The Pain of Searching

...Is a pain in the ass.............. 

Of not knowing when you will obtain what you wish....

Of the uncertainty whether you made the right choice....

I am therefore, very, very thankful that the search is over! HUGE RELIEF! 

Over the past couple of months, I've been combing over property websites in search of a new place. It's not easy I tell you! Ok, maybe I should rephrase. It's not easy if you're as picky as me T_T

So anyway, initially we were supposed to look for a whole unit sort of place, as our current housemates want to move out with us, days turned into weeks searching for the right location and the budget to fit.

Unit #1 we went to was really basic, and way overcrowded. Three room mates in a common room, can you believe it! A little run down I must say but I loved the location - it was in Toa Payoh and the surrounding was really clean, well kept and convenient because there's kopitiam, shops and all. 

Unit #2 was way out of budget, though it was a really nice place!

Beautiful, to say the least. A family used to stay in the area, hence it looks very live-able... kitchen also really nice, but the whole unit is $400 above our budget... Really sad.... Also the problem with renting with a number of people... usually not everyone will be able to attend the viewing, so you have to take pictures, get back, discuss, and by the time an agreement is reached, the unit is already taken :S

 Unit #3 was very average while lacking in the aesthetic department (told you I am picky).

Then, it was close to CNY already so we had to put the whole searching on hold, BUT the other two housemates decided they want to stay on in the current place.... so it's just down to me and Suen... the search for rooms is on!

Room #1, there was way too many occupants in that small place (well, which HDB in Singapore isn't small anyway?) plus, a part of the living area was partitioned off to make space for an additional room. 

Room #2 was out of the area that we were targetting, and we will be living with the owners if we decide to take the place. BUT!! they have a dog!!! Called Puffy!!! She's really adorable,  and she's really suspicious of us and would bark, and when she does that, she will be trotting with her body arched  while glaring at us LOL.... Anyways, we were kinda close to getting the place, but we're still in a not-quite-sure kinda mode and so we had to put it on hold.... Area was nice  (had a large park just behind the building) and all but living with owners is usually not very pleasant... A lot of restrictions imposed.

Room #3 has a family living in the unit. The place was huge for Singapore standards and the owner wanted to rent out the master bedroom with toilet attached. Some more the owner said we have to refrain from turning on the air-conditioning cause the noise bothers her husband! Got ridiculous or not??? Quite a lot restrictions also....  sigh....

Room #4 - was the room that I thought to be the room of my dreams!! It was perfect, with an owner around Ah Ma's age, and she seems like a swell kinda lady! She even cooks Penang food and with that, I was sold. I called the agent up immediately after but the grandma said she has to discuss with her daughter before proceeding with the agreement. I was all nerves, I badly wanted the place! The room is completely within budget, and sits right across the MRT. The grandma kept us waiting... for almost 24 hours....  By then my spirits were somehow dampened... Then the agent called me to say that the deal is off cos the grandma's crazy daughter just came up with additional restrictions and she said she doesn't want to rent out to two people! I was soooo mad and upset that I cried if you could believe it. I think it was the exhaustion and pressure of looking for a place that finally got to me.....

Bitter and absolutely disappointed, we had to continue our search... Room #5 also with owner... I was not entirely pleased with the place (cos the bar was raised by Room #4) and the area was around Braddell and somehow doesn't quite possess the charm that Toa Payoh has.... Some more this owner said we can't even invite our parents over! She said mum ok, but not father. I was like wtf?? Why not?? And you know what she said? She said not comfortable la.... u know we ladies wear shorts etc etc. I was like, double WTF!! You think my dad pervert meh??? And that was it, I know this type of owner is going to be hell-ish to live with and I just wanted to get outta there.

Room #6... we met with the owner (staying with parents) and they are really nice people! The owner even told us that sometimes her parents will cook and normally there's extra and it's always okay for us to have some etc etc. It's only a small room though and Suen and I were thinking, if possible we want to avoid living with owners, but this could probably be an exception... so we kept the place under KIV.

Room #7 .... is the lucky number. The viewing came directly after viewing Room #6.  As soon as we saw the place, both Suen and I, we just know that we want the place!! It's really funny and we even high-fived each other lol... It's a quaint little place, but we will be sharing the whole unit with another lady.  I'm really excited about the new place... it's even better than the so-called Dream Room #4!! Staying at this new place will drastically cut down my commuting time from an hour to half! Also ironically, it's  located at the same block as the first ever unit I'd viewed, together with Suen. So it kinda seems fitting to end the search where we started....

As much as I don't believe in God's will and all that, I have never been so inclined to think otherwise.  If the whole chain of process hadn't been so difficult, we would have settled for the first few units, with the possibility of some of the housemates pulling out at the last minute, or we could have settled for something so much less than what we could have gotten if we hadn't tried a little harder, and waited a little longer...

 Having said that, as much as I want to get out of Tiong Bahru, I am going to miss this place as well. It has served me pretty good over the past four months... I will miss the park just across the road where I usually run... A little shortcut that brings you to Orchard Road within 30-40mins walk... The spontaneous late night movies we could catch because the cinema is so blardy near! A quaint place and supposedly well known for the numerous good food it has to offer. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to try them yet but just because I'm no longer staying in the area, doesn't mean I won't have the opportunity to try the food there right?