As I documented in my first blog postings earlier this year, my darling wife and I conducted an extensive apartment search upon moving to Ramallah. We systematically dismissed more than 40 options. Like Goldilocks, we found this one to be too big, that one to be too small, etc. We finally found one that felt 'just about right,' and that's where we've been living since February. And while we continued to feel our apartment has some very nice features, it lacks good outdoor space. We have a balcony that is good for drying clothes, but not conducive to extensive hanging out.
So, we've been keeping our eyes open for a housing option that offers suitable outdoors space--either a garden or a large balcony. A couple of weeks ago, we thought we had found a great option--a whole house at a decent price with a good garden. The first downside was its location, but some strange behavior by the landlord took the house out of contention for us.
However, when talking to our current landlord we learned that he had another apartment available that had a garden area. Last Saturday, we saw the apartment and decided it would be a good move for us. And we still have plenty of room for visitors. A teaser photo of the garden:
The garden includes various fruit and nut trees, including: apple, lemon, plum, pomegranate, walnut, almond, plus grape vines...and space for a small vegetable garden. We can easily host a bbq or just sit in the shade reading, playing cards, or napping.
The inside aint bad either:
Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, office, dining area, family room, big kitchen, plenty of storage space.
So now we're knee deep in boxes and getting ready to move this coming weekend. My darling (underemployed) wife is doing a fantastic job packing...literally, right now, while I blog. I'm hoping to move at least some of our items using my bike and trailer, which I used extensively in Baltimore but haven't put to use here, yet.
In other moving news, I have tenants in my house in Baltimore (finally). This is welcome news, especially after several months of sitting empty.
So that's the update. Wish us luck on the move!
So, we've been keeping our eyes open for a housing option that offers suitable outdoors space--either a garden or a large balcony. A couple of weeks ago, we thought we had found a great option--a whole house at a decent price with a good garden. The first downside was its location, but some strange behavior by the landlord took the house out of contention for us.
However, when talking to our current landlord we learned that he had another apartment available that had a garden area. Last Saturday, we saw the apartment and decided it would be a good move for us. And we still have plenty of room for visitors. A teaser photo of the garden:
The garden includes various fruit and nut trees, including: apple, lemon, plum, pomegranate, walnut, almond, plus grape vines...and space for a small vegetable garden. We can easily host a bbq or just sit in the shade reading, playing cards, or napping.
The inside aint bad either:
So now we're knee deep in boxes and getting ready to move this coming weekend. My darling (underemployed) wife is doing a fantastic job packing...literally, right now, while I blog. I'm hoping to move at least some of our items using my bike and trailer, which I used extensively in Baltimore but haven't put to use here, yet.
In other moving news, I have tenants in my house in Baltimore (finally). This is welcome news, especially after several months of sitting empty.
So that's the update. Wish us luck on the move!
