Well, yesterday was a *full* day of apartment hunting. I saw about 6 places which I had already previously researched online before having left for Lubbock. They were all pretty decent, but I believe I made my best choice given the limited time I had (essentailly 2 days) to look for an apartment if I had any chance for being able to move in by Dec. 1, or better yet, earlier, considering that as an "alien" to the US, I'd have to go through many background checks and also keeping in mind that American Thanksgiving, Black Friday and the weekend eats up 4 more precious days...So I've scored a spacious 2-bedroom, 1000 sq. ft. apartment for about $600/month - can't really complain!
Now the hard part will be to furnish the place...unfortunately there is no Ikea in Lubbock and the closest one is a 6-hour drive, which of course I would not consider nor would it be feasible because for example, I would not be able to fit a bed in a sedan. Shipping would cost hundreds of dollars and it's not worth it. I've already tried looking at some local furniture stores - although I've found one that has decent priced furniture, it by no means has everything. One-stop shopping is so much easier. Ah well...I may even considering buying some things (online) from stores like from Walmart, JC Penney and possibly Target.
On other fronts, I've managed to apply for a Social Security Number, which will take a maximum of 2 weeks to receive. A letter saying that I've applied for one is good enough to get me onto the payroll since I officially start work next Monday. Unfortunately, only after I get my SSN, can I sign a contract to get a cell phone, which I plan to also use as my primary source for internet (via tethering feature). Then I'll need to get digital TV! Hard to imagine life without it...but of course, it's just not the same without having a couch to sit on to watch it or a bed to sleep on...so first thing's first...I need furniture!
Some random observations: I find it kind of interesting that there are actually a LOT of cops around...sitting around having lunch, cop cars parked here and there, I'd say I'd see a cop every 4 blocks I drive...even in rental apartment complexes...I found out that at least around apartment complexes, sometimes an officer will actually live there, which in a way makes them much safer. Also, there is always highway construction going on...and there are a LOT of highways considering Lubbock only has about 275 000 residents...There's a "loop" 2-lane highway in each direction that encircles the city, and then a 2 lane highway in each direction that cuts across the heart of the city. There is then a small highway that funnels to/from the university and then there are major roads that run just besides the highways that are used to enter/exit the highways and get to smaller streets. The streets themselves are sometimes 4 lanes one direction, 2 lanes the opposite direction and sometimes 3-4 lanes in each direction...this is equivalent to having a Hwy 404/Don Valley Parkway in each community such as Markham, Scarborough or Richmond Hill...I can't see why they need so many highways! The number of cops and highways leads me to think that the city of Lubbock and/or the state of Lubbock has a LOT of money (to hire all these government employees)!
Lastly, I went to a Starbucks that will actually be right beside the apartment complex I'm moving into...I was looking for Starbucks mugs that had "Texas" or "Lubbock" on it...but to no avail...I'll keep searching, just for fun. Btw, ~$2.69USD/gallon or $0.72CAD/L for gas ain't too shabby down here!
