the housing thing
May. 13th, 2003 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamajoanThis morning I looked at an apartment for rent in Somerville. It was a good price (well, almost $100/month more than I pay now, but that included heat) and the landlady seemed very nice, and it *is* deleaded which seems to be quite rare around here. :P But alas, it was also quite small, and in a not-so-great neighborhood -- barely a block away from a very large throughway.
Still, I looked long and hard at the rooms and tried to think, "well, if I got rid of such-and-such pieces of furniture..." and after all, the people living in it now are a married couple. But although I *could* imagine squeezing myself into it, baby and all, it wasn't a comfortable imagining. (Oh, and also, the place won't be available till July 1st, which is a lot closer to my due date than I really want to be moving.)
So I think I've decided not to take it. But a nagging little piece of me keeps wondering whether I'm being too picky. Sigh.
As I drove back home, I pondered the whole problem, and I came to the following conclusion: the place I live in now is REALLY nice. I mean, I knew this already, but after having seen a few of the places that are available in my price range closer to the city, I get an even stronger understanding of how lucky I am. I mean, my three rooms are HUGE compared to most! And the place is bright and clean -- where by clean I mean that the walls are white and not stained or marred or whatever -- and the rent is very cheap (comparatively) and no one cares that I have a cat and a piano and a waterbed (one, two, or all of those tend to be a big problem for many landlords) and I have my own parking space that I don't pay extra for, and there are two porches and even a teeny bit of grass, and it's a nice neighborhood where I feel safe.
The major downsides to this place are: a) the lack of laundry facilities, b) the need to either drive or do a LOT of walking if you want anything more than a convenience store; and c) the length of drive to my mom's place. But you know, there are parts of Somerville that might take me almost as long to get to mom's from, because of traffic. And I've lived with all these things for two years now, why not a little longer?
So I guess I'm coming around to the idea of staying here for a while yet. At least until I get past the initial baby-adjustment period (okay, don't laugh, you know what I mean) and until the September housing crunch passes. I'll just work something out for the laundry, and learn to live with the drive to mom's place (at this point it's not so much how long it takes, but how boring it is since I've done it so many times), and do more walking to stuff. Hey, another big plus is that there are several playgrounds in easy walking distance.
Anyway, that's not a definite decision, but it's about 90% at this point, I'd say. I guess I just needed to convince myself.
Still, I looked long and hard at the rooms and tried to think, "well, if I got rid of such-and-such pieces of furniture..." and after all, the people living in it now are a married couple. But although I *could* imagine squeezing myself into it, baby and all, it wasn't a comfortable imagining. (Oh, and also, the place won't be available till July 1st, which is a lot closer to my due date than I really want to be moving.)
So I think I've decided not to take it. But a nagging little piece of me keeps wondering whether I'm being too picky. Sigh.
As I drove back home, I pondered the whole problem, and I came to the following conclusion: the place I live in now is REALLY nice. I mean, I knew this already, but after having seen a few of the places that are available in my price range closer to the city, I get an even stronger understanding of how lucky I am. I mean, my three rooms are HUGE compared to most! And the place is bright and clean -- where by clean I mean that the walls are white and not stained or marred or whatever -- and the rent is very cheap (comparatively) and no one cares that I have a cat and a piano and a waterbed (one, two, or all of those tend to be a big problem for many landlords) and I have my own parking space that I don't pay extra for, and there are two porches and even a teeny bit of grass, and it's a nice neighborhood where I feel safe.
The major downsides to this place are: a) the lack of laundry facilities, b) the need to either drive or do a LOT of walking if you want anything more than a convenience store; and c) the length of drive to my mom's place. But you know, there are parts of Somerville that might take me almost as long to get to mom's from, because of traffic. And I've lived with all these things for two years now, why not a little longer?
So I guess I'm coming around to the idea of staying here for a while yet. At least until I get past the initial baby-adjustment period (okay, don't laugh, you know what I mean) and until the September housing crunch passes. I'll just work something out for the laundry, and learn to live with the drive to mom's place (at this point it's not so much how long it takes, but how boring it is since I've done it so many times), and do more walking to stuff. Hey, another big plus is that there are several playgrounds in easy walking distance.
Anyway, that's not a definite decision, but it's about 90% at this point, I'd say. I guess I just needed to convince myself.
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no subject
Date: 2003-05-13 12:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-05-13 12:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-05-13 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-05-14 04:18 am (UTC)It sounds stupidly early to be talking about this and I have no idea if it's the same in the USA, but catchment areas are a huge deal in the UK for anybody moving with a child under five. Over here, (unless you're rich enough to pay for private schooling) your child's educational fate is determined by where you're living when your child hits school age, with little to no leeway when it comes to the parents' wishes. Two identical houses next door to one another can vary hugely in price, just because one is in the catchment area for a crappy school and the other is in the area for a school that's high in the league tables. I know of at least one family who lied about their address on the school records to stop their kid being forced into a bad school.
If it is the same in the states and you can see yourself still living in the new apartment in four years time, then that's just another good reason to put off moving until you find the perfect place.
no subject
Date: 2003-05-14 08:32 am (UTC)