Criteria:

• Couch says, “You can crash here! But don’t forget to leave my apartment!”
• I can eat food there
• Modern but conservative
• I can lounge there in extreme comfort
• Doesn’t kill my budget (it’s an expensive month, yo)
• They have do deliver to Seattle.
• No leather.

Questions:

• Configuration. 3-seater? Recliners? Loveseat and 1 recliner?
• Arms on the couch. Yes? No?
• Anything else I need to consider?

Places to start looking:

• IKEA
• Apartment Therapy?
• Urban Outfitters?

I’m very very green at this. Help me figure out my criteria. Help me find more sources of sofas. Quick! I need to make a decision in the next week.

If I didn’t tell you already, I have a Washington driver’s license. Woot. Also, I don’t have a car anymore. I returned that rental car the day after I got my license.

Omg I’m going to be homeless.

Anyhow, 20 days to move into an apartment. That’s starting to cut it close.

Also, I’m thinking about leasing a car. For one thing, I don’t want to dive into debt and I just don’t feel like committing to quickly to this American life of mine. But! I don’t know much about leasing. I need to find out more.

Finally, I see my parents in 9 days. They are probably on the road between Phoenix and Las Vegas right now.

It’s like Fitzroy but (oddly) there are European car dealerships instead of pawn shops

It reminds me of parts of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, which I guess is natural because it technically is one. It’s close enough to the city that you wouldn’t balk at the idea of taking a taxi home. I saw some young people and a bunch of young families. I saw apartment buildings ranging from nice to pretty crappy. Like, they looked like those run-down motels you see in movies where people are forced to spend the night because they’re driving cross-country but it turns out there’s an ax murderer on the loose. Or a hooker’s been murdered. Or there was a mob hit and the guy is lying face down in the pool.

Anyway, it seems like a good place to live.

My brain always goes for the short-term rewards

I was going to drive from Capitol Hill to Fremont so I could get a glimpse of what its like to live there. Fremont is further from the city but a few apartments seem to offer views of Lake Union. I can’t tell you how good it is because I didn’t wind up going there. I missed the turn from Denny on to Westlake and I didn’t actually realise I had missed it until I was like 3 blocks from my apartment in Belltown. So I thought, “fuck it”, and I went home.

THIS IS HOW LAZY I AM. Don’t ever accuse me of being hard-working.

Never fear. I will check out Fremont tomorrow. And maybe Wallingford and the University District. It’s all part of a plan.

Dumb fact: Today I shopped at Trader Joe’s for the first time. I didn’t really need anything besides bread so that’s what I got

What plan you ask? Well, this is a very misguided plan and in no way do I recommend this. But for whatever reason, I googled Trader Joe’s (it’s a supermarket for Californians) and 3 locations came up. And I thought, yep, I’m going to visit all three locations and explore the neighborhood while I’m there.

So today was Capitol Hill. Tomorrow, I’ll swing by Queen Anne on my way to Fremont and then from there, it’s off to Wallingford and University.

Ok yeah, I’ll stop linking to Google

I know it seems like I’m dropping all these names like I know Seattle. I don’t. I’m still constantly lost but now I have Google Maps on my phone and I don’t feel as insecure just walking around. Driving also doesn’t freak me out as much because I’ve seen some pretty awful driving and I feel a bit more superior now. Also, I keep visiting Starbucks because the independent coffee places are too popular. Yay for anti-conformists.

First of all, I have emails from friends from a month ago that I need to reply to. Don’t worry. I will. I want to. Things just keep jumping in the way.

Dog Whisperer is eighteen awesomes

I’ve been watching a lot of TV lately as a way to escape a lot of responsibilities. First of all, it doesn’t work. Second of all, it’s pretty toxic.

Last night, as a good will gesture, I skipped Grey’s Anatomy and spent the time researching credit cards and car purchasing. Today I found out that it didn’t even air. So I guess someone is looking out for me. Right before I left, mum joked that I’m always so damn lucky and someone always seems to be there for me.

Anyway. Relocation. Yeah, now we’re at the business end. After having been successfully cleared by immigration and getting a social security card, I have some things to think about:

God, I am so American. Yay consumerism!

• credit card
• driver’s license
• car
• car loan
• car insurance
• renting an apartment
• more insurance
• decorating this apartment with furniture
• decorating this furniture with cute girls

Ok, so the credit card I mostly dealt with this morning, I’m with the credit union that was recommended to me. One or two more steps and I should have more plastic for my wallet. My regret is that I didn’t ask for a day or so to read the contract before signing. There’s nothing remotely bad about the contract but it’s always a point that makes me uncomfortable, I need to be more assertive and tell people to hold up while I pore over the legalese.

Down payment! Monthly payment! Interest! Fees! Insurance! Maintenance!

