The Vanguard Apartamentos

"To reside in a place of euphoria" reads the sign posted on the side of this three story, nine unit building. I ascended the old, clearly weathered stairs for the first time during the summer of 2014. I was skeptical to say the least. Everything in my price range I had looked at up to that point was subpar. This was the last stop on the list, Echo. Highland Park, a historic district near downtown Birmingham, Alabama is a beautiful area, and my sites were set on finding the right place to live... there. The building may have looked older. A bit of rust covered the long metal support beams as we entered the first door to the right on the bottom floor. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into a fairly spacious living area: nice, hard, dark brown laminate floors, a low ceiling, and a long eight-foot bar that I knew would be perfect for two bar stools. It was the only place I had looked at that day with a kitchen that was open to the living room. A small hallway that lead to a bathroom at the end and a bedroom on the right were just beyond the kitchen. The carpet was thick and soft. There were two closets. One pantry. Central air conditioning. I walked through the back door to find a private parking lot. Another door two feet away hid a very convenient public washer and dryer, closest to the apartment I would be living in. To say I was sold at that point would not have been true. It was the best place I had seen in my price range, however, so I went for it. It was a great step, finding my first apartment on my own, a week before starting my career in a city I had never been. It was nerve-racking. I did not know what to expect. Fourteen months later I am the happiest I have ever been. When I have had a problem, Dwell Properties has taken care of it in a timely manner. Who would have known that two $7 plastic chairs on a small walkway covered by an awning, up on a hill with a slight glimpse of the city would change my life forever? I have come to realize enjoying where you live is not about the size of an apartment or the age of it. Residing in a place of euphoria comes with what you make of it. Lee mas