Moving On My Mind

I'm moving again!

Scare you? Scared myself there for a second to be honest. No, I am not leaving The Pitts, but lately I have had moving on the brain. Or, more specifically, moving to a new apartment. Now that I have been in The Pitts for a solid six months (where does the time go, honestly), I've had the chance to familiarize myself with the different neighborhoods, thus giving me the opportunity to lust after my friends' apartments, locations, amenities and the like.

Now that I'm half way through my lease, I've begun the unpleasant stage in a lease cycle where I find myself in "fight or flight" mode. Do I like it here? Will I like it more if I move to a different unit in the building? What if I can't find another apartment? Where do I want to be living? WHAT WILL MY COMMUTE BE LIKE??? Sigh. So exhausting.

As all 20-somethings know, moving in the "real world" is a hell of a lot harder than picking out your house for your senior year with a few girlfriends. Why? Well, for starters, there's a lot more to it now than location in relation to classes and bars (though that still comes into play if you sub in "work" for "classes"). Now we have things like job stability, relationships, cost of living, commutes, and life plans that all factor into the equation.

You said it, baby!

Here are a few thoughts currently starting to work themselves into my equation:

• Number of Bedrooms: As much as I love the affordability of a one-bedroom (thankfully I never had to suffer through a studio), it's time to to upgrade I think. Let's be honest, letting friends/family crash on your couch when they visit was fun for awhile, but I think that I should treat my loved ones to.. oh, I don't know.. a bed, or a little privacy maybe. 2+ here I come.
• Storage, Storage and More Storage: Alright, I get it, I'm a pack rat, and shoving things into one small storage space just isn't cutting it. I'm thinking a basement. Yes, a basement would be nice.
• What's Mine is Mine: No more shared laundry. Enough said.
• Room to Roam: My favorite part about my current location is that I can walk to anything and everything that I need - groceries, restaurants, sports venues, church, etc - and I'm just not ready to give that up yet.

I'll keep you posted as these thought-starters crystallize into must-haves that I'll actually have to act upon. Yikes. Stay tuned!

SJ