Looking for a home

I started househunting this weekend - I looked at two places, either of which would probably be fine. But why rush into something right off the bat?

The first was a nice little 2-bedroom place located next door to the owner's house. Possible drawback - the owner's family had been really close to the previous tenant and might be looking for another family member rather than a couple of tenants who pretty much keep to themselves. I'm not saying we're anti-social, just...well...maybe non-social is a better term. We had actually decided to go for this one because it had an excellent dog area and lots of room outside, but then the owner decided he didn't want to wait until November 1st to rent the place. Since I've already paid for a temporary spot through the end of October, I'm not too anxious to pay double for two weeks. So I wish him well!

The second place was in a gorgeous setting, but had an odd type of setup where the owner slept in a "bungalow" on the back of the property, but had an apartment in one end of the main house for her kitchen and living area. She travels a lot for her work, so some of the time we would have the whole place to ourselves, but other times, there would be someone else in the house. She did sound extra nice on the phone, but the jury is still out on this one.

Meanwhile, it looks like Craigslist is the place to find rentals here. I was surprised that there actually were a few to pick from in our price range that would allow dogs.

That brings me to the end of my first weekend and week here. If the past three nights are any indication of what the rest of the month will be like, I will not be sorry to leave this little studio in Paia at the end of the month. The proximity of the neighbors has taken a little getting used to after the solitude of my home in Idaho. In fact, I'm not used to it, and I will never get used to it. One thing about living in Hawaii - much of daily life takes place outdoors and the houses are so close together in so many of these neighborhoods that your neighbors' life becomes an extension of your own. If they decide to burn trash, the smoke drifts into your kitchen. If they have a family get together, then all the guests and their vehicles and slamming doors and boisterous greetings happen right outside your open window. So while I'm not in a huge rush to rent the first acceptable place that turns up, I will be happy to find, if not my own private Idaho in Hawaii, just someplace that will feel like a haven to come home to at the end of the day.