How does that saying go again? Something like, "Grant me patience, oh Lord, but hurry!"
I can't believe I'm even typing these words, but it looks like we're going to have to move. Again. I could throw up just thinking about it, but there you have it. This will be the fourth time we'll have moved in the three years since we've been back in Boston. Obnoxious neighbors are one thing, but people being shot on our street is another. (Someone was actually killed back in June, but I didn't write about it. Honestly I think I was trying to pretend that it didn't happen.) But it did happen. And just the other day it happened again, although supposedly nobody got hit.
It's not like I'm living in the slums! This is a beautiful apartment in an otherwise quiet neighborhood! (Even though as I type this, the Bambino and I are getting a contact high through our dining room window as my neighbor smokes a blunt on his back porch.) But we can't have gunfire on our street with a newborn. It's just sickening.
That being said, the rental market in Boston is kind of a shit show. Unless you're a landlord, that is. Just check Craig's List: there are people charging $950/month...for one room in a three bedroom in Southie! Nothing is regulated, and the college dorms are bursting at the seams with students; leaving schmucks like me to compete with parents who are apparently willing to pay these outrageous prices.
The word greed comes to mind. Sure, some colleges do build additional housing, but then often times they immediately increase the number of students they admit! Oy vey.
It's a veritable free for all. But I'm not giving up hope that there isn't a quiet, tree lined street somewhere where I can walk with my baby, go to a store or two, and still get to work in Boston in a timely manner. Oh, and not have to pay $2,000/month. (A washer/dryer on premises would be nice, too. Just sayin'.)
Basically, I'm looking for my Astoria, New York in Boston. Are you out there? Oh, sweet, de-leaded, two bedroom (with possibly an office) apartment; I know you're waiting for us somewhere! Hubby, Bambino, Kittie and me need to find you, asap.
Please and thank you. Namaste. Amen. xoxo
