Apt/Condo Dwellers Tribe? - Page 2

[Peppermint Poppies]

Originally Posted by happyhats

What do you do when you feel the urge to move but just can't yet?

My DH and I sat down and wrote a list of pro's and con's of our current living situation. Then we looked at the cons, and put stars beside the ones that we could actually do something about (even if that something was asking our landlord to make changes). Some things we're going to implement are asking for block-out curtains, asking for permission to put up extra shelving, buying a kitchen island to create more space, buying some adhesive (suction-cap) storage options for our tiny bathroom etc. Some things we can't change .... the endless flights of stairs, lack of internal laundry, lack of third bedroom or garage etc. But we decided that if we moved, there would undoubtedly be things that we didn't like which were also unfixable, so it was better to stay here where we knew the score and could make some positive changes.

[Latte Mama]

Originally Posted by alacrity

Do any of you have noise issues in your apartments?

Ha! I have an entire thread in Personal growth dedicated to my noise issue. It's titled" I need help having a talk with my neighbor" if you're interested in reading. They're getting better but we had the issue with chickie wearing heels late and early too. And they'd drop stuff at 1 am, LOUD stuff .

We like our apt. and the area though and can't really afford a move right now.

[HiItsMeSandy]

New to the Motheringcommunity and also an apt/condo dweller in the 2nd most densely populated area in the United States . . . West New York, NJ We live in a 750 sq feet railroad apt; the second one thing is out of place, everything is out of place. Fast to clean, but easy to mess up. ugh. On the plus side . . . I get cabin fever so easily that we are always out and about. Living in an urban area has lots to offer: museums, science centers (DS's absolute favorite) playgrounds, festivals, libraries, puppet shows, theaters, etc. However, I do wish he had the opportunity to run after chickens every once in a while.

[lovemonkeymama]

I'm new to this forum and am almost a mama. My guess date is Jan. 6th for baby to debut. We also just moved two weeks ago into a 2 bedroom condo in a new town, and because of tax rebate reasons we really need to stay here 3 years. My concern has been the lack of yard or even sidewalk/driveway for him in a couple of years when he's active and wants to run and play outside. I do have two small dogs which are at my parents - it's difficult to take them out here, especially in the winter while I'm feeling vulnerable to falling on the ice and I'm so close to baby's birth date. I'm looking forward to hearing and sharing the positive - that's always helpful - and any problem-solving of course.

[east carolina]

I live in a city where there are more apartments than family homes, and buying a house within city limits is prohibitively expensive for us. I grew up in a house, but I've only ever lived in apartments since I left that house.

We were lucky in our old place that the floors blocked footsteps really well or that our neighbor were just really tolerant, because DS ran around all hours of the day and night and we never got a complaint. We now live in our new apartment (which we love ), but we have to be very careful about making noise at night because the walls are much thinner. Thankfully we are on the ground floor, so no worried about footsteps, although we can't hear our upstairs neighbors all that well and we are probably the loudest family in the house (we're really not that loud, we just tend to stay up really late).

[smokeylo]

2 br condo in the 'burbs here. with 2 kids. the latest issue of mothering has a great article about making the most of small spaces.

[Laur318]

condo mama

we moved to a condo in a very "green" area. we are just off a lake, and people canoe, swim and fish there regularly.
we have neighbors on either side with young tots/babies. so i'm sure they dont even notice the noise we make, and they are respectful of noise after 7pm, which other neighbors here are not. wahoo!
we have the potential for a small garden in front (verrrry small)
and a deck big enough for a sandbox and small patio set. we are happy to have ANY space at all! we are also surrounded by woods. i was gifted one of those plastic baby swings that you attach to a tree... but there arent any trees short enough that i can get away with "touching". major gripe, as our condo fee pays the maintenance on said trees and i think i should be able to swing my kiddo on one.
i have a HUGE problem with the mail. community mailboxes with 25 ppl to a shard area, all unlocked. sometimes i order expensive things and pay extra for it to go UPS just so it's at my door!
i havent really made friends though. almost all WOHMs here.

[Dakota's Mom]

Hey HiItsMeSandy,

We're almost neighbors. I live in Ridgefield. I guess you would call it a suburb, but it is a part of a huge metroplex which includes New York City. So it's a suburb within a city area. Our little boro is very small. We don't even have a grocery store here. We have to go to neighboring boros to shop. We are not likely to move from here because we have rent control. My husband has lived in this apartment since he was 8 months old. I hate it. The neighbors are not friendly at all. The few families that speak English are older retired people. The families with children don't speak English and stay to themselves. My son has no one to play with. We have a huge front yard and a small back yard but we are not allowed to use it. If you leave anything outside the apartment, the management steals it. They say it takes away from the ambiance of the building. (What ambiance, sterile, dull, unlived in look?) We are not allowed to plant anything. A few years ago people were planting in the back area. So the management put poison stakes in the ground making it worthless. I try to plant things in pots on the back steps, but management will frequently steal them as well. Last summer my son had is bike chained up to the back steps. My neighbor heard something and came out to see the maintenance people trying to saw off the lock. She told them it was a little boys bike and they told her it was garbage. Fortunately they couldn't get the lock off. When we came home she came over and told us so we could bring it in before they came back. We are fortunate that there is a park and tennis courts a block down the street. There is a pool as well but the city charges over $300 a year for membership.

I guess the up side is that we are ten minutes from New York City and all it has to offer. But I would much rather live in the middle of ten acres somewhere. We don't have to do any lawn care or snow removal. But I can't plant very much. I can't compost. I have to sew on a corner of the dining room table. Actually our table is used for everything. I sew on it. I make candles on it. My husband and son build rockets on it. DH has taken apart computers on it. About the only thing we don't do is eat on it. We have to drive for everything. Grocery stores are two towns over in either direction. The Children's Museum is 15 miles away. There is a library in town that has a decent children's department. I really really hate it here.

We also have the problem of noisy neighbors. Sometimes when it is really quiet they will drop something that makes me jump out of the chair. Or they stand out on the front porch and smoke so the smoke comes right in our windows. Also the parking lot is at the bottom of the hill and our apartment is at the top of the hill. Since I have disabilities, it is really hard to walk up the hill. Sometimes I will sit in my car for half an hour just trying to get up the energy to walk up the hill. And there are half as many parking places as there are apartments. If you are not home by five o'clock you odn't get a parking space. Sometimes you have to park three or four blocks away. I can't walk that far so I don't go out at night unless my husband is home. When I come in late, he will move his car so I can park in his parking space. Or we go out together. Then he will drop me off in the parking lot and go look for parking.

Kathi

[jesrox]

I live in a 2 bd/2 br condo...bought it when I was 20 didn't think I was gonna have a kid at 23! It is very crowded...but I have a good job here and my significant other is in school so we are kind of in place here for awhile. The worst thing is that there are some really undesirable people here where the owners have rented to sketchy people, one couple had the cops there like 2-3 times/ month. Ridiculous! Have tried to plant smallish gardens in the flower bed area around my unit, they don't do a lot of upkeep so you can kinda do whatever. Not enough sun for veggies, mostly do flowers and herbs.

We have a little playground and a pool, so that is great for my 3 year old...hoping to move to a house in 3 years or so when we can better afford it.