Developments

[jethrien]

Development 1: I think ARR may have his first word. "Mama" has suddenly picked up in frequency, not just "mamamamama", and is far more likely to be said while I'm in the room. It's very often said specifically while looking at or pointing to me. Am I gratified? I am gratified.

Development 2: ARR got bit for the first time. Didn't break the skin and he apparently did not respond by biting back or throwing up on the kid, but there was a little bit of hullabaloo at daycare. I was completely unconcerned when called at work, given the bitee/non-broken skin/no vomit status. I'm a little more dismayed now--it's been two days, and he still has such a visible mark you can count every tooth. (Looks like the other kid has five.) Man, apparently one of ARR's classmates is a freaking bulldog.

Development 3: We may have found an apartment. We weren't looking systematically, just opportunistically. It's got a lot of advantages (extra room + laundry room! Backyard! Gorgeous kitchen and master bath!) and a bunch of disadvantages (slightly below street level, meaning lack of privacy, increased flooding risk, and being a little on the dark side; third "bedroom" isn't really much of a bedroom, although it would make a great office/guest room; zoned for a school zone that is equally subpar to the one we're living in; longer commute by several blocks), which are reflected in its being a price we can actually afford.

I'm having trouble figuring out how to commit to this. My first reaction was "Wow, this could actually work." ARR could have his own bedroom without our stuff in it. We'd be able do laundry in the apartment, and hang it to dry outside of our living space. We could buy a couple more of the fancy appliances we've coveted and have room to store them. We could barbeque, even get a smoker. ARR could run around outside unsupervised. I could have a tomato plant and some herbs and flowers.

On the other hand, it's basically a basement, although a basement with ginormous windows at either end. They didn't get water off the street during Sandy, but they did get back up through the sewer (they claim to have installed valves that would prevent that from happening again). Keeping our bedroom windows open would be somewhat problematic, although burglar bars and some well-thought-out window treatments could alleviate that. We'd be farther from sparticleman & V, but closer to xannocide. It’s a different neighborhood, but we’d be equally close to a major park, fairly close to both the elementary school and a private school we’re considering, and down the street from the magnet high school. There’s a bar across the street, but I’m not sure that’s actually worse than being diagonal from the hospital. We’d be about equidistant from two PATH stations, a little farther than we are now, but the walk’s a little sketchier. I’m not sure it’s actually more dangerous, just slightly less pleasant.

I am realizing that there’s an advantage to our current layout with the long hallway between the bedrooms/bathrooms and the dining room/TV. This new place has ARR’s room and the guest bath right off the living room, which has some noise concerns.

I don’t know. I don’t know if we’re actually going to do better. Change is scary. Gah!

Comments

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

The problem is that the prices in our area are skyrocketing, and there's no real reason to think they're going to stop anytime soon--there's a real possibility of getting priced out entirely. We've been looking on and off for years, and this is actually the best thing we've seen in our price range pretty much ever. (There's another one on the market that's closer to my ideal, and it's out of our range by over $300k.)

And lest I sell this place short--it's beautiful. It's a real backyard, which not many places have, and nowhere above ground floor has unless you own the whole building. Giant master bedroom with a huge tub in the master bath, beautiful kitchen with a ton of lovely cabinets and a great layout, central air conditioning, enormous windows, an entire freaking room for laundry including a slop sink, so many closets. Even the outside of the building is pretty. Condo association--wouldn't have to shovel the walk. Two blocks from an enormous park with a toddler playground along with the regular playground, kiddie climbing wall and a splash zone. The Montessori school we've been considering (which starts at two and a half, not that long from now), is two blocks away. We'd be closer to a better supermarket and the mall.

In our current place, we're increasingly having problems with the fact that we have to store a lot of stuff in his room that he really shouldn't get into. Essentially, his room is the least childproofed room in the house--with the locks engaged, he might even be safer in the kitchen. Which is fine while he's in the crib, but in six months or a year when we move him to a toddler bed, I don't know how we'll keep him from investigating the glass-front china cabinet at 3am.

[negativeq.livejournal.com]

I've lived in basement apartments. You don't want to do it for the long-term, and it sounds like you're thinking long-term.
Basements are darker, have humidity issues, and more vulnerable to the weather. That tub can get moldy fast. Plus, if construction is happening nearby you're going to be covered in debris. Then there's noise - not just outside, but from above. Basements aren't well insulated either, you'll be cold. I RARELY get cold, and I was near freezing in that basement apt. Then it was so humid in the summer, mold grew all over the place. My cousins spent the first few years of their lives in basements, and were constantly sick.

With windows that you describe, you'll have no privacy, and if you have to install burglar bars, then what's the point? It seems like the biggest selling point is the increased space, which is very important ...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I hate to ring in with the doubters, but I think that what other people are picking up on is a subconscious "no" on your part as much as uncertainty. It really doesn't seem a better solution. I get the risk it letting this one go, but there's a good chance that with more concerted effort--if time and gentrification are so pressing--you'd find something much better for your longer-term solution.