We have been living in our current apartment for almost three years now (it will have been three years in about 3 weeks), and here is the sad truth:
I’ve kind of hated our apartment almost since day one.
At first, my twitterpated newlywed self could easily look past the many indiscretions and blemishes of the place, including the non-washing dishwasher, cat-scratched bathroom door, lingering pet dander smell, and urine-colored walls. With our small collection of artwork and family photos, we were determined to bring some cheer to what was clearly a pretty ghetto apartment.
And I have lots of wonderful memories in this little place, scraggly carpet and all.
Then more stuff started going awry—
-asbestos in the ceiling,
-the dishwasher breeding what sounds like an angry gorilla with a head cold,
-stained kitchen tiles (since the grout was never sealed),
-a non-working doorbell,
-flickering electricity that sometimes just cuts out for no apparent reason,
and on and on and on.
Now, if we were still getting the sweet deal we were originally getting on the place ($500/month with included heat and Internet), I would be here til the cows we never had came home.
But no—we are now footing nearly $150 extra on our monthly rent and utility bills since the new owner stopped paying for Internet and heat.
So it’s basically come to this—stay in a ghetto apartment and pay nearly as much as we’d pay for a nicer one, or bite the bullet and pay an extra $40 or so and move to a more well-kept place?
On Sunday, after my entire plan to overhaul my life (see last Sunday’s blog post), I was in the mood for some serious overhauling of everything, including my job, apartment, and general leisure time. And though I actually did try to apply for another job, it’s not looking like it’s going to pan out, so it looks like my focus will have to go elsewhere.
The problem is, I originally wanted to move to SAVE us money since I’ve been complaining like crazy about the extra $150 we’ve been paying. But on Monday, Matt and I went to go look at some super nice apartments just a couple streets down from ours, and we were a bit smitten with the fresh paint, clean carpet, and ample storage space. Writing everything down, it will figure that if we move there, we will pay around $30-50 more a month than what we pay here, but for a place that’s twice as nice.
So here’s the real question—-to move or not to move? Or should we keep looking around to see if there’s something cheaper (even if it means trading one ghetto apartment for another)?
What would you do?
