Apartment hunting, I am learning, is quite frustrating.

I’m learning a few other things. “Cottage” is the euphemistic term for “small building in the backyard of a regular house that probably used to be a garage or tool shed at one time.” No one wants you for a six month lease — moving furniture in and out is a strain on the building, and the time it takes for landlords to regroup and re-rent the apartment is also a bother. So, really, a 12 month lease is a minimum. Better if you’d like to commit to multiple years.

And the cat. Oh, yes, the cat. That’s an additional deposit — from $100 on the low end, to $1000 on the high end. Yikes. So when I call for ads that haven’t specifically said yes or no to felines, I say first that I have one, small, spayed, indoor cat. I’d claim that she’s quiet, too, except that she tends to howl at the door sometimes when she wishes she could be an indoor-outdoor cat.

Ai yi.

Still, there’s plenty of the month left, though. Something will turn up.

…and it’s probably not the place whose description includes this sentence: “Unlike traditional apartments, our lofts have sealed concrete floors – ideal for pet owners, area rug lovers and people who just prefer hard surfaces to carpet!” (Emphasis mine)