Moving

Warning: This post is kind of pointless.

Tom and I have talked about moving for a while, but now its really becoming a reality. The apartment we live in now is just okay.

Pros:
3 bedrooms
ridiculous amounts of closet space
separate visitor parking so we always have somewhere to park
close to my friends
20 minutes for work for me
2 bathrooms
free utilities

Cons:
loud and annoying neighbors
washer and dryer aren't in the apartment
centipedes everywhere because of bushes and shrubs in front of building
over an hour drive to work for Tom
tiny kitchen

Aside from the free utilities, the cons really outweigh the pros. I hate bugs, like really hate bugs with a serious passion. They're disgusting and nothing with more than 4 legs is ever allowed in my house. I hate spending $600 a year to wash clothes, share a washer and dryer with people that I don't know and deal with the fact that they are just rude and will leave their clothes in there for as long as they feel like. The kitchen drives me crazy because I can't cook if someone else is in there. The only place to prepare meals means that no one can access the glasses or any utensils. I can't put anything into the pantry if I'm loading the dishwasher. The pots and pans are currently above my head because its the only cabinet big enough for them. I also have approximately 1 foot of usable counter space.

Obviously, it makes sense to move. This apartment doesn't really work for us, aside from having more closet space than some houses do. And while the closets are nice, they definitely don't make up for the bugs and kitchen annoyances.

Apartment Option 1: Havre de Grace MD

Pros: 
3 bedroom
gigantic kitchen with island/bar
washer and dryer in the apartment
amazing waterfront views
pretty equal closet space
large bedrooms
25 minutes to work for me
40 minutes to work for Tom
adorable and cute town
no monthly pet fee
water & trash removal included

Cons:
no pool (how am I not going to be pasty in the wedding dress if I don't have a pool)
old building
small parking lots
security deposit is the same as the first months rent
no idea what the neighbors are like
on-the-water = bugs galore
kitchen cabinets start at 5 foot high, I'm 5'1

I looked at this apartment with my mom after picking up my wedding dress. Its 100 times better than the one that we live in. Honestly, I could move into the kitchen and probably never leave. Its approximately $200 less than our current apartment, but we would need to add approximately $100 to cover electricity. I love that there is a 3rd bedroom, we could put our desk, Gidget's litter box and all of the stuff I've collected for the wedding in that room and still have storage space throughout the entire apartment. What worries me is that there are no reviews on the apartments at all. They are owned by a real estate company thats local to the area and again, no reviews. I think they offer specials to people who work at a local base, but I don't know if thats a good or bad thing. I'm pretty sure we would never be able to use the balcony in the summer because its literally 50 feet from the water. Well, we could use the balcony but we'd be covered in mosquito bites in a minute. Having worked at a restoration company for 2 years, I also wonder what condition the buildings are really in. One that we went in smelled like mold. Mold is not okay in my book. Also, with an older building, the utility costs are going to increase unless the windows are brand new...I'm pretty sure they weren't. And there could be waterbugs. Waterbugs come in 2nd on my list (right after centipedes) of something that I'll completely flip the F out if I see in my house. Its a relative of a roach and thats just NOT okay with me.

I haven't told the water bug story, have I? It's nothing fantastic, but it proves the point on how much I don't do bugs. Tom and C leave for work and I'm in the kitchen getting my lunch together before I leave. I notice that we have run out of paper towels so I walk down the hall to get more. And directly in front of the closet holding the paper towels is a 3 inch long water bug. I manage not to scream, but my eyes get huge and my heart starts pounding because I'm all alone and have no way to get rid of this disgustingly large vermin in my house. I refuse to step on it, mostly because I can't handle the crunching noise, but also because I don't want bug guts squirted all over my carpet. Finally, a small amount of sense clicks in and I remember a can of bug spray in the kitchen. I back away slowly from the bug, I don't want to scare it and make it run into my bedroom or I would stay at a hotel that night (No, I'm seriously not joking!) and finally make it to the kitchen and grab the bug spray. Which was ant spray, but I didn't have any other choice. I sneak down the hall and back up on it and start spraying like a mad woman. I refuse to get close enough to it for it to die immediately so it starts moving which results in me squealing and then yelling 'DIE FUCKER!!!' and going full blast with the can of bug spray. Finally, it stops moving and starts quivering so I'm assuming the bug spray is killing the bastard but I can't give up yet. I keep spraying and spraying until I'm sure that its completely dead. Now, being the sissy girl that I am, there is no way in hell I'm going to pick that fucker up. But I realize that I can't just leave its bug spray coated self in the middle of the hallway in case the cat had any interest in removing it for me. I also refuse to get too close to it, so I've completely given up on getting paper towels at this point. I back down the hallway, watching for any signs of reoccuring life and grab a napkin. I get about a foot away from it and toss the napkin on top of it and cross my fingers that Gidget won't find it. Then I called Tom and proceeded to inform him just how disgusted and grossed out I was and that it needed to be removed from the hallway prior to me returning home from work that day. I also managed to shiver incessantly for the next hour thinking about how disgusting it was.

Okay, finally onto apartment option 2.

Apartment Option 2: North East, MD

Pros: 
newly built
resort style swimming pool
grilling area
completely modern
car wash facility
24 hour fitness center
balcony
gorgeous kitchen
bigger bathroom
washer and dryer
walk in master closet
15 minutes to work for Tom
15 minutes to Tom's brothers house

Cons:
40 minutes to work for me
no 3rd bedroom
I'd have to pay a toll to get to and from work
Gidget's litter box would have to go in the master bedroom closet
no coat closet for vacuum cleaner and board games
guarantee that my friends will never visit because of said toll

I like this place, I really do. It's completely gorgeous, modern and doesn't even look like it could be in our price range. I know that my neighbors aren't going to be crack heads because you have to make a minimum amount to even live there. The kitchen is awesome, it has double sinks!!! and more counter and cabinet space than I could probably ever fill. The bedroom is a bit smaller than ours now, and it sucks that we'd have to put our desk in there too, but we could still move around quite well. The closet is every woman's dream. Its humongous. There are shelves and racks to hang clothes and more than enough room for tons of shoes. But, it would also need to house my wedding dress and if Gidget's litter box is going to be in there, that makes me nervous. Very nervous. The bathroom has a linen closet. I could actually have my towels, bath stuff and extra toilet paper in the room I would need it in! Its really strange to me, but there is no hall closet for coats. We could use the extra linen closet in C's room to hold the vacuum and board games, but there still wouldn't be anywhere for coats. I guess we could buy a coat hanger though.

So I guess what it comes down to is potential bugs and no pool vs. less closet space + pool + fitness center + car wash.

Now that I've babbled on about this long enough, I think it actually helped me make a decision. Option 2 it is.