Why Auburn

A few days after excepting the job (and after the board approved it), I drove down to Tuskegee to try and find somewhere decent to live.  I knew trying to find somewhere in Tuskegee I was going to like was going to be a challenge.

Before I moved back to Atlanta, I lived in a studio apartment in a duplex that was within walking distance of campus.  Work was 5 to 10 minutes away depending on how many slow cars I got behind or traffic lights I caught.  Often I would roll out of bed and head to work and would come home for lunch.  I really wanted that convenience again.

However, my main concern with living in Tuskegee was security.  My apartment in Tuskegee was broken into twice within six months (between October 2006 and February 2007).  I have an idea who it was.  Granted, it was probably my fault for letting strangers in my house and leaving the windows open all day some days.  I believe that reason Asia disappeared was because of the second break in.

I first looked at an apartment complex where a lot of college students lived.  It was decent by Tuskegee standards.  They had bars on the doors and windows.  However, the apartment manager had all of the leases expire at the same time and I was looking to be moved before that happened.   I also checked another apartment complex out in Tuskegee.  Single bedroom, rent was cheap too.  Perfect for a college student, or someone trying to save some money starting off.  There were no bars on the windows or doors and it look like an easy target for a determined thef.  Even though the units were wired for ADT, someone could still break in your apartment and steal something before the police came.  Plus you have the added emotional baggage of someone violating your stuff.    I figured I could live there for a year or so, save up a lot of cash and perhaps find something else decent in Tusekgee.   I checked out a couple of houses that were for rent, but i just didn’t like the neighborhood that they were in.

I started  to become tired and frustrated.  It looked as if I wasn’t going to find something I liked in Tuskegee in timely matter.

Auburn it is!

The biggest issue I had with living in Auburn is the football traffic.  Auburn University’s football team is doing very well and their home games are well attended by students, alumni and fans.  As if one didn’t see enough of the variety Auburn University decals affixed to vehicles in all kind of ways, home games added flags on cars and faux tiger tails attached to rear bumpers.

By the time I got to Auburn, it was lunch time and so most of the rental offices were closed.  I was able to check out one place that catered to a lot of college students.  What irked me about a lot of the apartments in Auburn is that they were rented by the rooms and not units.  College town business I guess.  This particular complex only had three bed rooms available, but they said I could rent it  for paying the price of two rooms which came about to be a little over $1100.  $1100 for an apartment in Auburn, Alabama!?!?  $1100 would get me a studio or one bedroom apartment in midtown Atlanta with a decent view.  I started to get a headache and even more frustrated than i was before I left Tuskegee.

After driving around Auburn looking at different places there, I decided to call a friend of mine and asked her where she lived.  I spoke with her before online a few days prior and she told me about the complex where she stayed.  It was a little more than what I really wanted to start paying for a place initially, but the rent was within my preliminary budget.  My other concern was that it was a little further from work which would increase my commute time.

I got the directions from my friend and decided to check the place out.  The complex is called Paces at the Estates and is currently the only apartment complex in the Estates subdivision. The Estates is a relatively new subdivision that have very nice homes from the upper 200s, town homes in the upper 100s and perhaps 2 to 3 bedroom homes in the upper 100s.  The subdivision is in close proximity of the mall, movie theater and a private school.  A Wal-Mart is less than 5 minutes away and Tiger Town (a shopping center) is about 10 minutes away.  It’s also not far from a main artery of the Auburn/Opelika area where a lot businesses are situated.

I had already seen pictures from the website my friend sent me and it seemed like a really nice place.  And it is.  They only had two one bedrooms available.  One of the first and one of the second floor.  The one on the second floor is cheaper than the top and bottom floor.  The top floor has vaulted ceilings and the bottom floor has a nice stained concrete floors.  I had opted for the cheaper option, but the tenet wasn’t scheduled to move for a few more weeks and I needed to be moved in right away.  So I decided to take the first floor apartment and I’m glad I did.  I like the floors anyway and I can stomp all I want to.  My apartment has a study which will be my office.  It’s currently full of junk right now from the move.  The kitchen has track lighting, and I also got a complementary washing machine.  It was left from the previous tenet and the landlord said I can keep it.  I’m currently renting a dryer.

About a month ago, I finally got some furniture and bought my first very first tv, a 50 inch Panasonic Plasma.

All in all, things are going pretty good so far.  The job is keeping me busy as expected, but at least they are paying me right this time.  Makes it all worth it.