Did I find it? Apartment hunting, part 2

This is the continuation of the previous post, where I described the general "house hunting" experience in Santiago.  I finished with my hope that I'd find an apartment in a safe, quiet neighborhood, with plenty of light and a mountain view.

The apartment search could be done mostly online, perusing two webpages, and I had the assistance of a "relocation agency" through which we could contact the real estate agent or owner who listed an apartment for rent.  After seeing a few places at the start, I found that within my search criteria (one-bedroom, for a given price, in the three comunas I mentioned before) there were two general classes of apartments: (1) a few decades old, maybe a little quirky but with plenty of fun personality, typically in quieter neighborhoods, or (2) nearly brand-spanking new, maybe kind of boring (in my opinion, for those of us who don't often entertain), in more busy neighborhoods, possibly well-connected with public transportation.

I soon also realized that the brand new buildings in option (2) were often surrounded by other brand new buildings under construction, and even if they had a view to begin with, that view would soon become the next-door high-rise apartment.  With dirt and noise in the meantime.  You can tell I wasn't keen on this idea, so I narrowed my search by first looking at photos online and noticing whether there was any view or light coming through the windows, and then inquiring about whether any properties were adjacent to construction sites.  

Torn between the two general classes of apartments, visiting 10 apartments each with its perks, my final decision was between one from each class.  (1) A funky loft-style apartment on the top floor, with large windows on slanting walls that let in plenty of light, in a quiet neighborhood close to work, needing a little TLC, but with a promise from the owner for new carpets and curtains before moving in; and (2) A building built in 2012/13, clean, slick, with an outdoor lap-pool below, third-floor apartment oriented towards the northeast and a pretty broad view of the mountains on a clear day.  

Slightly hesitant about (1) because the real estate agent (called a "corredor" here) wasn't responding to calls for about a week, when I stepped into (2) I knew that it was a close competitor.  As I was looking at (2), the "relocation agent" got an email saying that the owner of (1) had chosen another tenant, for obscure reasons that I think had to do with the fact that I'm not Chilean.  Done.  

I followed up with the corredor for (2), who was entirely professional, filed all of the paperwork right away, and we signed two days later with the owner.  So far, in my dealings with the owner (first meeting her to sign the contract -- which is a very formal process here, revised by lawyers and performed at a notary --, later stopping by her office to deal with a check snafu, and in between communicating via email), I have been really happy with the way things turned out.  She's from Argentina, and she seems to value that I feel like this is my "home" (she wrote in an email, "HOME said ET in the movie, I suppose you remember").  

My shipment from the US arrived the other day, and already, overflowing with all of my stuff, the apartment does feel like home.  I made the bed with my Grandmother's quilt, between Mom's trunk and dresser, there's furniture from my uncle, an antique rocking chair from my parents, a matching side table from Jack and Johanna, a bike originally a Christmas gift from Dad and Criss and re-purposed with Greg at the bike shop.  My life is here now, and in the little details are memories of all of the different homes I have passed through.  

For now, I'll leave you with a few photos of the empty apartment, as it was advertised.  When I get unpacked and settled, I can share photos of my stuff/junk/life filling the space.