HOUSING HELP!

I need help deciding what my next step should be in terms of housing. If you can, read over my very fragmented, frantic, terribly written thoughts and then add in your opinion as to what I should choose. THANKS!

Option A: The boarding house. A $405/ month sublease. Near downtown. Just a short walk to the Capital, yet on a relatively quiet side street, so it isn’t exactly in the middle of EVERYTHING. Older house. A little dirty, possibly mold but not as bad as I have seen it in the past. About 15 minutes (depending on traffic) from work. The girl said I could even have her furniture if she wanted so…no worries about finding a bed! The good things: cheap rent, free furniture, no security deposit., all utilities (except internet) included in rent, can move in right away. Downside: living with a bunch of strangers, sharing kitchen/bathroom, potentially bad for my health since it is an older building, application and application fee, parking (would have to buy a street parking pass), landlord.

Option B: I am pretty positive I am not going to go with this one because of its price. It would be awesome if I made just a smidgeon more, and you really do get a lot for the price. It would be in a very clean/modern condo that I would share with one other girl. I would be renting from the other girl because she owns the condo. She seems relatively nice, but I can tell it would be more of a business arrangement than anything else. $475/month plus half of the electric bill. The rest is included. About 10 minutes to work. Includes access to a laundry room, swimming pool, and workout center. Very nice location just across from the East Town Mall. The good things: Only one roommate, very clean/modern, get a lot of other goodies included, LOVE the location, renting with the person I live with so no deadbeat landlords, could move in basically right away, a dog. The bad things: Mostly all the hidden fees- electric (who knows how much that will be every month), I have to pay a security deposit, application fee, no furniture (though Ben did offer his futon he doesn’t need anymore, so I could use that for awhile!)

Option C: This is the one I am leaning towards, even though it is a little on the more expensive side. I just have a good feeling about this one. I would be living in a house with a very artsy, free spirited 40 year old elementary school art teacher. She just bought the house and decided to rent out the extra room. Very nice room. Very nice house! Very nice person! She really wanted to get to know ME which is great. After she showed me everything, I even stayed and talked with her for a good half hour just to talk. SHE HAS A DOG!!! And I have had some crazy puppy fever lately. $475 flat rate, so it includes all utilities including tv/internet. And I even talked to her about my financial situation (not getting paid a lot/ being paid every two weeks versus a month) and she said I split the rent into two installments every month for as long as I needed to. That way my first check of the month wouldn’t all be going to rent. About 10-15 minutes from work. Very quiet, residential area. Awesome art studio and covered porch in the back. Seems very sunny and inviting. The good things: Flexible lease dates, onsite laundry, Awesome roommate, no landlord since I would be paying her, no application or application fees, no security deposit, easy parking, no worrying about paying bills, I could move in right away, a dog! The bad things: Slightly more expensive rent, being in someone else’s house (though, she and I really did hit it off, so I feel like I will be able to feel welcome and make myself at home), no furniture (once again,  Ben’s Futon could be of service).

Option D: Super cheap, downtown location. Young, fun residents. Old house, but kept VERY nice and clean. Only $305 a month plus a portion of all utilities (split between 5 roommates), with the opportunity to rent cheap furniture from the landlords (only $5 for a bed). The landlords seem very involved in this property, so I doubt they would be negative or deadbeat. Sublease. About 15 minutes from work. Nice area, a short walk one of Madison’s big lakes. The good things: Kept up nicely, onsite laundry, cheap rent. The bad things: Wouldn’t be able to get in until late December (which means I would need to stay with/ pay Phyllis and John at $250/month till then.), security deposit, application/fee, parking (I would have to buy a street parking pass), wouldn’t really know my roommates (though the girls I did meet seemed pretty nice), paying part of the bills/worrying if the bills got paid.

These aren’t ALL of the options. I am seeing one more today before going to Stevens Point for the weekend. But I don’t think I am going to take that one because it is slightly more expensive, several roommates, seems too far away, etc. So, these are the ones I am probably going to choose from. Difficult decision. I want to decide by Tuesday, so please comment your opinions! Do I go with something I can get into right away? Do I sacrifice the luxury of a clean place for cheaper rent? Do I really want to take a place I wouldn’t be able to get into til December? Considering how much I spend on gas, plus the fact I would need to start paying Phyllis and John for letting me stay, plus the fact that I really want my own space- my feeling is I should take something I can get into right away, even if it is more expensive. I love Phyllis and John and they are amazing people, but I do need my own space and don’t want to take advantage of their goodwill more than I need to. Plus, they have a family member who really needs a place to stay in Madison the next few months, too. So if I left, their family member could take my place.

So….what do I do???

In other news (to be written about soon-ish): Auditions/ casting for shows in Madison (success!), visiting Ben for his 28^th birthday this weekend (the MOST excited), and starting to write again.