I have an apartment!

I finally have an apartment! Yey! Like my bike, this small acquisition has made a monumental impact on my level of happiness.

After heading out on several ventures with my real estate agent, I was starting to get frustrated! At first, I was looking for 2-bedroom places because Meghan and I wanted to live together and even briefly embraced the idea of living with another new volunteer from the UK named Erika. Erika is around our age and also used to work at Accenture so we have a lot in common. Unfortunately, since we are all staying different lengths of time (3, 5, and 6 months), we couldn't expense a 3-bedroom place for the whole 6 months. So I had to set out on my own, and in retrospect I'm glad I have because I love having my own personal space and I know I will still see these girls all the time.

Surprisingly, the places I had to choose from were very nice, almost all had hot water, A/C in the bedrooms, and cable TV. Many felt very new and clean and even had brand new mattresses and washing machines in the unit, which is a luxury you rarely get in apartments back home! In the end, I went with a smaller place in a great location close to work. I was drawn to the vast private gated balcony that is so large and secure it would be better referred to as outdoor living space. I felt a little silly and impractical not going for the biggest or newest place, but to me it was worth giving up other amenities to have this unique design that I could never take advantage of back home (because it's too cold!).

My apartment is on the 4th floor above a restaurant that the owner also lives in and 2 other apartments on a main street (in true Golli style, though it's no Clark street!) in the very expat-friendly area of Boeung Keng Kang (BKK1). Next door are a couple travel agents and internet cafes... I think I made the right decision. Being on the 4th floor of a corner unit also gives me a stunning, far-reaching view of most of the rooftops of Phnom Penh on two sides.

It's amazing how much better I feel these days than I did in the very beginning. I honestly believe that no matter where you live or what you are doing, the simple things in life can make the biggest difference in a human being's level of happiness. Beyond food and shelter... autonomy and freedom, familiarity and a sense of purpose. Access to internet and air conditioning. OK so those last two are a stretch that I should probably learn to live without, but you get the idea...