Lauren Fun Fact: I have lived in a different apartment for each of the past six years. Yes, friends, each year, since I left home for college, I have packed, moved, unpacked, reorganized, redecorated and have gone crazy each time.

And so, it is that time of year again. Time to pack up all of my belongings into one big “Lauren on the Move” road show and find a brand-spanking new apartment to call home – for at least a year.

This weekend, a very nice friend of mine offered to drive me around to various apartments that I had found online and made appointments to see. Before I rehash, I would like to set the tone and share an analogy that perfectly describes my apartment hunting experience: it was kind of like war – vast stretches of boredom punctuated by pure terror.

Here’s how it played out: Drive to the apartment (sometimes to areas neither of us had ever been), get lost, navigate using my iPhone, arrive at a cringe-worthy location, run back to the car and drive away. Repeat once. Repeat twice. And repeat a third time.

Okay, here’s a news flash: if you place an ad on an online site that most people use for finding apartments, there really is no point in lying about the property. You see, I’m going to go to the apartment and see that it’s in a basement that is in no way “English style,” that the windows look like one strong breeze might be the end of them, that the appliances are from the 1800’s (English/ Colonial style?) and that the “steps from the train” walk you described measures out to a mile and half.

There was one particular gem that I must mention. In one, shall we say, up-and-coming area of D.C., my friend witnessed a cat chasing a pair of particularly frisky rats from the apartment window. Where was I? I was drilling the building’s leasing agent with questions about the bad reviews I’d read about the building online. The agent was telling me that those reports came from disgruntled past tenants who were just mad that they had gotten evicted. Right.

So, a really big thank you to my friend for a) driving me around, and b) telling me about the rats.

And if any of you have heard about a sunny studio apartment available in D.C., please let me know.

Until next time…