Apartment Success!

The live armadillo we didn't see...

After much web-searching, prioritizing, budget adjusting, calling, and narrowing down we finally drove to Florida to look at apartments this last week!

We were able to stay at my Granddaddy's 'Snow Bird' home that is only about a mile away from Gainesville, which is where UF is.  In order to get the same quality of apartment that we had in Bowling Green, Chris and I decided to raise our budget almost $150/mo.  I wasn't too excited about this but there were some things we weren't willing to give up and it was just going to cost us more in FL.  

When we fist got to Granddaddy's I got really sad.  The length of the drive and the quiet of the house reminded me how far away from family and friends we were traveling.  I admit I cried a little, but Chris was great and I was back to optimistic apartment shopping mode by the next morning.  Before heading to Gainesville every morning we had to stop by the local library to get directions and check mail, then the hour drive up and finding offices/ apartments.  After the second day we felt much more confident about getting around town and knowing at least where a few things were, but we hadn't found a place that we were excited about living at.  Yeah we had acceptable options, but either they were pushing the high end of our budget or they felt a little scuzzy.  We finally found a place we were excited about on Wed. it was our last option that had a washer/dryer hookup (which we desperately wanted), as a bonus they don't charge pet rent and since we signed a two year lease they reduced the monthly rent further.  Also we are going to be able to paint in this apartment, I know it will be a lot of work but I think it will feel more like home!  I'm super excited for once about this whole moving buisness!

The complex is called Tree House Village and is about a ten minute drive from the part of campus that I will be working at most of the time.  To see the model and complex you can go to www.treehousevillage.com . 

As a side note, during all of our driving I kept seeing dead armadillos along the road.  At first I thought they were opossums but got kinda excited when I realized what they were because I thought we might get to see live ones.... we never did.  When I told Dad about it he joked that they were all dead because I was on the road (I'm not that bad of a driving plus Chris was driving the whole time!).  So the above picture is as close to a live Armadillo I got on the whole trip!

Before we found our apartments Wed. my adviser, Mercy, took us out for lunch!  I was kind of nervous at first because I have only met her in person once, but she is awesome and really easy to converse with.  We found out that I can for sure start working in July (and start getting paid, which is important!), and some of her expectations for me and my research during this Fall and the next few years.  After leaving I was very reassured that she is going to be wonderful to work with and that she is the right person for me to work with. 

Beautiful Silver Glen!

Since we had secured our apartment, Thursday was a down day where we didn't have to drive so much.  It was wonderful to sleep in and relax, we also made a trip to the Silver Glen Springs.  It was a perfect day to enjoy the water and sun!  Silver Glen is about twenty minutes from Granddaddy's and is a huge natural spring that bubbles huge amounts of water every hour.  We had a surprise rain shower but it was over in a few minutes.  I am happy that we won't be too far from Granddaddy's place for several reasons, one being that there is plenty of room in case a big group (like my family) comes to visit, they can drive from our apartment to that house easily and have plenty of room to spread out.  Also it will be fun to visit the house and some of the more secluded attractions around it (like the springs) on the weekends!

So in summation, there's plenty of room if you ever want to come visit and enjoy the sun, and we will always have the room and the time!