Apartment Hunting - Part 4

We got it - we have an apartment, and yes, it's the one I wrote about in part 3. After some negotiating and no word on the Al Reem apartments, we decided to take an apartment in the Al Seef compound about 15 minutes from the downtown. I've still got to confirm, but I think there might be one bus route out that way as well (just not sure how far I'll need to walk to find it). We went back to take a second look yesterday and decided it was a good place for us. Our realtor is going to start the paperwork today, Sunday, and we may be able to take ownership as early as Monday or Tuesday. Our actual move in date will depend on a couple of other factors such as how well they clean the place first, Brian's schedule at work and how quickly we can get internet installed. We've been told internet set up can take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, and neither of us likes the idea of being without internet for too long. (I'm sure getting that set up will be another adventure for the blog! ;) Once we've got confirmation of a move in date, I'll alert the cat shippers on both ends and get that process started. If all goes according to plan, Rogue should be an international kitty in early March.

Here are some photos!

A view of one of the roads in the compound. We think this will eventually be a gated community of apartments. Feels a bit like some of the time share properties we've stayed at.

This will be a BBQ area and the building behind it is the gym (still in progress). Behind that is a 25M lap pool that is ready to go, but still missing the sun chairs (I didn't get a photo of the pool yet.)

This is the front door to the building - the first parking spot on the right will be ours and the window to the left of the door will be our bedroom. These were originally intended to be 5-6 bedroom luxury villas, but the developer changed his mind partway through construction, so the 1st floor is a 2-bedroom unit, the 2nd floor is a 3-bedroom unit (with no outside space to speak of) and the 3rd floor is a 1-bedroom apartment with a HUGE patio that makes the place as big as our 2 bedroom. All three apartments will share this entry door, which is also locked. 

A view of the kitchen - yep, pretty tiny - not at all what we had on Soaring Sky, but we think we'll manage. I get a kick out of the baby stove. You can't see it well in the photo, but there's a good 4-5 inches between the left side of the stove and the wall, which makes it look even more tiny than it actually is. Just under the counter is the washer/dryer unit (similar to what we have in the hotel) - this is usually found in the kitchen, which is a bit odd for us. No dishwasher or microwave - not even a hook up for a dishwasher, so that's out. We can buy a microwave if we want - not sure if we can find one that would fit over the stove, we'll have to look into that. And where's the fridge, you ask? I totally forgot to get a picture of it, but it's actually in a built in cabinet on the other side of the wall next to the stove. I think we'll probably try to move it out of that cabinet and use that as a broom closet. I think it will get very annoying to have to open the cabinet before getting to the fridge!

The outdoor patio!! This photo is a little misleading as this was taken from one of the corner units, which we didn't like as much. Picture instead the wall ending where Brian and Felicia are standing - that's what ours will look like. Still hoping Rogue will be able to hang out here, but the walls on this side of the compound are a little lower so I'm not so sure it's going to be a good option for her. Incidentally, we chose this side because the patio will get morning sun - we're afraid afternoon sun in the middle of summer (or hell as we've heard it called) would be a mistake.

This gives a sense of the living area and entry. We really like the open floor plan of this place - haven't seen many kitchens set up like this around here. Often the kitchen is a separate closed off room in the apartment.

This is the master bedroom with an en suite bathroom, but I think we'll make it the office because of the patio doors and view. The bedrooms are essentially the same size and en suite bath is no big deal as both bathrooms are next to each other (and they're so tiny, we'll need to use both of them!)

Speaking of the tiny bathrooms. This is the guest bathroom with the tiniest shower I've ever seen outside of a campsite. :) The Master bath isn't much bigger, but does have a tub with a shower head. Single sinks in each and no storage at all - makes me glad I shipped a bunch of baskets.

This is technically the guest bedroom, but as I mentioned, I think we'll make it our bedroom. Nice size!

Same bedroom. Both have these built in closet wardrobes, which are really nice. There's a full length mirror on one of the doors and the next cabinet has a few drawers. Between the two bedrooms, I think we'll have enough storage for both of us.