Keeping in line with all the changes I've been making lately, I finally made one that's been a long time coming: I just moved to a new place!
(You may remember the other posts in this series - Roatan Rent: What $300/Month Gets You and Roatan Rent: What $400/Month Gets You. These are some of my most popular posts, so I guess people are interested in this...?)
I'm on move #8 in three years here which is kind of a lot, but what can I say... I've got itchy feet! The last place I was living (the $300/month place) I was in for 15 months, and for the most part it was okay, but I had grabbed it on a whim after I was frantically trying to find a new apartment so I could move out of my housesitting place in the jungle and back into 'civilization'. It still wasn't all the way in town though, and my scooter keeps breaking down on a pretty regular basis so it was turning into a hassle to not be within walking distance of everything.
I kept an eye out for months for a place where the price was right - budget rentals on the west side of the island are few and far between, and especially difficult to get inside of the town of West End. So when this one appeared, I snapped it up and am now happily ensconced in my little studio right in town!
Here's what you get for $350/month:
(Please excuse the crap iPhone photos. I just didn't feel like taking out my regular camera! I don't know why I couldn't make these any bigger. Just having one of those days...)
I also have a really lovely balcony out front with a little table and chair, and space for a hammock, but I'm not going to post a photo of that because people are fucking weirdos and I don't want anyone showing up at my house - that includes tourists and locals! If you are coming to Roatan and you'd like to meet me, please just send me an email and I will be happy to meet you at the bar for a drink and a chat!!
This place is about a two-minute walk off the street & beach, right in the center of town so very close to everything. My rent includes water (and I even have hot water here!) but not electricity ($25-50/month), drinking water ($5-10/month), laundry ($30-40/month) or propane ($5-10/month). So this new place is definitely more expensive than my old $300/month place, but cheaper and better than my $400/month place. Sadly, I no longer have a weekly cleaning lady for free! Spoiled, I know.
Out of all the places I've rented here by myself, this one is definitely the most well-furnished and nicest building, and I think the apartment has a nice vibe and good energy. I feel like I'm on vacation every time I get in the walk-in shower... I've had 15 months of a shower that was too small to even turn around in. I also am a huge fan of this being a concrete building as I can't hear the family above me or my next door neighbors at all - and I have no downstairs neighbors so I can work out at home without worrying about disturbing someone. My 10ft ceilings are pretty great too! Even though it's a small space, it feels nice and airy in here.
Everything is just so much more convenient living in town - if I forget something, I just walk home and get it and I'm back 5 minutes later. I also thought this neighborhood was going to be way louder than it actually is - it's only a minute behind the main drag in West End where most of the bigger (read: louder) bars are located, and I hardly hear anything at night. And - knock on wood - so far NO roosters keeping me up all night!
I am spending a lot more time at home these days and I'm so happy that I'm in a little space that I love. I'm really hoping this is going to be the last move I have to do here!
What do you think of my new place? Out of all the places ($300, $350, $400) - which do you prefer?
I'm sorry, but I can't help you find an apartment on Roatan (unless you'd like to pay me for my time, in which case OF COURSE I will help you :) ) If you've found this post while searching for apartment rentals on Roatan, here's the only two things I can tell you: #1 - never, ever send money for a place without seeing it in person first, and #2 - almost all apartment rentals here are done either by word of mouth or on the Roatan Rentals Facebook group. Best thing to do is to get a cheap hotel for a week while you look around at places!Guys, make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ... there's lots of extras posted there that don't make it onto the blog. I also have Google+ if anyone even uses that? And I'm on Bloglovin', so you can follow me there too! Plus it makes me try to post more than once a month. So there's that.
