Topic 161: On answering advertisements

Carol:

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking 

I found my first apartment through an ad in the Riverside Press-Enterprise in 1970. My roommate from the dorms and I decided to find a place  off campus. We both left town for the summer, leaving the apartment search for our return. I skimmed the classified ads for a few days, wrote down the phone numbers of a few rentals, and spent an afternoon driving around once I had made appointments with landlords.  

 

Happy Home 1970

The place I chose was not fancy or new, but the price was right--seventy-five dollars for a furnished two-bedroom apartment downtown,  utilities included.  The apartment was the top story of an old, wood-framed house among many old homes that had been evolved from stately, one-family Victorian homes into semi-shabby multi-unit housing for university students. And, it had a certain eccentric charm. Most of my friends lived in places like it, but nobody had a bathroom you entered through the front hall closet or a bathtub in an alcove off the kitchen (no curtain).  The furniture matched the age and state of the house, shabby without the chic.  The house was a block from the railroad tracks, but we got used to the noise and the rattling windows of both the trains and the Simi Valley earthquake.
 

Happy Home 1987

Before the move to Prescott in 1983, Marc and I found  a real estate agent  instead of looking at the housing ads. The agent was efficient, made all the telephone contacts before we arrived in town, and arranged  appointments for a “look-see” weekend. Housing was so much cheaper than California that It only took one visit for us to find a house we liked. The realtor wrote up the offer, sending us off to dinner while we waited for the reply. A block down the road, we saw a “For Sale by Owner Sign” in front, not a house we liked, but a house we loved…and have lived in for 28 years
 

Happy Home 2010

 When Megan  got her job in England, the moving process was complicated. She was concerned about buying a car, setting up a bank account, and finding a place to live , so I decided to help her find living quarters by doing an on-line search. The process wasn’t really any more complicated than my perusal of the classified ads in 1970, or our appointment with the realtor in 1983, just different. Thanks to the Internet, I could plug in locations, type of housing, price range, and pictures and lists would pop up. up.  It was fun to see what kinds of places people in East Anglia were living in and paying for…until I started converting the rental costs from pounds to dollars and  their locations in relation to her job from kilometers to miles. Suddenly, the list of options shrank. But, there it was, a charming little flat with a courtyard, flowers and vine-covered walls. Could she answer that ad with the click of a computer key and arrange a look-see from 5456 miles away (8781 kilometers)? Although Megan will tell you quaint isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, especially in the winter without central heating, that little High Street flat in March, advertised on the Internet, was her home for four years.
 

I skim the classified ads in our newspaper everyday. Sometimes I look at houses that would downsize us from our 3-level house and acreage of weeds and critters. Who knows what I might find when I let my fingers do the walking.

 Megan:

As an unemployed person, I obviously spend a lot of time perusing job advertisements. But that’s not very interesting. So, when I need a break, I read the personal ads on Craigslist. I have never responded to an ad on Craigslist, but as far as dating sites go, my understanding is that it is not the greatest place to meet people. Other sites like match.com, eharmony and my favorite Alikewise, (which lets you select people based on reading interest) seem like serious sites for people looking for more than a hookup.

Anyway, Craigslist hasn’t completely caught on in Prescott. There are a few “men for women” ads posted each day, but nothing like the Portland or Bay Area sites.  Even with the poor selection, I still find plenty to amuse me.

Here’s one from today, perfectly in my age range:

seeing whats out there - 29
Well I would like to say what on looking for but I hate going into anything with set expectations lol. The title says it all, I'm looking to see what's out there and to hopefully meet a cool girl, please include a pic with a reply, I don't open anything without a pic. I will send a few back, oh please put cool girl in the subject line.

This poster is hoping to cast the widest net  but offers nothing for the reader to respond to, nothing to suggest that writing back wouldn’t just be a huge waste of time. 


This guy is probably too old for me, but I have to admit that the headline caught my interest. I wasn’t disappointed.

{Need a girl that can work it} - 41
Hi There. I,am looking for a girl that can take it all they are hard to find. I.am 5"11 and 205lb & lightskin. I have been here for 3yrs. I.am nice looking & body. I like to have a beer or two and fun to be with but i like to stay at home and cill to.I dj back in the days so i know how she shoud work it!!! so email me to get my # and we can talk for the frist time. Will see wear it gos we can go slow from there!! Be over 21 have a drink or 2 some wine. Look me up I.am at home. And if u need it now iam game.We can go swiming indoors or hit the spa its all up 2 u FEEL ME!!!!! Got to go. BE DF!!

I’m not ruling out internet dating. I know people who have had success with it. The thing is, sometimes I try to come up with personal ads for myself. What am I supposed to say? “I’m almost 30 and I live at home with my parents. I also don’t have a job.” I’m not in the mood for dating, not until I figure the other stuff out. So for now, the only ads I’ll be responding to will be for jobs.  And when I need a break, I’ll be reading the book I just got on preparing for the GRE.