And the apartment hunt continues....

If you have read previous posts, you may know that I am making a rather big (for me) life change and moving in with my long-term boyfriend.  Since my current lease expires at the end of May, we started apartment hunting a little over a week ago.  It has been a little eye-opening, to say the least.

When I moved here three years ago, I was a starry-eyed Midwestern kid who had dreamed for years of living in a bustling, vibrant city.  I went through an apartment locator and scored a one bedroom, one bath apartment for $599 a month.  Plus, they gave me a deal on the first month's rent and threw in a washer and dryer free of charge.  Though my dad nearly fainted at the monthly rent, I felt confident that I had searched around and snagged a fairly reasonable deal.

Fast forward to present-day.  My apartment realtor informs us that around 14 people move to Austin EVERY DAY, many of whom are looking to rent.  When we ask leasing agents about specials, they shake their heads and mention that the complex is 90% full.  Our $900 monthly budget for a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment has slowly crept up to just under $1000. 

Granted, $1000 a month split 2 ways is still less than the $599 a month I paid when I first landed in Austin.  But we're both currently paying around $400 a month for our respective places.  I don't like the thought of paying an extra $100 a month in rent when that money could go toward paying down the car loan and/or ramping up my savings account.

I am slightly panicked that if we wait much longer, our monthly rent will either reach astronomical rates, or we will end up sharing a small room in the house where my boyfriend currently lives (no disrespect to the house, but I'm not looking for multiple roommates at this stage in my life).  We are touring a very promising property early this upcoming week....fingers crossed that it's the one!