Car stuff? God, I’m so green at this. My greatest fear is committing to a financing option and regretting it immediately. It’s a matter of pride more than it is dollar value. I need to prove that I can shop with the sharks and come out on top. Just because I have more money now doesn’t mean I should be any less careful.

For cars? I don’t know really. I might go the safe bet and get a new Honda Civic Coupe LX. New because I don’t know what to look for in a used car. Civic because they seem to be the most harmless car you could possibly ever buy. Coupe because everyone in America over the age of 16 has a car and I’ll be damned if I ever let kids in my car. LX because I’m a spoilt brat and I’m too in love with things like keyless entry and air conditioning.

Housing stuff? No clue. I need to start reading shitloads on the internet because I move out of corporate housing in about one month. Rent is still looking to be about $900 to $1200 from what people say. I will need to budget for this and car repayments and World of Warcraft subscription (I’m kidding, WoW sucks).

I’m not so much in love with the city now. I do love living above street level and having a parking garage because it’s so deliciously snobby. But it would also be ok to just live close to a big soulless strip mall and be near friends.

I love lamp

Furniture? IKEA. Maybe some Urban Outfitters. Throw in an oversize bean bag. Think college dorm meets anti-conformist yuppie; the classic post-post-graduate look. Or fuck it all and sit on the floor in the dark, eating straight out of pots and pans.

You guys only bug me because y’all are sexually frustrated

To those who thought that moving a city would mean instant girlfriend, hah. All those people that went on vacation or exchange were trapped in a building with other lonely, horny twentysomethings. I am trapped in amongst people who look at photos from the 1970s and think, “Yes! Beards and that long hair are a great lifestyle choice!” I know, I realize the Australian accent is a thing of beauty and I do understand on some level how being so foreign has made me more appealing but I haven’t actually met anyone yet. I generally don’t make friends, I steal them.

…So you will have to cut me some slack there. Once I find my footing, I promise I will make you all (more) jealous of me.

I live 20 minutes from Seattle and 20 minutes from work

I have met up with Studds and together we successfully drove my rented Chevrolet Impala home from Sea-Tac Airport to Mercer Island; my temporary home for the next two months. We have (overpriced) food, (pretty decent) shelter and free internet at a place about 2 minutes walk away. Don’t get any dreams about Manhattan living because I am stuck out here in the middle of suburbia and I have to drive to get anywhere.

There are like a zillion things to say but just know this: I am alive and well and I miss everyone back in Melbourne like you wouldn’t believe. Most of all I miss the internet.

Jetlag sucks

The first day, I walked into my apartment jetlagged and freaking tired and all I found was an empty fridge. After looking at my options and putting a bit of investigation into it, I decided just to call for Domino’s. Also, the directory assistance robot will not understand Australian accents so it pays to learn how to impersonate an American.

That is all for now. I hope to hear from all of you really soon.

Love,
Jack xoxo

I’m going on an aeroplane

Umm… send me heaps of emails. I won’t have internet for a while but send me heaps of emails anyway. My gmail address is a good place. Otherwise, send it to jack@boxofjack.com.

I will most likely be back again

Leave heaps of comments too! I will read through them. Some of your comments might get held by the system for moderation but I will still read them.

Love, Jack xoxo

I am emo about leaving Melbourne. That’s expected. A restless night and a breakfast over the latest episodes of Grey’s Anatomy does not help that.

But what really frustrates me is that my entire iTunes library consists of break-up songs.

Umm, what’s the rule? Arrive 2 hours early to check-in for an international flight? Don’t know, will think about tomorrow.

Yes, I have a visa now. I’ve been given clearance to work in the United States.

What am I doing right now? Filling out paperwork. I need to figure out what things I am going to send into temporary storage and the sort of place I wish to move in to.

Things that I should ship by sea (and into temporary storage):

4 to 6 weeks by sea

• Electric guitar
• Amp
• Dumbbells + weights
• Old books
• Spare clothes

Stuff I should take with me on my flight:

I might be able to live on one suitcase

• Clothes
• Toiletries
• Paperwork + stationary
• Useful books
• Laptop + CDs + accessories
• Jewellery

As for where I want to live? I’ve told the people that I’d like help looking for an apartment in an urban area in the ballpark of US$400 to $500 per week. Umm, I’m not sure if that number should include rental of appliances and furniture. I’m not very savvy with these things.

I am going to be doing most of my commuting via Seattle’s public transport system (although I am going to drive a rental for a fortnight or so when I get there).

I will always look back on these last few months in Australia as the time I somehow got roped into telling everyone I meet that, yes, I have graduated, yes, I have a job, yes, I am moving to Seattle and, yes, it will be a very big change.

No, I don’t know when I am leaving yet. You guys better throw me a party every week in case this is the week I leave forever.