The apartment is not bad though. The closets are pretty big, the beds comfortable and there’s weekly cleaning service – yippee! The shower’s a little tricky. You go in and set the water to the temperature you like . It stays that way for a couple of minutes and then Surprise!!! You get random periods of scalding hot and freezing cold water interspersed with short bursts of bearable-temperature water. Needless to say, there’s a little screaming going on when we take showers and bathing Nia is like herding cats but hey, it’s an adventure and we love adventures, so we call it “the most invigorating shower ever!”
The complex itself has a playground, tennis courts, a volleyball court, a pool, which should open sometime in May, and a nice clubhouse. There are also free yoga and aerobics classes, which I need check out ASAP.
It’s about a ten-minute walk from East Falls Church metro station, which is great. It’s also a two-minute drive from Seven Corners, which is the ugliest intersection I have ever seen but there are a bunch of stores and restaurants around it, so its unavoidable. I am dreading driving through that nasty thing this afternoon when I go to the grocery store as we need pretty much everything.
Kitchen, dining and living areas
Living, our bedroom, our bathroom (Nia’s bathroom is identical, so no picture needed)
Our closet, Nia’s bedroom (yes, she has a TV and she is glued to it most of the time), Nia’s closet
Hey I have that same shower system.
ReplyDeleteSo is it a government apartment complex? Or do they just have super cool complexes that come with a cleaning service!!!!? Now this has been on my mind since your last post...where will your cats live when you go overseas? I know, the logistics are the boring parts but it is what goes through my mind! Keep the updates coming! Natasha
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear from you guys! For a while there I thought I was "talking" to myself.
ReplyDeleteJesse,
It's good to know we are not alone. Hope things are going great with the new girlfriend?
Natasha,
It is not a government complex but it does have a contract with the government. It's called Oakwood (http://www.oakwood.com/). Our property is in Falls Church, VA but they have many all over the world. It's actually a corporate temporary housing company. Not everyone living here is Foreign Service/State Department but a lot of people are.
Because the training is 10 wks to 10 months on average, it putting up people in hotels is not ideal. It would be very expensive and the people, especially those with families, would get tired of it after a while. But in a lot of ways this is like a hotel: it's furnished like a hotel and comes with pretty much everything - towels, linens, dishes, silverware etc. That's where the cleaning service I guess comes in. It's a separate charge for those living here that are not State Dept. employees. It's included for us.
The cats are here with us and we are hoping to take them to our first post but it would depend on where we are posted because some countries are more pet friendly than others - some require that your pets stay in quarantine at the airport or elsewhere for weeks or months. Hopefully, we'll end up somewhere where it would be relatively straightforward to move with pets. We'll see.
Nia looks pretty comfy in a nice, big bed. The whole place looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting photos of Oakwood. We head there this summer, so I am always interested in seeing what the apartments look like.
ReplyDeleteSeven Corners is a complete mess but there are some good (and relatively less expensive) restaurants. There is Eden Center with great Vietnamese and Mark's Duck House for great Chinese.
Have Fun!