NEW APARTMENT!

I am happy to report half a month into January that I have finally located and leased a new 1-bedroom in an apartment complex within very easy walking distance of Old Torrance:

And while I'm at it, I'll give you *all* my contact info ...

Paul Sundberg
921 Arlington Ave. #7
Torrance CA 90501-2245

Cell 323-919-9785
Email: pasundberg@yahoo.com

(Letters to Ann and Cam's Fallbrook address are still fine, however. It's my forwarding address at all times.)

I've made about four exploratory trips down to Torrance (clear on the south end of LA) the last couple of weeks first to find an AREA I liked, then a short-term lease apartment to rent in the area. (See my January 2 posting for more details.) It's an hour drive each way except in the best traffic.

A lot of the apartments were in pretty grotty parts of town right on main streets or required a one-year lease minimum. Wednesday, I was beginning to think I'd have to settle for something not very ideal and took along a list of possible places scattered all over the general South Bay area and not very close to Old Torrance. But I thought I'd first take one more drive around Old Torrance just to see if any signs had been put up and tried a new area just north of the downtown.

The neighborhood of little California bungalows was pleasant enough and seemed to date from about the same period as the rest of Old Torrance. I turned a corner and saw a more modern apartment complex ('60s, the manager said) that seemed shady and well kept-up: Arlington Plaza. There was a sign out front advertising a one-bedroom unit for rent, so I stopped and the manager Tom, in his 70's, showed me around. There was a bubbling fountain and nice landscaping inside the 40-unit place. It looks a bit like your classic roadside motel with the two stories winding around, but with more atmosphere. The available unit was still being painted, which probably meant they hadn't advertised too widely yet. Maybe only that sign out front. Waiting for *me*, obviously! And the manager said rent was month to month. That I hadn't expected. (Yes!) I was also pleased to discover that there was only a five-minute walk to get downtown: down a block and across Torrance Blvd. Exactly what I'd been looking for all along!

Being ever demanding, I kept looking for an even more ideal place -- maybe a quaint side unit in some old 30's mansion on Post Street a block from downtown -- and drove around some more but couldn't find anything. Later that night I realized that the Arlington Plaza was the best I was likely to find. In fact, with a month-to-month lease it was about the best I'd seen in the wider area and (only) $985 a month - very decent by local standards, and cheaper than my current Los Feliz place.

The next day, feeling like time was not on my side, I rushed down checkbook in hand to go ahead and sign a lease. Tom had me fill out the application, and I hung around downtown while my credit report was checked. He called after a while to say I was approved, but when I offered to sign right there, he kind of hemmed and hawed, saying they still hadn't laid the new carpet yet. Saturday would be better. I found it odd the LANDLORD would want more time, but went along. (Turns out the old manager had died between Christmas and New Year's, and they hadn't updated their lease forms yet.)

So, yesterday, I drove down (again in the rain) and signed the final lease. The "for rent" sign had already disappeared in front of the building. The unit really was mine!

This gives me half a month to move in - nice and gradually. I will probably have to hire a local moving company for my furniture, but the rest I can bring myself on several trips. It's a huge weight off knowing I have somewhere to go after this lease expires January 31, and that I can leave Arlington Plaza at any time without being stuck in a long-term lease.

Free at last!