My Own Place

Ahhhh....it feels good to be all settled in to my own apartment here in Jozi. I moved all of my things from the temporary cottage I was staying in over to my new apartment which I got the keys for this morning. Luckily, everything fit in my new little car so only one trip. I wish I could say the same for getting all of my things up to the apartment. I'm on the third floor (the top floor of this little apartment complex) with no elevator so I had to make about 4 trips up and down the stairs with all my stuff. I'm hoping the stairs help keep me in shape though since I do so much less walking now.
I've unpacked all of my stuff and stocked the fridge so now I am ready to relax for the evening. Perfect timing as the typical afternoon rainstorm has started outside.

I'm in a nice neighbourhood (Melrose North) where I can walk down to the pedestrian shopping/restaurant block called Melrose Arch. There is also a Woolworths in there for convenient grocery shopping and I am a minutes drive from the M1 (the main highway that runs through the city). I'll have a pretty easy drive to work (dependent on traffic of course, which is a city full of cars can be pretty hectic sometimes). The complex has 24 hour security and all the usual gates and electric fences. My apartment door also has a gate and two deadbolts so it feels very secure. I'm just glad I'm on the third floor so I don't have bars on my windows, it's nice to be able to look outside without an obstructed view, especially because the trees across the street from my balcony are jacarandas! They will bloom into a beautiful bright purple in the fall; I can't wait! My balcony looks out over the street below but its fairly quiet (or at least by my standards having lived on Queen St. for a year where there was a constant hum of the city). Truly my view is just a wall of trees, which is lovely! Johannesburg is the world's largest urban forest and I love the amount of greenery I get to see everyday even in the heart of the city. I have a table and chairs out on the balcony so I hope to spend lots of time relaxing out there in the sun.

My apartment is a good sized one bedroom with lots of storage space and solid wifi (which I haven't had home so far so I am loving that already!) It's quite stylish and modern so I really like the decor. I took some pictures before I unpacked: