Apartment Living

Yeah! I’m finally getting settled in the new place. Moving is exhausting. Mostly mental, but exhausting none the less.

I haven’t lived in an apartment since my early Navy days in Virginia. I shared an apartment with a Navy buddy in Virginia Beach. We were noisy! To be honest, I don’t remember much about the complex, just the apartment. I don’t know if we had lots of neighbors, and if the raucous we created caused problems.

Now many years later, and many houses, I’m back to an apartment…and I love it! The houses I’ve had have been great, but to be honest, unnecessary. I fell into the trap. I long ago made the assumption that adults live in houses and have big mortgages. Yards, lots of bedrooms, garages…suburbia. Yikes!

I do have a great house, but it has been bugging me that I only really use a small part of the house, and it’s a huge expense. So the plan for 2013 is to sell the house and find a nice apartment in cool part of town. The plan is underway.

• Apartment found.
• Moving done.
• House up for sale.

Hopefully the house will sell quickly. Fingers crossed.

Apartment living has a lot positives.

The new place is just the right size. My house is terrific, but way too big. Let’s face it, apart from extra book storage, what do I need with 4 bedrooms? I started noticing the traffic patterns on the carpet, and quickly realized I really only use around 900 sqft of the total 2100 sqft. So why not move to a smaller place? It would eliminate the stress of keeping a large place clean (which I don’t do well), and cut cost.

I do like having a garage, though. So one of my criteria when searching for an apartment was convenient and covered parking. Not necessarily a garage, but close enough that I don’t have to worry about parking my motorcycle, or deal with hauling stuff from my car long distances.

That was a big selling point for the new place. The overall complex is pretty large, but my unit is right next to the garage, so parking is very convenient. Also, just out the door and to the left is the river, and the boat dock. Straight across the garage and there’s the large and well stocked fitness center.

The neighborhood is great! Still lot to explore, but there are several great restaurants, a grocery store, park, and a bunch more all in walking distance.

There are a couple of negatives, but they are minor. The new place is well constructed and in a great location very convenient to the garage and the boat dock. So it’s not as quiet as living in suburbia, but not bad. Even during the height of the neighborhood St. Patricks day it was comfortable and restful at home. Heck, next year I’ll be out enjoying the neighborhood party. I don’t plan on being exhausted from moving next year. 🙂

I love the new place. I’m still adjusting to the convenience of the more urban environment,and adjusting to apartment living. Overall, a positive experience.

Enjoy!