Apartment Living.

Going from owning a house to apartment living is not exactly ideal. The thing is that you don't really think or better yet I didn't think we'll go back to apartment living after home-ownership but it was one of the things we decided to do when we learned we were moving to PA.

The main reason was because we were going to be new to the area. We did not know of good/safe neighborhoods, good school districts and all the things one needs to know about buying a house in a certain location.

Another factor was that because I'm not working I didn't want Sean's income to be the only one to determine what mortgage we would be approved at. I figured once I got a job we'll have bigger buying power and since this won't be a starter home this time around, it was the wisest decision.

But man, oh man! Let's start with my ridiculous first world problems.

First, the person above us! I sleep with a broom, yes a broom, that way I can slam it on the ceiling when the tenants above us decides that running/pacing up and down at 3 in the morning is normal human behavior. They don't say hi or smile at me when they see me. I understand. I'm the crazy woman who sleeps with a broom. But they're the crazy maniacs that pace up and down like they're on LSD at the oddest hours so I say we're even.

Next is space. Our first home was not big by any means. 1200 square feet but it was perfect for the two of us. In fact, when we first started house hunting I was not thrilled. I did not understand why we couldn't just continue to rent. It just seemed easier. Sean did not agree and finally I just said fine but of course I had conditions.

The house had to be small and updated that way it was easy to maintain and because neither one of us is handy. I didn't want too much backyard that way mowing didn't take forever although I'll admit that in the 3+ years we lived in our house I never mowed.

Our apartment isn't tiny but the washer and dryer could use more space that way I could do more than half a load at a time. Our cabinets cannot hold all of our pots, pans and dishes. It's hard to keep it organized with the limited amount of space. If you came to my apartment and opened our cabinets you might decide not to be my friend. Oh and let me just place it on the record that counter space is not overrated.

But I guess with all negatives one must note some positives so here is my attempt at doing just that. Our apartment has two bathrooms and our house only had one. You see life in a different way with two bathrooms. I mean the worst thing ever is taking a shower when someone has to take a dump Sean has one and I have one. It's a freaking miracle and now I know at least two bathrooms are a must in our next house.

Also our cat Fella has completely changed for the better. He was the most social and loving cat until we brought Izabella home. He was not happy and he let us know with his constant hissing and attacking of Izy. In our house he was able to hide in the basement and avoided interacting with Izy as much as he could. In our apartment he does not have that luxury and wouldn't you know it Fella can actually sit/sleep next to Izy when we're not home. They are actually friends! You don't have any idea how much progress he has made with Izy in the last few months. I hope this doesn't change when we buy a house in the future.

There's a gym and pool in our apartment complex. I don't have to explain that one because there's a gym and pool in our apartment complex.

If something breaks you don't have to fix it yourself. A single phone call and someone fixes it for you, without you having to shell out money or Google how to fix the problem. I missed that type of living ;).

And last but not least, laundry is not in the basement. I'm thinking you all know how amazing that is. I just won't mention that the laundry is in our kitchen now.

It's nice to lay it out like this because now I'm thinking that apartment living isn't so bad after all.
I have to start watching House Hunters again and continue to remind myself that I sleep with a broom.