Moving On...Literally {LIFE}

For the last four weeks this family has been packing, sorting, and purging.  In October we will be moving to a house. Which is why I am a little behind in my thrice weekly posting.  Couple that with being a college student and a working mom, I'm ready for this next four weeks to be done.  There is no first time home-owners excitement here, since we are merely custodians for a family members property.  We will save them the trouble of having to sell the house before they are ready and the cost of hiring grounds keepers and security to watch their vacant home.

It was a really tough decision to move.  We transferred into this apartment 3 years ago and lucked out with laminate floors and a DISHWASHER.  This building has been our home for 13 years (20 years for my hubby).  We are leaving many great memories behind to bounce off the empty walls.  From crossing the threshold as a newly married couple in April 1999, to bringing home Princess Destructo in August 2009.  As a family we had to seriously consider the pros and cons of picking up stakes and moving since we knew it would be a temporary home, unless we win the lottery and are able to buy the house within two years.

Pro #1- It's a house, not an apartment.
I grew up in a house and was only subjected to community living when I went to college for the first time in 1995.  There is a general lack of privacy, and a whole lot of compromising when you're part of a collective.  Having to get dressed to drag my clothes to the laundromat downstairs is a pain, especially when you have a little one in tow.  Everyone knows your business.  Your building is only as safe as the company your neighbours keep.  And though property management tries their best to keep up appearances, there are just too many tenants that lack pride in the building which they live.  The hygiene habits of some leave me wondering if I really want to use the washing machine they just unloaded their clean clothes from.  If your clothes still smell bad after a run through a 35 minute cycle, you either need new detergent or new clothes, just saying.  Before you wag a finger at me and say "TSK TSK, don't judge", I'm fully aware that they are probably judging me for my parenting, or the fact that my short hair makes me look like a rooster in the morning.

Con #1- Living off the grid.
As it is right now, we live on a busy intersection.  I can walk out my apartment building and choose a city bus stop to take me in any direction.  One of these stops is also a GO Transit connection that can literally take me anywhere on the Lakeshore East Line, or connect me to the other lines.  Since I don't drive, I love being a 25 minute walk from work.  The house will have me walking a minimum of five minutes to the nearest bus stop which will have me travelling across town to connect with the bus I need to get to work. It's not a huge deal considering the length some people drive to commute. But when I am walking to a bus stop at 6 am in the freezing rain mid February, I will lament my convenient apartment location.

Pro #2- We will have a deck and a yard.
For many years I have envied the smell of BBQ'ed steak as I walk around our neighbourhood.  We have never owned a BBQ because there is no where to operate one since our building does not have balconies.  There is a community BBQ in a shed somewhere but you already know how I feel about community appliances.  Another plus, our daughter will have yard to run around in and she's already asked if we are going to grow tomatoes in the summer.

Con #2- Houses with lawns and gardens require maintenance.
Shoveling snow in the winter, pulling weeds and mowing lawns in summer, daily maintenance and up-keep, these are all things that will take some getting used to.  The good thing is, every tool and gadget we need to use is there already.  If something serious happens, we may not have money for repairs.  We are moving into the house to ease the cost of rent, but may end up in a tough spot of anything disastrous happens.

All in all, we decided that the reasons we should move, out weighed the reasons to stay put.  Now I need to get back to packing. The only good thing is it gives me a reason to put off the assignment I have to do by midnight on Sunday.