I know I've been talking about the recession a lot lately, but it helps me to talk about it and I think it helps everyone to share the ways we are all coping with this hot mess of an economy.
Last Christmas we decided that it might be nice to stop paying a small fortune (the equivalent of 2 or 3 or 4 Mid-West-style mortgage payments) in rent and look for a cheaper place to live. We talked to our property manager and, despite us having 6 months to go on our lease, they agreed to help us list the house on Craigslist and show it and do anything else they could to get our house rented.
While we waited for someone to rent our house, we looked at surrounding cities and realized that for half the rent we were paying now we could get a pretty decent-sized, more updated house or we could stay where we were (so the kids didn't have to leave their friends and community) and rent a smaller place.
We've gone back and forth a lot with this decision (as we are wont to do) and we've had a lot of time to change our minds about a thousand times because despite the steady stream of folks looking at our house for the past 2-3 months, no one has wanted to shell out the cheddar to rent it. (Trust us, we understand.)
So over spring break (we've already had ours despite most people taking theirs this week and next) we decided to just suck it up and say here for three more months until the official end of the lease. By then it will be summer and a much more relaxed time to move. We also decided to stay in the city where we live and move closer to the downtown area mainly for the reasons above but also to recapture some of that urban flava we love so much. Happiness is a shared wall. (Hi, I'm CityMama.)
Our new place is smaller (we're losing about 500 sq ft.), in a building straight out of 1975, and has wall-to-wall carpeting. The building even has it's own name. We don't even have to give an address. We can just tell people we live at the (name of building) and everybody everywhere will know exactly where we live. Of course, I am kidding.
If I can share a secret, I have a Shame Crush (™, Bad Kitty) on the carpet because it feeds into my recent obsession to want my house look like it came straight out of a Woody Allen movie in the 70's. I am all about the glass-top dining room table with the bent-chrome, woven-seated chairs, and bushy ficus plants everywhere. Stacks of books on the bedside tables? An electric typewriter in a corner? Dansk kitchenware? Yes! If only it had a sunken living room it would be perfetto. Okay, so there is no way J. would ever let me do up our place a la Interiors (my pref) or Annie Hall, but the carpeting will let me keep my secret fantasy going.
Other pluses: the place is airy and bright, has a large and usable patio garden (gardener included), and it's own entrance. Oh, and a pool. (Pool party, baby! La la la la!) We put the deposit down last week and we move at the beginning of the summer.
We've always kinda viewed our home (no matter where we lived) like a hotel: it's where we keep our stuff, where I have my office, and where we sleep. We don't play in the yard, we go to the park where the basketball and tennis courts and wide open spaces are. (The new place is a block from our favorite downtown park.) On the weekends we get up early and go out for coffee. We might stop at home to go to the bathroom or grab jackets, but then we are right back out again. It's not unheard of for us to visit two different parks a day on the weekend. We also like road trips and walking or biking places and picnic dinners during the summer, and we spend a lot of money every summer on a pool pass for the entire family a two different community pools. You know where I'll be all summer? About 30 steps from my front door with my two little mermaids.
I've been letting slip that we've found a place and that it's an apartment and I've seen looks in people's eyes. The "Are you sure you're okay with that?" look. (CityMama, remember?) The truth is, after buying and selling two great houses and moving more times that I care to even count at this point, we're kind of over the house thing. We can't think more than a year or two ahead, so definitely we're not good home owner candidates. At least not right now. We know too many people who are underwater with the mortgages or have seen no appreciation (or a worrying depreciation) in their homes. That frightens the piss out of me. If there is one thing I am thankful for (say it with me) in this economy, it's that we have the freedom to move. To protect ourselves. To recession-proof our lives. My mom calls it "going on the offensive." That's exactly how I look at it.
We've spent a lot of time over the last year coming to terms with who we are and what we want out of the rest of our lives and I'm sure it has something to do with turning 40 this year. We're not exactly sure where we want to settle down (yeah, still) so it makes sense to be a little less tied down at this point while we attack our budget, save money, and figure things out. (P.S. Hallelujah for saving money! And when Wallie goes to kindergarten next fall and we aren't paying for preschool anymore? PTL!) Since Bunny was born we've lived on just one income and I'm thankful that after five years of hard work and considerable sacrifice, I have grown my hobby into a full-time, full-blown, real-live consulting business that not only keeps me happily busy, it is the sweet and delicious frosting on the one salary cake. No one's job is recession-proof so I don't take that for granted, not even one bit.
This decision feels right. I like feeling like our family is protected. I like knowing that we're living a simpler, freer life. Strange as it is for a 39-year-old to say, moving into an apartment is the most adult thing we've done in a long time. Our little corner of downtown will be a good place to hang for a while.
We're fine.
