tldr: One year in and I couldn't be happier with my experience. No notes!
Today marks the one year anniversary of when I moved to SF. As with any move, there's a lot of uncertainty that comes with the transition. In retrospect, I'm willing to admit that it's possible I was worried about all the wrong things.
When things go right, it's easy to attribute it to some innate skill. But sometimes, something else completely different happens — you just get plain, well, lucky. This is one of those stories.
I moved from Toronto to SF for work in August 2021. Back then, housing was just one of those things I wanted to get taken care of quickly. So I asked around and found a property that seemed to be unremarkable in all the right ways. "Exactly what I'm looking for", I thought to myself.
The recommendation came from a work acquaintance who lived there. That person mentioned that their neighbor had moved out, and that I should look into getting the apartment. That's when I was introduced to Yoli.
Having had no prior renting experience, I wasn't sure what to expect. It didn't help that it's fairly well known that SF housing scams are rampant. So I approached the situation cautiously.
I spoke with Yoli at length, who was very responsive throughout the entire process. Not only did he walk me through all the steps, he also noted that I might consider a different unit at a lower price in the same building, since I'm just now moving to the city. I took his advice and went with the unit he suggested.
On the day that I was supposed to move in, I ran into visa issues at the airport. It eventually got resolved, but it took long enough for me to miss my flight. The initial plan was to get to SF before noon, which would have given me enough time to get my keys. and figure out how to figure out my bedding situation so I don't end up sleeping on the floor that night. Instead, I didn't get to SF until well after midnight.
After what has already been a less-than-ideal travel experience, I was feeling pretty defeated. I had resigned myself to sitting at a 24 hour McDonald's until some reasonable time in the morning for Yoli to give me the keys to the apartment.
I couldn't have been more wrong. To my surprise, Yoli had stayed in his car the entire time. He was waiting for me to get there and make sure I got my keys. He said that I had a rough day already and didn't want me not to at least be able to get into the apartment that night.
At the time, and still to this day, that remains as one of the kindest gestures that anybody's ever done for me.
Since then, I've had nothing but good experiences with Meridian. The unit has been very well-maintained. The on-site property managers have been very attentive to any concerns that I've had pop up. For example, my fridge broke down one Saturday, and by Tuesday I had a new fridge in the unit. They also check in on me every now and then whenever we run into each other in the hallway, knowing full well that I'm new to the city.
This is all to say that my experience with Yoli and Meridian has been excellent. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would make it any less than a perfect score.