I had 2 places in mind to look. The first company really couldn't be bothered to show me around. They just threw keys at me and gave me directions to various buildings scattered throught Rome to look at.

After seeing their buildings, I understand why. The places were ABSOLUTE HOLES. RIT has condemned nicer apartments than those. One of the three sets of keys they gave me failed to even open the outer door of the building the apartment was in. (I looked in a seperate building in the same complex to get a feel for those apartments.)

I've seen Division 8 (Federally subsidized) apartments that were nicer than those. Yuck. I feel sorry for all the servicemen who used to live in those apartments when the Air Force base was open there.

The second company that I visited was an absolutley great place. I was their first priority, complete with a pair of agents (mother and son) to help me. They showed me two apartments that afternoon, and I love both of them. I ahve no idea how I am going to be able to decide between the two places.

Both apartments are upper floor apartments. The first is a predominantly wood finish. There's a high vaulted ceiling in the middle of it. There's a beautiful southern exposure window overlooking a (currently non-maintained) pond in the back of the yard. There is a nice kitchen, fully loaded with a gas stove, sink, dishwasher, and plenty of room. The two rooms in the apartment are a bit smaller than the "two rooms" I have now. The current tenant has one laid out as a living room, complete with two love seats The second is the bedroom, with a queen size matress (just like mine) against the north wall. The only questions I have about this place is: "Would my desk fit?" (Probably not), and "Can I get broadband?" (Have to call Time Warner and see). Downsides: A little smaller than what I hoped for. I'd have to replace my desk. 15 minutes from ANYTHING.

The second place I looked at is a pretty much brand-new apartment. There's been some major work done to the place. It used to be a large victorian-style house, but has been sectioned off into three apartments. The owner, a retired schoolteacher, lives on part of the first floor. Pretty much the entire upstairs is mine. I get the front door, and stairs that lead up to my part of the house. On the left is what would be my living room, my dining room, and my kitchen. (The kitchen also will have a stacked washer/dryer combo, costing somewhere around $2,000 for the machines.) The grounds are well manicured, and he'll be planting flowers when the time is right. There's a pool that I can use (but won't really be able to have friends over to use.) It's also only about 5 minutes away from shopping and such. The downside of the place is that there

is no dishwasher, and the landlord is looking for a "quiet" tenant. I wonder if my surround sound stereo is going to be too loud for him? I'd probably be able to fit my desk in the bedroom, much like the current setup that I have.

Gah. I need a real estate expert to help me sort this out.