Best. Apartment. Ever.

Back in May I moved from Oakland to San Francisco. This is the sixth place I’ve lived since I came to California and, aside from a wide variety of dorm rooms, probably the tenth or twelfth I’ve had since I went out on my own. Of all these places I’ve lived, my current apartment is by far my favorite.

Let’s start first with the obvious reason: location. Living where I do I’m close to shops, restaurants, bars, parks, and public transit which can get me just about everywhere in the city. World-class museums are just a short walk away. If I feel like walking a bit more I can be at the ocean in under an hour. Most importantly, I’m just a few blocks away from some very good friends. That’s something which is hard to top.

While this exterior quality of my apartment is pretty great I find that it’s the interior which really puts this place at the top of the stack. Of all the locations I’ve lived it’s probably tied with my first California apartment for smallest amount of square footage. That said, it’s a very open floor plan with an even more open feeling. When I walk into my apartment I don’t notice that it’s small. I notice that it’s spacious, uncluttered and just feels like home. Much of this can be attributed to the large wall of windows. It also may help that this is the first place I’ve ever lived where Every. Single. Box. has been unpacked. Most everything which remains in this space has a purpose and a placement. There’s no outlier stashed in a closet somewhere taking up valuable space which could be used for objects of import.

This is also the first apartment to benefit from some sort of cohesive decorating style. Several years ago I started slowly replacing and upgrading furniture and other items with Mid-Century Modern/Atomic Age versions. Combined with some wall hangings and other objects which rank fairly high on the Geek Scale, the end result is the first apartment where I honestly enjoy spending time. I feel happier and more relaxed just being here. How many people can say that about the place where they live? Not nearly enough, I wager.