I’ve been sort of quiet this week, but there’s a reason for that. This week, Joe and I made a big decision.
We’re moving! Again!
I know – I can’t believe it either. Thankfully, I have already make Joe promise that this is the last apartment we will have before we one day find our forever town/city and buy a house.
As you all know, we’ve been in our current apartment for about a year and a half, which is half a year longer than our first apartment. The truth is that we love living in this apartment but we’re not so lovey-dovey about the area. One (or both) of us always saying “I wish we could move this apartment to our old neighborhood!”. Too bad our landlord would not be cool with that.
Joe and I enjoy being able to walk to the store to pick something up or go out to eat but it’s difficult in this area because there’s a heavy level of car traffic (my walk to the train involves crossing three busy intersections) so we’ve never felt like we’ve belonged here. Aside from the traffic, there are other reasons why we know it’s time to move on:
- We really don’t need that 2nd bedroom (which is continually a place for junk, no matter how often we clean it out
- We’re paying more for rent than we should be
- My commute is somehow almost as long as when I was still living at home.
Of course, there are some great things about our current place:
- Our kitchen makes cooking so much more enjoyable
- It’s a month-to-month and we’ve never had our rent raised
- Our landlord is awesome
Ultimately, the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was what really encouraged us to start looking. Things around us were a mess (which I know was evident in the photos I shared) and while it’s slowly gotten better, there are so many people are still trying to put together their lives. Constantly seeing demolition and destruction has a way of wearing a person down.
During December, Joe and I casually looked for apartments online but ultimately decided to hold off on seeing anything until after the holidays (after all, decorating for Christmas is a top priority and moving would have ruined that). We would constantly email each other postings, though. Some because they were awesome and others we would email because they were ridiculous, ex. a room where every wall was covered with floor to ceiling mirrors (I wish I was making that up). The entire process was casual because we didn’t have to worry about an end date for a lease.
After Christmas we saw our first apartment but it did not live up to it’s posting so we moved on. A few days later, after the New Year, Joe sent me a posting he had found online in an area of Staten Island he really likes (which is near our old place so I was on board with that). The posting didn’t have any photos in it so I was a bit apprehensive about it but we decided to check it out anyway. No harm in looking, right?
Best. Decision. Ever.
We ended up stumbling onto a gem of an apartment! There are hardwood floors throughout, windows and closets galore, a huge bedroom, and a bathroom with a tub! Oddly enough, a tub was on our “want” list because after 1.5 years with the shower pod, we’re over it. There’s even a butler’s pantry! The only negative is that we’ll have to invest in a refrigerator (we’ll chat about that next week) but in the grand scheme of things, it’s really not that big of a deal to us.
What does this mean for us? The rest of this month will be spent packing and then in February, we’ll start bringing over the bulk of our stuff. It’s very exciting for us because this apartment feels more like us (especially the area it’s in). I’m not as excited about the packing, but we have plenty of time to do it and thanks to a 1/2 month overlay, I feel okay about it.
We’re going to try to stop by this weekend and do some cleaning (our new landlords have already given us the keys!) and while we’re there, I’ll be sure to snap some photos on our camera so I can share them with you next week (the phone pics I have are blurry and terrible).
Anyone else make a big decision lately? Have any tips on moving? Think we’re nuts for moving a third time? Do you like where you live or do you wish you could pick up your house/apartment and move it to a different area?
That is SOOO exciting! That apartment sounds amazing and the upside to the fridge is that it will be one you like. We hate our apartment fridge and which it would die so they’d buy us a new one. Can’t wait to see pictures of the new place!
Very true! I hate our fridge right now. The freezer keeps dripping in the fridge half so we have bowls permanently living in there to collect the water.
Congrats on the move! Your new place sounds great. Looking forward to the pics. Getting a new fridge has its perks.. 1. You don’t have to clean the old one, which may have been gross. 2. You don’t need to buy a new one if you buy a house next. A lot of new homes or homes for sale don’t come with fridges. Good luck!
That’s good to know – I always assumed homes would include the appliances!
By law, they only have to have a stove, I believe.
Awww i miss having a bath SO much. I thought I didn’t mind when we were flat-hunting but I really miss it now it’s not there.
That’s exciting you found somewhere fairly easily, I can’t wait to see the pictures! :-)
Last night I was 2nd home dreaming but we have too many other things on the go at the moment.
xox
That’s awesome!! Can’t wait to see pics of the new place!
I sometimes wish we lived closer to the subway (especially at the beginning it was hard) but I loooove our apartment and we don’t plan on moving any time soon.
How exciting! My husband and I are looking at apartments right now to move into while we build a house. We didn’t want to do anything till our current house (a forcelosure we bought 2 years ago and fixed up) was sold. We’re actually looking for a 3 bedroom for all our 2 bedroom house stuff plus the extra to hold new pieces we buy as the house is getting built. Glad you found somewhere you will love being in till you find your forever house!
This is exciting news!! Congrats to you and Joe! Can’t wait to see the new photos and follow along as you make that apartment yours as well : )
Congrats! My husband and I were considering moving a third time before buying our forever home, but ultimately made the decision to stay put. He’s currently going back to school, so moving while he’s in school and doing student teaching, with just one year left until he’s finished seemed silly. He’ll be done (and hopefully employed!) Spring/Summer of ’14, so we’re staying put until then, but I can’t WAIT to move! I’m excited to see how you decorate the new place!
I can’t wait to see the new place! I completely understand the missing of the old area. Now that we have all of our family in our home, I am loving it a lot more, but I still miss the area that our townhouse was located in! Good luck moving!
Congrats on the move!! Walker and I have been toying with the idea of looking at other (larger) apartments near his work. But we have a yard right now and that is a rare thing in LA. So nothing has really been able to compete for the price. We will most likely stay where we are and try and find more storage haha :)
Yay! That is so exciting for you guys! I’m so happy for y’all and I can’t wait to see the next place! :)
congrats! and as far as investing in the fridge, i think it’s a good thing. you either take it to your first home down the road, or if your home already has a fridge (appliances can be negotiated), you could re-sell whichever one you like less, or perhaps you could work out selling it to the landlord at the end of your time in the apartment for the next tenant. but, i’m sure you’re not even worrying that far ahead yet, haha. can’t wait to see the pictures! congrats again!
Congrats!! When we moved from our apartment to our house we had like a week overlap, it was nice I would take a little at a time (I still hated moving, seriously moved 3 times in 1.5 years sucked!) We didn’t have fridge at the apartment and were using a dorm size one, it works the apartment was all of 400 square feet, when we moved we were still using the thing…need less to say my mom and dad got us a new fridge for Christmas that year. I would try to either find a decent used one or like others mentioned by a new one and that way you don’t have to worry about it when you buy your first house.
Sooo exciting! We love love love our area and most things about our flat even though its pretty compact, but we’d need to move if we got a dog (which we really want) and I miss having a bath sooo much.