A farmer and his wife have so many kids there is no room in their house. So they go ask the wiseman what to do. He tells them to bring the chickens into the house. They do that, then go back and complain again. This time he tells them to bring in the goat, then the horse, cow, pig, etc. Eventually when their house is completely overrun with chaos, the wiseman tells them to remove all the animals. Once this is done, they realize how peaceful and adequate their house really is in comparison with what it might be.
What does this have to do with me? You see, I spent the better part of this week looking at different apartments to rent- not because ours was too small, but because we are not entirely sure we can continue to afford living here, whilst paying the heating bill and managing to eat all in the same month.
*Word of Warning- Never live in a place with huge vaulted ceilings unless you are prepared to pay triple what you normally would in heating*
We went out looking at apartments on Saturday to start us off. The first complex we were pretty sure the manager was on meth-amphetamines. The second complex would have taken two months worth of salary just to cover the deposit, and I refuse to declaw our cats. By the time we came home from that, our home was looking pretty good.
I went out again on Wednesday between jobs. This time, I looked at at least four different places. I think I lost count after awhile. Some were fine, some were scary, and some were just totally impractical. Nothing we looked at had adequate storage for all our extra baby furniture, camping supplies, and all other excess baggage we are not ready to part with.
I think I really like our garage.
Also, none of the apartments had more than a few feet of counter space in the kitchen. I really just don't see how I could put my grandma's mammoth fruit dehydrator on the counter, or make assembly line enchiladas, or even cook anything besides a box of macaroni and cheese in the kitchens we saw.
Suddenly my tiny kitchen is looking quite spacious and lovely.
After looking at the last apartment for the day, the book No Room For A Sneeze just inevitably popped into my mind. I realized that perhaps moving into a smaller cheaper apartment may not be the best solution and perhaps where we are is really the best place for us right now. Although it would be nice to save 300 dollars a month on rent and heat (and actually have a warm house for once) it would take an extraordinary amount of resources to move again, even if it was just down the road. (six hundred dollars just for a cat deposit??? Come on, cats aren't that bad.)
Here is why I love my townhome:
1. I have a yard which is totally my own space and I can grow anything I want in it.
2. An excellent neighbor with whom I swap child horror stories and dinners.
3. A garage for all our STUFF.
4. A forest behind us to shield all the weirdos who live in the apartment complex behind us. (Someone pitched a tent and camped out there all summer, who does that?)
5. An extraordinarily cat-friendly environment- we had no extra cat deposit here, and all the cats are so nice they even share their fleas with us.
So, basically, I think we decided that if we really want to save our pennies, we should stay put and not pay well over 1500 dollars in deposits, not have to buy extra storage, and not have to pay reconnection fees for the cable.
I am glad it took several hours of apartment hunting and a childhood book to show me that.
*Word of Warning- Never live in a place with huge vaulted ceilings unless you are prepared to pay triple what you normally would in heating*
We went out looking at apartments on Saturday to start us off. The first complex we were pretty sure the manager was on meth-amphetamines. The second complex would have taken two months worth of salary just to cover the deposit, and I refuse to declaw our cats. By the time we came home from that, our home was looking pretty good.
I went out again on Wednesday between jobs. This time, I looked at at least four different places. I think I lost count after awhile. Some were fine, some were scary, and some were just totally impractical. Nothing we looked at had adequate storage for all our extra baby furniture, camping supplies, and all other excess baggage we are not ready to part with.
I think I really like our garage.
Also, none of the apartments had more than a few feet of counter space in the kitchen. I really just don't see how I could put my grandma's mammoth fruit dehydrator on the counter, or make assembly line enchiladas, or even cook anything besides a box of macaroni and cheese in the kitchens we saw.
Suddenly my tiny kitchen is looking quite spacious and lovely.
After looking at the last apartment for the day, the book No Room For A Sneeze just inevitably popped into my mind. I realized that perhaps moving into a smaller cheaper apartment may not be the best solution and perhaps where we are is really the best place for us right now. Although it would be nice to save 300 dollars a month on rent and heat (and actually have a warm house for once) it would take an extraordinary amount of resources to move again, even if it was just down the road. (six hundred dollars just for a cat deposit??? Come on, cats aren't that bad.)
Here is why I love my townhome:
1. I have a yard which is totally my own space and I can grow anything I want in it.
2. An excellent neighbor with whom I swap child horror stories and dinners.
3. A garage for all our STUFF.
4. A forest behind us to shield all the weirdos who live in the apartment complex behind us. (Someone pitched a tent and camped out there all summer, who does that?)
5. An extraordinarily cat-friendly environment- we had no extra cat deposit here, and all the cats are so nice they even share their fleas with us.
So, basically, I think we decided that if we really want to save our pennies, we should stay put and not pay well over 1500 dollars in deposits, not have to buy extra storage, and not have to pay reconnection fees for the cable.
I am glad it took several hours of apartment hunting and a childhood book to show me that.
2 comments:
Tell me about it. I have been looking for apts myself. I am going to have to get rid of a bunch of stuff. I have found that it was much more productive to use my Realtor to help find a rental.
Sheryl and I thought about moving to a larger apartment before getting a house but we decided we just dont like moving that much and we made the jump to a home. Ive seen a lot of apartments bigger than our house, but like you said, I like having a yard!
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