Where I’m living

Trying to find a place to live when I’m halfway across the country was stressful. Honestly, because I still haven’t been there or met my roommate, it’s still kind of stressful. But I found somewhere and it seems lovely and the roommate, Meghan, seems great.

This is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The area I circled in red is where I’m living, it’s a neighborhood called Seward. Interesting facts from Wikipedia:

– Seward was named after former New York senator, governor, and US Secretary of State William H. Seward.

– The neighborhood includes a number of local businesses along Franklin Avenue including two cooperatives, Seward Co-op (a grocery store) and Seward Community Cafe. The neighborhood is also home to the Milwaukee Avenue Historic District, Northern Clay Center, ArtiCulture and The Playwrights’ Center.

– Seward is one of the most politically liberal neighborhoods in Minneapolis, with usually only a handful of votes in each precinct cast for Republicans. The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and Green Party are major political forces.

School is above my neighborhood and to the right. If you can see where it says TCF Stadium on that map that’s where it is. It’s under 2 miles, so walkable depending on the weather and how much stuff I have, but I can also take the bus. Here’s a zoomed in view:

I’m excited to be so close to the Mississippi River (still crazy to me), to have public transportation right by (there’s a bus stop right on our corner), and for the Midtown Greenway (the old railway line near the bottom of that map that is converted to bike and walking trails).

Here are some pictures of my new place (sent from my roommate, I’ll post actual ones when I move in):

This is the backyard, for our apartment you come in through the backyard.

This is the entryway, looking from the living room to the backyard. Meghan’s bedroom is off the entryway (to the right in that picture). It will be nice to have a coat closet and also a place to take off snowy, wintery boots.

This is the living room from the entryway. I guess it’s technically the living room and dining room. That door at the end of the room goes to the kitchen. There is a hall off the living room (between the living room and dining room parts) that goes to the bathroom, some storage, and my bedroom.

Here’s the kitchen. It’s not very big, but I think it will be find for two people. Also I am so excited to have a gas stove again.

And here’s my room. It’s a little bit smaller than what I’m used to, but the closet is a good size so I’m hoping I won’t need a dresser. It looks like it gets a good amount of light and I like that the walls aren’t white.