Attitude and Latitude, Jan 2026

Choosing a Place

At first the apartment search was just something to do between bike rides and long lunches. We rode through neighborhoods and looked at buildings the way you look at boats in a marina. Without urgency.

Sheridan Ocean Club

We did what we always did. We rode. We stopped. We looked around. From a bike you notice different things. Whether the street is loud. Whether there’s shade. Whether you would want to come back at the end of the day.

In Dania Beach I met Carlos at the Sheridan Ocean Club. He showed me a two-bedroom on the second floor. He said there would be two first-floor units opening soon. Around twenty-three hundred a month, plus utilities. I liked the first floor right away. No stairs. Easier with bikes. Easier with groceries.

We kept riding.

In Hollywood, on Van Buren Street, there was a building called Regent Park. I saw three apartments. One was a two-bedroom, one-bath. One had two baths. They were simple. The prices were written on a sheet of paper. The building was low and a little faded. There were trees on the street. The courtyard had a pool. It felt quiet.

We walked around the block. We stood on the sidewalk and looked back at the building. It was two blocks from the circle. You could ride to the beach without thinking about it.

Regent Park Condos, Downtown Hollywood

Afterward we went to GG’s. Mary and Janet and Deb were there, and Lisa and Serge. I had a mimosa and a quinoa bowl with eggs. The table was loud and everyone was talking at once. Nothing had been decided yet.

Later we went back to the beach and rented a cabana. I lay there and watched the water. I kept thinking about the courtyard and the trees.

That night I filled out the application.

It was late and the room was quiet. I typed my name and my address and my job. I typed in references. I checked the boxes. I went back and checked them again. When I finished, I sat there for a while before closing the laptop.

Over the next few days there were more forms. Emails. Confirmations. Then everything was done except sending the money.

We kept working from the beach house. We rode in the mornings. We sat in the sun. Sometimes I caught myself counting rooms that weren’t mine yet.

On the last day we rode into downtown Hollywood and then up to Dania one more time. We returned the bikes. We checked out at three. We took an Uber to the airport. We sat in the lounge. We flew home.

A week earlier we had just been riding around.

Now there were forms on my computer with my name on them.

Some decisions don’t feel like decisions when they happen.

They feel like filling in boxes.