Throwback Thursday - My First Apartment

There it is, my first apartment…the entrance was through a back alley on the corner of Newbury St. and Hereford St. in Boston’s back bay. It was essentially two rooms in a basement of an old brownstone. It had a fireplace, it’s own entrance and I thought it was the perfect place for my first legal residence. (The entrance is the really ugly door on the right and there was no AC then.) 

I had just started working at Polaroid and at $2.89/hour plus overtime and $139 for the rent, I thought I was golden. I’d never lived in the city before and this country boy was about to take over Boston! My first lesson was learning things aren’t always what they seem!

One week into being a Boston resident, my apartment was broken into. Even more aggravating was the burglars used my suitcase to carry everything out in and I didn’t have that much to even steal. Then came the cockroaches…I remember reading an article in the Boston Globe…”The cockroaches were in Boston before man arrived and they’ll be there long after man is extinct!” Plus, everybody had to come through my unit every time the furnace or hot water tank had problems.

Here’s my point this Throwback Thursday... even though it’s fun to reminisce…there are lots of things that are going to come along that might seem ideal and you’re going to want to jump right in. After all, they’re all going to seem like once in a lifetime opportunities.

Take the time to make good decisions. Nobody needs to rush you into anything that may not be what it appears. Utilize the expertise of your network. Get a few opinions on what you’re about to invest in, be it money or time, often just as valuable.

The truth is, things are not always what they seem to be, so get another pair of eyes to help you choose the right path. The key decisions in your life will always be your responsibility, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a little help when it comes to fact-finding!