The Big Move: Apartment Living

August 22, 2012

- See all 177 of my articles

[adrotate banner=”32″]

This is the 4th installment of the series of articles covering our move into our new home.

They Are All Together….

 The last article was written some weeks ago right after we had sold our house. A lot has happened since that time.

We had to pack up the remainder of our household goods and move to a new locale. Yep, I am back among those doing apartment living. This is a new experience for me since the last time I lived in an apartment I did not have any children, did not own any pets and did not have a ring on my finger indicating I was married. I am always reminded of the famous comedic line…why do they call them apart – ments when they are all together?

I was much younger, financially not near as well off, and frankly had a lot more going on so I really wasn’t in the apartment that much anyway.

Bonus Perks!

Yongjin Clover Apartment

This is not Johnny’s apartment building.

Living in an apartment does have its advantages. I do not have to pay for all of the utilities and trash service. I do not have to worry about my lawn decaying and turning brown in the face of the worst drought we have had in my lifetime here in the Midwest – this also means I do not have to worry about snow removal and mowing either.

The apartment also comes with a nice pool and hot tub that I have been able to utilize on a few occasions. The location we chose for an apartment was very convenient as it allowed us to stay in the same school system with our son, and they also accepted pets. Since we have a dog, finding a place that allowed pets was a huge bonus. Finding a nice place that allowed pets that was in the area that we were wanting to live was even better.

I sure miss my fence….

Apartment living does come with some things that I have taken for granted as well. You have neighbors on directly on either side of you as well as below you. The younger gentleman that lives below me already blew a gasket as apparently we were being too loud at lunch time on a Saturday. He was banging on the ceiling reminiscent of Mr. Heckles from “Friends”. The only difference is this did not sound like a broom stick.

When you have a dog and a 6 year old abiding by the apartment rules of no running and keeping quiet can be difficult to say the least. As a homeowner this is never a problem.

Speaking of dog, that is probably thing that my wife and I are realizing we miss from being in the house. With the home and fenced yard, so when it is “bathroom time” for the pooch you simply open the door, wait for the friendly visage of your dog to reappear at same door and Voila’! Open door + Treat jar = happy dog.

Now we have to leash him up, put on shoes or appropriate warmer clothing if early or late at night, go down the stairs ( as we live on the 2nd floor) walk around until we get the business done, and then we use the secure entry to get back upstairs. Fortunately we are getting our dog a little more “trained” into a routine with this so we are all adjusting on the fly.

So Many Choices

A lot of our free time has been spent making the final selections on tile, carpet, paint, brick, countertops, fixtures, pretty much about everything you can name. The good news is that we have most of this finalized or very close to finalized as the framing is set to begin on our house very soon. Once the trusses start going up, the rest is going to keep moving along in a hurry.

In the meantime, it is a good thing I have college football to keep me distracted!

Until next time….stay classy Summersville, West Virginia

Enhanced by Zemanta

One Comment (+add yours?)

  1. Squeaky
    Aug 23, 2012 @ 16:23:02

    Dude, what an adventure. I can’t even imagine what it’s like now having the family and trying not to get on the nerves of every neighbor you have. My girls would be doing gymnastics and probably go through the floor into Mr. Heckle’s living room. That would certainly quiet him down for a moment. The guy needs to lighten up or I’ll send my daughters there for a weekend. He’ll appreciate it when they’re gone and it’s just your family.

    Good luck with the next few months.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Squeaky

Cancel