Winning!

FiancB

I need to brag somewhere.

I am so excited because FI officially decided to move to the cities this summer. We live in a small town in northern MN but we kind of hate it but we've been sticking it out for some loan reimbursements, which we're a year off from but we can't take it anymore. His uncle has an apartment off of his house that he offered to us for very cheap though, so what we save in rent almost makes up for the reimbursement. It's really nice because it's been a hobby for his uncle for years and he's got, well, pretty expensive taste. Plus I can transfer schools which I think will result in a much better education- I'm pre-nursing and want to specialize but there's not much for specialized rotations in a small town. 

And we can have a dog!!! I've been stalking petfinder. I'm so excited. I'm forbidden from mentioning it to our mutual friends yet though because FI wants to keep the drama low at work for as long as possible. 

This week I also passed my certification to be a nursing assistant, which will be handy because I missed the deadline to get into nursing school in the fall so I'll be able to do something where I make okay money and get lots of experience while I'm waiting. 

And I just checked my A&P grade. It's a super hard class so while most school seriously frown upon a C, it's considered good by my school because the class is really designed more for upper level pre-med students yet they have freshman nursing students taking it. I have a solid C in the class but was hoping to get it up to at least a B and I just took a test that I was really nervous about how I did... and I got a mid-high B! 

My face when I checked:

Woohoo it's been a kickass week! Brag away!

AddieCake

Happy dance for all of that!

CMGragain

This is all good news.  I hope you love it in the cities. 
I would caution you to think twice about the dog, though.  Many dogs in the shelters are there because their apartment families had to move, and they couldn't find another apartment that would allow dogs.  I know most rental houses don't allow them.  It would be heartbreaking for you to become attatched to a pet, and then to have to give him up.
Good luck with your plans!

SmileDamnit

Yay!! Congratulations on the good news.

And re: the dog - I actually think it really depends on the city as to the difficulty you may or may not have finding pet friendly rental properties. I've always been a renter and haven't had any problem finding houses that accepted dogs in Denver at all. Be prepared to offer references, have the landlord "meet" the dog &/or pay additional pet rent/deposit, however. Just do the appropriate research for the area first & you should be fine. 

CMGragain

PS.  Smaller dogs are easier than big ones when it comes to landlord approval!

chkmeowt

too bad you had to stick it out up north for the entire winter! welcome to the cities!

lyndausvi

The boy in my siggy has proved to be a little bit of a problem finding a place, but not impossible at all.   Bigger dogs and certain breeds like pits prove to be bigger problem than having a dog in general.   We had been denied just looking at a place because people think an english bulldog is the same as a pit bull.  

We are starting to think about getting another dog. I have ruled out pits.  Not that I think all pits are dangerous, it's just that we do rent.   Finding a place to rent with a dog is hard enough.  2 dogs even harder.  One being a pit or some of the other "dangerous dogs" can be almost impossible.

Just something to think about.

jdluvr06

Yay! That is great for you guys! This is a picture for all those landlords who won't rent to pit owners.

SmileDamnit

lyndausvi said:

The boy in my siggy has proved to be a little bit of a problem finding a place, but not impossible at all.   Bigger dogs and certain breeds like pits prove to be bigger problem than having a dog in general.   We had been denied just looking at a place because people think an english bulldog is the same as a pit bull.  

We are starting to think about getting another dog. I have ruled out pits.  Not that I think all pits are dangerous, it's just that we do rent.   Finding a place to rent with a dog is hard enough.  2 dogs even harder.  One being a pit or some of the other "dangerous dogs" can be almost impossible.

Just something to think about.

As IF someone could possibly be biased against the Chef! Seriously, though, it baffles me when people lump english bulldogs into any group other than, well, bulldogs. I found that sending a picture of Gus with my rental applications, explaining that he was crate trained &/or came to work with me often (e.g. wasn't a dog who was just left inside OR outside for hours on end), and insisting on a meeting with the potential landlord usually helped to seal the deal. 

lyndausvi

Niccirf said:

lyndausvi said:

The boy in my siggy has proved to be a little bit of a problem finding a place, but not impossible at all.   Bigger dogs and certain breeds like pits prove to be bigger problem than having a dog in general.   We had been denied just looking at a place because people think an english bulldog is the same as a pit bull.  

We are starting to think about getting another dog. I have ruled out pits.  Not that I think all pits are dangerous, it's just that we do rent.   Finding a place to rent with a dog is hard enough.  2 dogs even harder.  One being a pit or some of the other "dangerous dogs" can be almost impossible.

Just something to think about.

As IF someone could possibly be biased against the Chef! Seriously, though, it baffles me when people lump english bulldogs into any group other than, well, bulldogs. I found that sending a picture of Gus with my rental applications, explaining that he was crate trained &/or came to work with me often (e.g. wasn't a dog who was just left inside OR outside for hours on end), and insisting on a meeting with the potential landlord usually helped to seal the deal. 

It's been love at first site for every landlord who has met Chef in person.   Our former landlords offer to write him a letter of reference.  

chibiyui

jdluvr06 said:

Yay! That is great for you guys! This is a picture for all those landlords who won't rent to pit owners.

Oh man, derpy pits are the best

AllOnOneDay

We have four big dogs. The pittie is the horribly bred "ghetto" pit. I was out front with DD, we were gardening. All the sudden this ugly, mean looking, evil Pit Bull comes charging full speed across the street and pile drives DD into me, then knocks us back a good five feet. DD didn't even get a second to start crying when a car took the turn too fast, jumped the curb and stopped literally where DD had just been.

Tank had to stay. The other three - a German bred German Shepherd, two Silver Bay Retrievers - never blinked at him. He's the biggest mush ever, DD makes him wear a tiara for her tea parties and that's one of the best things ever.

They can take Tank from my cold, dead hands.

FiancB

As far as dogs go, we'll be okay because we are pretty much positive that this will be our last move before we buy a house, which will hopefully be soon. The money that we save in rent will be socked into a down payment fund and hopefully we can do that in the next couple years. 

We will get a small one because we have two pet ferrets and I want something that isn't going to eat them if they get out or something. So probably something like a papillon, pomeranian, toy poodle- something small with low prey drive. My old Sheltie was great- I don't think it ever occurred to her that she was capable of biting or killing anything. I would like to start doing obedience and agility again, so something smart, bold and fast. I wouldn't ever leave them unattended but still I don't want something like a husky that would definitely kill them if it got a chance!

If FI would let me foster I would but he claims he'd never be able to let them go. 

FiancB

debmonn said:

too bad you had to stick it out up north for the entire winter! welcome to the cities!

Seriously. This winter sucked. It didn't get above 0 up here for a good two months straight. And here it is, almost April and still not always getting to 20. Not that it's warm down there, but it typically does run 10-15 degrees warmer. I'll take it.