As mentioned in an earlier post, we moved … again! This has become a norm in our lives. It’s gotten slightly easier to pack up our belongings and adjust to a new environment, but still not easy enough to where we would want to do this regularly (or ever again).
In anticipation of our lease ending in April, we started the search for a new place very early. Most real estate agents told us that we were searching too early. Transactions here happen very quickly, so a person could be moving out one day, and a new lease could be signed the next day. This process can be very unsettling. We didn’t want to get stuck without a place to live, especially with an apartment full of belongings and a toddler. We at least wanted to get our feelers out and see if anything would be available within our “window”.
We looked at a lot of apartments in our prime area. There were a few good apartments, but they were way outside of our budget range. Not only that, they would have required repairs that we weren’t prepared to pay for. Others were not worth the price.
Toward the end of February, our agent found us a decent apartment. She happened to be a good friend of the owner and could vouch for the owner’s character. It was still a little overpriced and needed some work, but the owner was relatively accommodating so this was our top prospect. Our other option was to wait until July for an apartment of a friend to become available. This would mean trying to extend our lease for a few months and move right before the summer team would arrive. Not ideal, but the rent was way cheaper and still in an ideal location.
After much contemplation, we decided to go with the first apartment, mainly due to space and timing. Layout here is very important. When agents start spouting off square footage, I always say I need to see the place. Just because there’s a lot of area doesn’t mean that it’s used well. This apartment has a relatively open layout and feels very homey. It’s a little short on storage space, but we’re finding ways to make it work.
Why would we settle for a place that has less rooms and costs more? I asked myself this before we moved in. It’s still not as nice as other apartments in the complex that we’ve seen or that our friends live in. It’s also not as big as the apartment we were living in. Even with one less room, the monthly rent is higher than it was at our old place. Some of the major reasons for our move include:
- Location: We’re closer to work. Alex works a lot of nights, which means he often eats dinner and leaves right away or sometimes misses dinner altogether. Being closer means that he can spend more time at home. It’s also closer to people we meet up with on a regular basis.
- Convenience: Our complex has a lot of amenities, unlike our old complex. We have virtually every service we need within the confines of our complex. There’s also a playground for kids and a lot of open courtyards for kids to ride scooters and bikes. There are several markets and shopping areas nearby and tons of restaurants. We were very limited before, so this broadens our errand running adventures.
- Better living conditions: Our last place had some interesting quirks that I can definitely live without. Many parts of the kitchen were rundown and falling apart. The entire apartment had old windows, so it was cold a majority of the time and you could smell the pollution on really bad days. Our toilet leaked, we had two broken AC units, and I’m pretty sure the flooring was starting to “rise” and needed to be glued down again. We also had limited hot water, which was really unfortunate in the winter. We now have their equivalent of central heating, unlimited hot water, decent windows, and a kitchen that at least functions well (ie., I can use all the cabinets and all surfaces are useable). Our washing machine is filthy, we still don’t have a proper bathroom, and some of the floorboards have annoying gaps, but we’re making it work.
- Community: Several families we’ve befriended live in this complex or have lived in this complex. It’s nice that H can have friends to play and interact with. There weren’t many kids his age at our old complex and because there was no safe place for the kids to play, they weren’t outside very often. I also had to go out of my way a lot to meet with people. It wasn’t that much of a hassle, but when you’re trying to work around naps and meals it’s a little more of a challenge; especially when you’re operating at the mercy of public transportation. We also live closer to the rest of the team now, which makes it easier to have meetings.
- Opportunities: Because this is a college town, there are people out-and-about virtually all day. At our old complex, I would mainly run into grandpas and grandmas who were taking care of their grandkids. This made it really difficult to make friends because of the cultural/age/language barrier. In this area, we have a higher chance of meeting people who have some familiarity with English or who have some interest in building relationships with English speakers. I’ve also noticed that the younger generation is more patient in terms of still wanting to speak with you even if you don’t fully understand what they’re saying.
Before: Apartment right after the move.
After: Apartment after about two weeks.
Alex and I both agree that this has been the easiest of all our moves thus far. This is largely in part to the fact that we own very little furniture. We also had a lot of help, which we are so grateful for. One of Alex’s coworkers arranged the movers for us and even came to help coordinate everything the day of. Several members of our team were in and out of our apartment for a week helping me to unpack and get settled in. We’re still not fully settled in yet, but we’re much farther along than before. This place is really comfortable and we’re thankful that we don’t have to move for another two years. We hope that this will be a place of blessing and fruitfulness.
We’re thankful for…
- His provision and blessing
- Faithful help of our friends and teammates
- Support from friends and family back in the states
Some things we miss
- Consistently clean air
- Souplantation (or just good, inexpensive salad)
- Celebrating Passion Week at BCC