The Houston Apartamentos

These were surprisingly affordable and cute. Lots of character from original hardwood floors and archways. Great windows let in a lot of natural light and the layout of the apartment has a nice flow and high ceilings make it seem larger than it is. Building is kept clean and neighbors are respectful. However, the century-old floors are showing their age and squeak and creak for even the lightest of steppers, but what's worse is when your upstairs neighbor walks around, the squeaks seem to be... amplified through the ceiling and are SO LOUD that my neighbor regularly wakes me up from a dead sleep just walking around. Often, I can't hear my tv if she's walking around. There seems to be no insulation between floors, so I hear every word my upstairs neighbor says, every pee stream into the toilet, every cough, a dish placed into the sink. Everything. I can hear her conversations like they're in my apartment. It's terrible. The windows provide very little insulation, so it sounds like my windows are constantly open. The worst part is that the building controls the heat and it only seems to run in the middle of the night so I'm constantly freezing as my large windows don't insulate much at all. The kitchen is TERRIBLE. The "vintage" sink is about 4 inches deep, so expect lots of water to splash out all over you, my vintage stove is a crapshoot to work with. There is about two square feet of counter space, which you need to put a drying rack on because there's no dishwasher, so you effectively have no counter/prep space. And forget about getting deliveries from Amazon unless you're going to be home to let them in the building because they can't get in to deliver them.
Overall, it feels very safe and I enjoy it here when my upstairs neighbor is gone. Everyone in the building is pretty quiet, not much of a party place. If you aren't bothered by hearing every intimate detail of your neighbor's life and don't like to cook, this could be a great spot for you. Lee mas