I have to move.

I have to give some serious thought to finding a new apartment. I haven't really tried very hard because I wanted my next move to be to something I buy - but prices are insanely high in my neighborhood, and with all the gloom/doom talk of a bubble, I'm not about to invest $600K in a one bedroom apartment that will start dropping in value as soon as I close. Not to mention, I don't really think I could afford $600K. When I moved here almost 12 years ago, I was worried about saving up enough of a down payment for a $200K place. Ah, good times.

My current place is insanely cheap - so much so that I've ignored all of the problems associated with landlords who won't lift a finger to do anything unless it's absolutely essential (and even then they'll bitch and moan about it.) I'm not alone; my entire building is filled with people who only put up with the crap because the alternative is to more than double your rent elsewhere for something not as big or as centrally located.

But... my apartment gets so hot in the winter. I have turned off all of the radiators, and keep them off for most of the time (except for rare below-zero weather.) Problem is that heat also comes off the metal poles that run from floor to ceiling next to the radiators, and you can't turn them off. Plus, my bedroom radiator, even though it's turned completely to the off position, still generates tons of heat. I said something to the landlord about it when they replaced the boiler last year, and he said, oh, never turn them off! That's not good for them. If you're hot, just open a window.

How stupid is that?
1. That's a huge waste of energy.
2. Fuel costs money - you'd think he'd care about his heating bills. (We don't pay, it's included in the rent, so he does.)
3. Opening the window doesn't really solve the problem - suddenly you have bitter cold breezes wafting over pockets of heat - depending on where you are in the room, you're often just as miserable.

Every morning I am unable to dress appropriately for the outdoors because I'm so frigging hot I can't wrap my mind around how cold I'm going to be shortly. I can't even put my coat/hat/gloves on until I'm standing in front of the building in the bitter cold. Then, I come to work and my office is really cold - but I'm wearing the short-sleeved cotton sweater that I pulled from the closet because in my 80 degree bedroom, the thought of wearing the thick woolen one was unbearable. I can't blow dry my hair because I won't be able to stop sweating, and so I'm always out and about with a wet head. It's amazing I'm not constantly sick.

I'm tired of it. I think I need to at least look at rental options, even if I can't afford to buy.