6/6/11

Advice

We've been apartment searching for awhile now, and it's coming down to the wire as we need to move out by 6/29.  It's been challenging to settle on a place because W and I have different "likes" when it comes to our home.  Right now we are in the suburbs, about 30 minutes from downtown, and for me it has been difficult to be here after living in Chicago.  I would like to be closer to the center of the city.  I like the quiet here but I don't like the driving and the inability to walk anywhere.  W is more of a burb guy, but he's willing to indulge me because I've complained about it so much.  So here are our options. Tell me what you think:

"Burbs Option": 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car attached garage, all carpet
Driving Miles: 16 to W's work, 16 to my school, 11 to my work, 5 to church

"City Option": 1 bedroom, 1 bath, hardwood floors, 1 car underground parking
Miles: 1.1 to W's work, 1.4 to school, 11 to my work, 16 to church
Cost is $192 more per month than the burb option, 83 less square feet
It's a 10 minutes walk to coffee shops and a main road where there are restaurants and shops, monthly art walks, etc...

You can see why I like the city option.  But $192 extra seems like a lot.  We would save some on gas with the city option, but right now we carpool so I only drive separately to school once a week.  What do you think?

4 comments:

  1. Have you looked into living in one of the downtown suburb areas? Like in the historic part of "Uptown" Westerville? I saw a two bedroom house within minutes of the restaurants and coffee shops. I know and do agree it's no short north but it might be a decent compromise.

    ReplyDelete
  2. P.S. I vote for the "burb" option just becasue I am selfish and I think it's closer to me:).

    ReplyDelete
  3. you know me, i'll always vote city, but $192 is a lot (but if rent in general is cheap, then...)

    another thing to consider is when you plan on having kids. even if the very idea sounds crazy right now, you never know what could happen within the next two years, and you really don't want to be moving yet again. we were in a similar predicament last year and just went for the 2 bedroom even though we had no plans of having kids within the next year. oops. we're so relieved now.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You guys are young and when kids come around, chances are that you'll be drawn to the Burbs... I say this is the season for simplicity and extra convenience. At the end of the day, your cost will probably be less than $192 due to saving money on other things like gas.

    ReplyDelete