Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-08-20
HOUSE HUNTING.
rh;. wearv Task Is Not So Hopeless
As 1t Seems.

GIVE heen house hunting for three
,raelss and now I think | know nearly
everything there is to be known ABOUT
finding a place t. live in 50 tar as Ne"
York is concerned. AS it happens. III
not going to move after all. but l
thought ! was, and my search Tor
new abode was a thorough one. MOS
persons have their hCuse-huntlng SUN
to do, and ] could give them few use
full tips"
The sneaker was Il woman whose eX-
perience in these matters extends over
a much greater period than the three
weeks lust past. for she has llVed IN
New York for a good many years and
has hunted houses and apartment be
fore.
I'm the first place she went on. L
should advise those who find they nave
to move not to get into state OF pan
ic. hut to go to work calmly and SFste
matically in the firm belief That what
they want exists and therefore viii be
found.
eft must he remembered that New
York is made ND of "A lot of different
sections. each one of which has such q
distinct character of its own that 1t is
like little city within the greater one.
The first thing to do is to find out
which one of these little cities is best
suited to your taste and means. Then.
when you've chosen LOCALITY. go up
and down the streets and look at ev-
er thing that is vacant if 1T seems TO
be in The least promising. Don't depend
on the real estate men. for they know
very little about apartments Make up
your mind before YOU start how many
I rooms YOU must have. hut if you decide
on five rooms don't for that reason de
cline tn look at six-roOm apartments.
There will often be little difference be
, tween the rent OF the five and the six
rooms and the extra room will do you
and your family no harm. You can
make a Storcroom of it if YOU have no
other use for it.
You will often he surprised by find
ing in priced ueishborhood
fat that is within your means. Some
times there will be a building in which
the apartments On each floor. for some
reason that makes them none the less
valuable to yo'I are S. less a month
than any others On the street.
Another thing I've found-and' this
WISH So Two " tiIh' years dGo-l9
that you can generally get the apart
ment you want for s. less than the
priced asked. Sometimes the janitor
will say when he mentions the amount
of the rent that perhaps the landlord
will make concessions. If he says
nothing about them, and he is not like
ly to declare them impossible. Apart
mentS seem to be going in search of
tenants Just now. This is partly be
cause they have been overdone and
partly because q lot of people have
gone up above 1S0th street or to Brook
Ign or Long Island to live.
of course. very one should look for
comfort. There are apartments that
nave attractive entrances and artisti-
cally decorated sitting rooms and are
sadly lacking in the things that make
domestic machinery run smoothly The
bathroom is probably dark, and there
may be no china closet in the dining.
room and very little room anywhere.
One thing | thought of in every place
| looked at was corner where NV
sons could study without being disturb
ed either by themselves or by company.
when we had any. This is something
that should always be taken into con-
sideration when there are children in
the family. There may not be anv rovaI
road to learning. but there's no rea-
son why the path of the rising genera
ton should be made unnecessarily diff
ficult.
Before deciding on a new home it's
important TO know something about