House hunting

Woof! I have spent almost 3 relentless days on apartment hunting now. I have been living in LA for an year now but will have to move to Philly for work soon. It has been a tough time convincing tenants that someone in their right mind might even think about moving from LA to Philly at all. But well, you go where work takes you, right! 

I have three options to choose from. The first ones are independent studios or 1 bedroom flats. These places are roomy, have independent bathrooms and offer privacy. However, they come with little or no furnishing. In addition, I will have to pay for the electricity bills and in some cases the heating bills from my pocket. In Philly that can come out to be a hefty amount! 

The second option is choosing a room for rent in a big victorian house with 3-4 bedrooms and share the common space with other tenants. The rent is lesser by a 100-150 bucks both because it is a shared place and because the utilities are divided amongst the tenants. In most cases these rooms are not furnished either. And yes, the bathroom is shared by 2 people.

The final option is that of staying at a fully furnished place in a victorian styled house with the landlord. Mostly the rooms are located on a separate floor and offer some privacy. Usually the number of tenants are limited to two. The rent is midway between the first and the second option. 

I havn't talked to a lot of people about these options, but I am sure that I will be suggested to try the first or the second ones. Call me a wuss, but option no. 3 sounds much more appealing to me. I will be new to the town, new to the east coast. I argue that the third option offers the right amount of company (one other tenant) and the right amount of comfort ( a fully furnished place) for a little higher price. Yes, it does impose a lot of constraints and I may not feel so comfortable later on. But its so convienient! So I am working towards a middle path. I will sign the lease for 6 months. If things do not turn out for the better, I will move out and try one of the other two options. How does that sound ?!