Vacancy.com Scholarship Entry: Apartment Investigation!

 

It’s probably no secret that I’m totally broke, right? You were already thinking it, weren’t you? College students and money are found together as often as eggplants and pepperoni pizza. If someone asked me to buy an eggplant, I wouldn’t even know where to begin, but I could probably buy a college student for only a few dollars.

Even better, I could win a scholarship, and buy a college student textbooks with that money. It just so happens that Vacancy.com is giving out a $500 scholarship; all I have to do is pick an ideal apartment from their site and blog about it.

Luckily, I have a bit of help. Celare Arineo, the blog’s resident Space Cop from Five Hundred Years in the Future, has eagerly volunteered to take a quick trip to nearby Nashville to scope out an apartment of my choosing. Her trip won’t cost a thing, because she’s from the future.

Celare will be touring Biltmore Apartments, which I found rather quickly through Vacancy.com

The Ideal Apartment

Before Celare left, I gave her a list of qualities I was looking for in a living space. The list was as comprehensive as it needed to be, but I am a little worried. A lot of things are different in the future.

Anyways, here’s what I wrote for her:

Type/Size – Studio or One Bedroom. I can sustain myself in a relatively small space. Even now, I just oscillate between my room and the kitchen throughout the day. As long as I have enough floor space to dance, I will be happy. The lack of a roommate is also a plus. People can get on each other’s nerves after living together for too long.

Rent – ~$500/Month. I’m half-Chinese. My mom taught me to be thrifty, so I don’t mind at all if I get a cheap deal. I understand that $500 is the usual rent for a place like this.

Location – Nashville (Near Downtown). First, Nashville is only a couple hours away from Cookeville, where I’m currently staying. Second, there are dozens of chemical companies in within a few miles of central Nashville. In fact, according to the infallible wisdom of the internet, Nashville is among the top chemical engineering cities in the country. Since I’m a chemical engineering major, living there would provide a lot of career opportunities (info link). Finally, I love walking around in big cities. I could spend hours browsing through quaint little shops and marveling at architecture and scenery. Not to mention the nightlife, which probably exists. A lot of famous DJs play big shows in Nashville, I think.

Amenities – I would prefer to have all the necessities. You know, laundry, maintenance, a range, heating/AC, dishwasher, internet, and a fridge. Though, I can’t imagine an apartment that doesn’t come with a stovetop or a fridge. Oh, and if possible, a swimming pool would be excellent.

(P.S. – Please leave your guns here. You won’t need them.)

The Report

Here's Celare's report, which arrived in my inbox a few hours after sending her off. Let's have a look...

Gabriel,

The property you selected for my appraisal matches many of the criteria you specified. As advertised, it is a one-bedroom apartment available for $509/month. I was a bit suspicious about the rate at first, since similar apartments from my era go for nearly three times as much. However, I think the lack of such necessities as force fields, an infinite closet, and a quantum shower justify the price difference.

The living room is rather spacious, certainly large enough for whatever dancing you have in mind. The plush carpet here is ideal for shuffling. There is also room enough for a large stereo system, for maximum groove busting. Do people still say that?

The kitchen feels like a history museum. I’ve never seen a stove with coils before! I think this one is a bit outdated, even for this era. A nice modern convection field would do this kitchen some good. That aside, the apartment appears to have all the basic amenities you listed.

The properties surround a grassy courtyard with picnic and grilling areas. This whole area is fresh and green, and seems very relaxing.

There is not one, but two swimming pools! The water sparkles like the stars! I really wanted to jump in, but the manager said no.

There is also a playground, should you suddenly suffer Freudian regression or get your age reversed by some strange device. Those swings look particularly inviting.

The surrounding area is no less than ideal. Several chemical companies lie within five miles of the property, including Dow Chemical Company and Hacros Chemicals. Also, downtown is a few minutes’ drive north, featuring countless restaurants and attractions. I have heard about some kind of Country Music Hall of Fame, which is apparently a big deal. What the heck is “country music,” though? You will have to explain this to me later.

Anyways, I think I shall wander around Nashville a while longer before returning. This concludes my report.

~C. Arineo

I hope she isn’t disappointed when she finds out I could have gotten all this information from the apartment listing online. Whoops! She did a fantastic job, though. Maybe I will move to Nashville sometime...

(Pictures of Biltmore Apartments are from Vacancy.com. Picture of downtown Nashville is from Google Images.)