Since we started self-quarantining (March) and even since we moved to seriously small bubble interactions and strict social distancing (mid-June) … we started to REALLY realize how badly our apartment space was working for us.
This wasn’t entirely new information… in the first few months after moving here and several times over those first 18 months… we did everything we could think of to maximize storage space and make it work. ….
From raising our bed to obscene heights to rolling clothes. From more shelves to storage units. Getting rid of things… constant consolidation. We’ve done the thing. And it was sort of just functioning… not well but enough.
Then we started spending all day everyday at home, and very quickly things spiraled from barely functional to an extreme version of dysfunctional. The shared living space in our one bedroom apartment acts as both of our office spaces, our living room, and our dining room. It’s also an open flow room to the kitchen.
Nick’s job requires a level of privacy and so I couldn’t been in the same room as him. Which meant the only other room for me to be in is the bedroom. Soon I was spending the better part of 6 hours a day, awake, hanging out in our bedroom. I created a cute little makeshift desk and meditation spot on the floor, under a shelf meant to go over a toilet. I know I was privileged to be able to do even that, and to have a roof over my head, but I won’t pretend it was ideal either.
And so the bedroom became the bedroom, yoga, art, meditation room…
Nick started working in the office a few days a week, and I added workout space to the list of functions in living room. We added painting room to the living room. Depression set in around mid-April and trying to keep it all organized just didn’t seem worth it. By the first or second week of May, we had decided to move.
In June I started working part time, went back to school full time. And at this point we started to get sick of not being able to go out and do things. The space had become a sort of prison.
When we started looking into what it cost to rent a bigger place we were mind blown. Cost of rent in Portland for a nice two bedroom apartment with no yard is the same as a mortgage on a small starter home. And at least when you buy a home you can make improvements and sell it when you’re done.
The more we looked, the more excited we became. The more we did the math, the more we realized this was the right choice for us.
And so, in a month, we should be closing on our first house. And we couldn’t be more excited.
Coffee & Conundrums 