there are times when i'd rather be in pittsburgh even more than usual. since we just started looking for a place to rent, just sticking our toe in the water without really planning to move before september at the earliest, this is definitely one of those times. it's more than just having to sift through all the listings and the prospect of spending lots of our preciously little free time looking at crummy places until we find a good one. it's the prospect of sifting through all the listings and spending lots of our preciously little free time looking at the exorbitantly priced crummy places until we find an even more exorbitantly priced place that will do. not a place that we'll love, just a place that will do, because something we'd love would be silly expensive.

welcome to the bay area rental market.

we need a place that's at least two bedrooms, because drew (well, we) needs an office. ideally we would like to rent a house with a yard so that little dog will have somewhere to frolic. and we need (and this really is need given the commute we've been doing) a place within thirty minutes of work. that'll be at least two grand, thank you very much, unless the heavens take pity on us and we happen across some little old lady who's renting her place severely under market rate because it's been paid off for thirty years and she wants to help a young couple out. townhouses are also in the same range, and for a two bedroom apartment low end might be $1650, but an apartment would be really difficult because they're so darn small and they're more restrictive towards pets. the rent for our three bedroom, two bath, all hardwood floors flat in highland park was $800, and that was more than some people's mortgage payments. it's easy to get despondent, i suppose, especially if you'd like to own a house before turning 50, but i refuse to let it get me down. at least we aren't looking under a deadline of needing to move by a certain date. that's usually how the new place search is conducted in these parts because who can afford to pay even part of the rent for two places at once? moving under a deadline adds an extra layer of hysteria to and already completely insane process in such a tight rental market. i am not looking forward to open houses with 30 other shelter-seekers, landlords who want a resume for you pet, and tying up thousands of dollars in deposits, but it is what it is.

wish us luck, say some prayers (st. joseph is the patron saint of house hunters), and i'll keep you posted. oh, and donations are accepted, too! :)