hours that first day. Unhappily, nothing really appealed to me that much. Everything I looked at seemed to be missing one or more really important elements that I look for in a place. Of course, the key criterion is the absence of noise. I went to bed in my hotel room that night fairly discouraged.

Come the next morning, though, I called the Skylark Apartments first thing. I had remembered that the first time I inquired about an apartment at my current (Roseburg, OR) address I was told there was nothing available, only to get a call the next day to the contrary. I had not left my phone number with this management, though, so I called with that in mind…and the minute I identified myself, she asked “are you the one that was here yesterday?” When I indicated that I was, the reaction was, “oh, I am so glad you called…when we talked yesterday, I had totally forgotten about a unit that we have coming available soon that you might be interested in.”

I replied, “I’ll be right there.”

I took a look at the apartment, and even though it was undergoing renovation and was not really in move-in condition, I could tell it was almost exactly what I had been looking for. The manager agreed to hold it for the day while I continued to search, and I spent another entire day looking and driving, driving and looking…but I went back late in the afternoon to put my money down.

The apartment itself has two bedrooms, two baths, and is almost as big as my three-bedroom house in Portland was. The most spectacular feature is the view out of the large living room windows. I can see, among other things, San Francisco Bay, the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and San Quentin Prison. It’s actually, from what I can tell, virtually perfect. (If we don’t count the outrageous monthly rent!)

So, yes, I now have an address to move to. In Larkspur, California. I don’t know much about this little (pop: 11,724) city yet, but one of the obvious landmarks as I drove through the downtown area multiple times was a one-screen movie theatre called The Lark. I’ll be learning a lot more about Larkspur, Kentfield, San Rafael, and all of Marin County soon.

Stay tuned.

[Oh, and thanks go to Matthew for composing that little essay on Craigslist. Mr. Cello Man: I hope you found someone to take over your apartment!]