maurepas st.
much to my father's chagrin, i've pretty much decided that i want to invest in a house here in new orleans. it's not as daunting as it seems, and the more i thought about it, the more the idea of renting an apartment seemed absurd. i might as well spend the money that i would be putting towards rent and utilities into a real investment. in the broader scheme of things, it would be the next "grown up" thing i do. it will be firmly planting my feet here for a while and showing that i do have faith in my city. you can't stop me. mwahaha.
so i've begun to look at houses. really just for fun now, because CLEARLY i'm not entirely ready to put down a payment. since one of my goals in life is to live in walking-distance from jazz fest, i obviously looked in mid-city first. yesterday, i drove around with my mom because we lived in a house right by the racetrack when i was born. (ok, so TECHNICALLY i guess i have already lived in walking-distance of jazz fest, but i'm not counting that.) our findings only showed once again that NOW is the time to invest in real estate here. there are tons of houses on the market - both damaged and undamaged. the neighborhoods around esplanade ave, moss st, city park ave are so colorful and full of character. camelback houses, creole cottages, shotgun houses that have been around for 100 years. there was a lot of activity - people putting up christmas decorations, talking to other neighbors, sitting on their stoops and porches enjoying a beer at 2pm on a cold, overcast saturday afternoon. i passed by the same guy more than once (not on purpose) and everytime he just waved and smiled. he must have been on his 4th beer and he must have known i was interested in the neighborhood. or maybe he was just SUPER friendly. i liked him anyway.
the point of my story is that i fell in love. i found this 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom raised shotgun house. 2 blocks away from the fairgrounds on maurepas st. close enough for me. i parked the car and went bounding up the front stairs to get a look through the front door while my mom took down the number. it was empty, but i could see a living room, a kitchen and down the hallway into one of the bedrooms. there was an island in the kitchen - perfect for entertaining because we know all good parties end up in the kitchen :) - and one of those hanging metal pan holders. (hi, another dream of mine). i got back in the car and called the real estate agent. of course, i have no idea what questions to ask so my mom is prompting me. i really must have shown my "greenness." the agent was nice and told me that the property had been under contract for a very long time, but she didn't forsee it falling through. she told me that the two bedrooms were carpeted, the bathroom was tile, and the rest of the rooms had pine flooring. 12 foot ceilings. a side yard and a backyard with 2 patios. off-street parking for two cars. no flooding.
oh sweet unrequited love, you taunt me so.
but dont' think i won't continue to call the agent to check to see if the transaction ACTUALLY goes through because i really loved the house. i spent last night with an abita restoration ale in one hand and my computer on my lap while i looked up decorating ideas on realsimple.com and southernliving.com. i want to have a bathroom and paint it BRIGHT blue. like, the brightest jesuit-blue-jay, beau-rivage-pool-awning, type of royal blue. i want wall space to hang the black-and-white new orleans photos and my vintage london prints. i want to be able to hang kaylan's red chili pepper lights in the kitchen like she had in her kitchen uptown. i want refrigerator magnets! i want more bookshelves! i want to make my own artwork. yeah, it has been fun dreamin.
my dad is just going to have to get over it. i'm here to stay. now i just have to get into med school and i'll be set.
so i've begun to look at houses. really just for fun now, because CLEARLY i'm not entirely ready to put down a payment. since one of my goals in life is to live in walking-distance from jazz fest, i obviously looked in mid-city first. yesterday, i drove around with my mom because we lived in a house right by the racetrack when i was born. (ok, so TECHNICALLY i guess i have already lived in walking-distance of jazz fest, but i'm not counting that.) our findings only showed once again that NOW is the time to invest in real estate here. there are tons of houses on the market - both damaged and undamaged. the neighborhoods around esplanade ave, moss st, city park ave are so colorful and full of character. camelback houses, creole cottages, shotgun houses that have been around for 100 years. there was a lot of activity - people putting up christmas decorations, talking to other neighbors, sitting on their stoops and porches enjoying a beer at 2pm on a cold, overcast saturday afternoon. i passed by the same guy more than once (not on purpose) and everytime he just waved and smiled. he must have been on his 4th beer and he must have known i was interested in the neighborhood. or maybe he was just SUPER friendly. i liked him anyway.
the point of my story is that i fell in love. i found this 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom raised shotgun house. 2 blocks away from the fairgrounds on maurepas st. close enough for me. i parked the car and went bounding up the front stairs to get a look through the front door while my mom took down the number. it was empty, but i could see a living room, a kitchen and down the hallway into one of the bedrooms. there was an island in the kitchen - perfect for entertaining because we know all good parties end up in the kitchen :) - and one of those hanging metal pan holders. (hi, another dream of mine). i got back in the car and called the real estate agent. of course, i have no idea what questions to ask so my mom is prompting me. i really must have shown my "greenness." the agent was nice and told me that the property had been under contract for a very long time, but she didn't forsee it falling through. she told me that the two bedrooms were carpeted, the bathroom was tile, and the rest of the rooms had pine flooring. 12 foot ceilings. a side yard and a backyard with 2 patios. off-street parking for two cars. no flooding.
oh sweet unrequited love, you taunt me so.
but dont' think i won't continue to call the agent to check to see if the transaction ACTUALLY goes through because i really loved the house. i spent last night with an abita restoration ale in one hand and my computer on my lap while i looked up decorating ideas on realsimple.com and southernliving.com. i want to have a bathroom and paint it BRIGHT blue. like, the brightest jesuit-blue-jay, beau-rivage-pool-awning, type of royal blue. i want wall space to hang the black-and-white new orleans photos and my vintage london prints. i want to be able to hang kaylan's red chili pepper lights in the kitchen like she had in her kitchen uptown. i want refrigerator magnets! i want more bookshelves! i want to make my own artwork. yeah, it has been fun dreamin.
my dad is just going to have to get over it. i'm here to stay. now i just have to get into med school and i'll be set.
posted by Catherine at 3:48 PM
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