Apartment Hunting in Bend.

Bend is everything I’d hoped for, the people are friendly, everything is close, and just a few miles to the west there are fields and mountains covered with snow. Mt Bachelor, the sixth largest ski area in the U.S., is only 21 miles away. I’m thrilled about all the outdoor recreation available here.

All day Tuesday I drove around town searching out “For Rent” signs. My original plan was to find a place close to downtown and the Old Mill district. Some place within walking distance of the Bikram Yoga studio. A good apartment or house within a mile of either place would do the trick. Budget was important. The cheapest suitable place. It didn’t have to be a palace, but it did need to have a decent kitchen.

Craigslist is full of advertisements for housing. There are studios for $400, 1&2 bedroom apartments for $500 to $800 and up. I found a 3 bedroom house for $750. The choices are staggering. I didn’t need all of that choice, I just needed the right place.

There is a small apartment building half a block away from downtown and Drake Park. Beth over at the Downtowner, the little bistro where I had my first supper in Bend, called it to my attention. She said there was a “For Rent” sign out front. This was the first place I looked. One of the tenants told me it was a good building, “nicer on the inside” he said, and he thought the rent was either $450 or $550.

Driving on I crisscrossed the streets in the Old Bend historic neighborhood searching out the rental signs. I would stop, take a picture of the building, take a picture of the “For Rent” sign, and finally take a picture of the street sign. In this manner I quickly covered a lot of ground.

There was a two bedroom condo that looked promising. Sweet location near the Old Mill district and the Bikram studio. I was pretty excited about the place. It was nice enough inside, but the kitchen was tiny. It was so tiny it felt like a closet. Seriously I’ve had bigger walk in closets than this kitchen. The rent was a bit steep too. $750 was getting to the top of my budget. I could do $750 but it would really make things tight.

In the afternoon I expanded my search going outside of a one mile radius of the Bikram studio. To the east near Whole Foods and Barnes and Noble there were some traditional looking apartment complexes. Only a couple of miles from Downtown, it feels like a completely different town. To the west I drove up towards the Central Oregon Community College. There was snow on the ground up here. Higher elevation than the center of town. There are some newer duplexes up on the side of the mountain. Three bedrooms with a garage for $750. I liked the neighborhood even though it was about 3 miles from downtown and Bikram. Three miles would be bikeable, and it wasn’t too steep of an uphill ride going home… I made a phone call to have a look at the place.

The management company said that I needed to make an appointment for the next day. 2:30PM the next day was the earliest available appointment so I agreed, and headed home.

That evening I told my friends about the places that I had looked at, and they were very certain that the better choice was the apartment near downtown. It was cheaper, and it was right downtown where everything is happening.

Early the next morning I called to have a look at the apartment near downtown. The manager told me over the phone that it was open and I could go have a look at one of two units available, #3 or #10. The first unit, #3, just wasn’t going to work. One big room with a tiny closet, and a tiny bathroom, and everything was carpeted. EVERYTHING! At the top of the stairs on the second floor was the second unit, #10. This place was a little bit smaller, but the kitchen was in it’s own alcove off to the side of the main room. Yeah the bathroom and closet were also tiny, but I could see potential in this place. It was a great location, great rent ($465), and doable floor plan. I looked at the rental application on the counter and decided to go for a walk.

The question on my mind was which place to go for? The great newly built 3 bedroom duplex that was certain to have a wonderful gourmet kitchen, or the tiny studio that would just be liveable yet was right in the heart of town. My path took me through Drake Park along the Deschutes River. My breat was frosting gently in the still morning air. As the park ended I walked through a couple of blocks of downtown and crossed a bridge to the other side of the river.

On the opposite bank there was an apartment complex called the Riveria. The sign out front had a vacancy sign and a number. While I was dialing the number in the phone a voice called out, “I’m over here.” Looking around I saw a woman standing in front of a house next to the driveway down to the apartment complex. When I introduced myself she said that we had talked on the phone about the studio.

There were two apartments coming available in February, and Brenda invited me to go look a one that had been rented already. It was a gorgeous apartment. The kitchen and the bedroom both opened onto a wooden deck overlooking the river. It was a really great place. I told Brenda that I’d like to apply for one of the ones coming available. She gave me an application and I went out walking again.

On the way back to the car I ran into Brenda walking into town, and told her that I’d changed my mind. The studio was not the greatest place I’d seen, but it fit my budget, was close to town, and I figured it would only be temporary. It was the right decision.

In the process of turning in my application Brenda told me that there was a 1 bedroom apartment in the building next door for $525 a month, and would I like to look at it?

One look at the place, and I told Brenda that I would take it. I’d write a check on the spot for first, last, and security deposit.

It was a couple of days. On Friday Brenda called me. She said, “You’re approved. I’ve never seen anyone just approved for an apartment.” So I asked her what that meant and she said that usually people are approved conditionally on payment of a security deposit for example.

Since I’ve arrived in Bend things have really been going my way. I can feel God watching, and when I make a right step like choosing the right place for my budget I was shown a better place that still worked for my budget.

So I’ve got my place. The address is 724 NW Broadway Street apt#8 Bend, Oregon 97701