Again?

I can't believe I'm doing this again.  I'm talking about moving, something I've done 7 times since graduating from college, and I'm only 9 years out of school.  Every time I move, I cuss and promise I won't do it again.  Yet somehow, it doesn't seem possible to raise a family in a tiny one-bedroom Chicago apartment, so here we are again.

Looking at apartments in the city is shocking.  The cost for what people are willing to pay to live in a shoe box is crazy insane.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, the rent for our tiny 660-square foot apartment is jumping to $1922 a month.  $1922!  When I tell our families that, they laughingly remind me that the mortgage for their 4-bedroom house in Wyoming or Ohio is about 1/3 of that.  I sigh and have fantasies about what it would be like to have a 2nd bedroom and bathroom and money still leftover at the end of the month.  But while I'm having these suburban fantasies, Mike reminds me that we're not ready for a family, and therefore, don't need a 4-bedroom home.

Right now we're looking at apartments north of the city in Lincoln Park and Lakeview.  We're hoping we'll only have to pay around $1200 a month.  Holla!  From what I'm finding, that means we'll have more space, but we'll likely have to forgo central air or a washing machine.  There are community laundry rooms which are always fun!  Many of the pictures of them look like creepy scenes from horror movies.  I'm pretty sure I'll need to pack my taser along with my detergent in my laundry basket. (And yes, I own a taser.)

Wish us luck, we're looking at two apartments tonight.  Did I mention our lease ends in a month?