Help me have a better attitude about apt downgrade

[Angelorum]

Dh and I are preparing to move so that I can return to school in the Fall. I am really excited to be able to go back to school and am looking forward to the classes I'm registered for. We are looking at apartments that are really close to the university to save on childcare costs and make things easier all around. We have an application in for an apartment that has literally everything on my wishlist, but there are 2 other families that also applied, so chances are it will go to someone else . The other apartment that my husband favors has pretty much nothing on my wishlist, but it would be a liveable space at a good price for us in an excellent location. I am so spoiled right now with all our conveniences! Please help me adjust my attitude/wrap my head around doing without them in the event that this becomes our new home. Here are the pros/cons

Cons:

It's on the 4th floor, with no elevator. Moving will be a pain! Not to mention schlepping baby/laundry/groceries etc.
It's in a really old building, so the layout is weird, as is the cable and outlet placement.
The parking lot behind the building (where our car will be) looks kind of dodgy, I've had trouble with my car being stolen in the past, and I know it's easy to break into. It's an old car, it has no stereo since the last time it was broken into, but like I said it's been taken before.
It's on a busier street, being higher up, the street noise isn't as loud, but it's still there.
There's no grass on the property at all, I take the baby outside to sit on the lawn a lot when he's grumpy and he calms right down, so I wouldn't be able to do this.
There's no dishwasher, and the kitchen sink only has 1 tub. I've always had a dishwasher (see how spoiled I am?) but to have no dishwasher and only a little 1 tub sink seems monstrously inconvenient.
No washer/dryer. The whole building (6 units) share 1 coin op set in the basement. Between diapers and small wardrobes I do nearly 30 loads a month. There is a laundry mat a few blocks away.
No Bathtub, just a shower stall. This wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much pre-baby, but I prefer to give the baby baths over showers.
The fridge is tiny. Only 5 feet tall. We'd have to buy a mini freezer, as we like to shop in bulk and cook from scratch.
No AC/fans/swamp cooler. We'd have to buy a window unit.
Heating is from old radiators and is set building wide, so we may have to buy a space heater if it's too low, or we may be roasting and have to have our windows open in the dead of winter.
The bedrooms are small, the second one would be dh's office (he works at home) and it's really tiny. I was hoping to find a place with a bedroom large enough that we could get a twin mattress in with our king, so the babe could have his own space, and start getting accustomed to sleeping in his own bed in the future.
There is one closet in the entire apt. It's of a good size, but still. It's not even in one of the bedrooms either.
The dining area is carpeted, we'd have to get something for under the highchair.

Pros

It is about 1 mile from the University, and 1 block away from the bus that goes straight to the part of campus I'll need to get to. My "commute" would be 10 min.
It has a walkability score of 95 out of 100.
The rent is cheap!
The apt shares a balcony with the neighboring unit, so there would be space for our plants and little grill. The neighbor has the balcony packed with their own plants, it's really cute looking.
It is the biggest apt in our price range that we found, the space is just sort of oddly arranged.

Can I overcome all the inconveniences? Could you? We expect to be there for 2 years.

[Usually Curious]

2 years of schlepping groceries and laundry up 4 flights. I don't know.

Maybe dh will volunteer to be the schlepper?

Hooray for cheap rent and a short commute!

[Teensy]

Well, you'd be on the fast track to the simple living that so many posters are striving for on these boards!

I have no idea if you should sign the lease, but to reframe some of these advantages this apartment has:

How great, you will be in terrific shape using the stairs daily and walking to class each day.

Laundry won't be something hanging over your head every day - you'll have one day a week to take everything to the laundromat and will get all the laundry done in one sitting.

Walk score of 95 probably means convenient food shops. How nice to decide last minute that you want XYZ for dinner and can run out to the store and pick it up.

No grass to mow, no yard to care for, more time for family adventures. You'll locate all the great parks and playgrounds in no time.

[honeybunmom]

If I hadn't already rented my place, I'd think you're moving into my condo!

It was a vintage (read = old) building, 3rd floor walk up, no dishwasher, small refrigerator. We did have a stackable w/d, though. Radiator heat. I wore shorts all winter long. In Chicago, until the windows were replaced so the heat could be lowered. Heat rises, so, I doubt you'll be cold.

Now, we live in a two story single family home with a dishwasher and a/c.

Other pros for you: you'll get/stay in shape. No one wants to make that trip back down to the car a second time. So, you throw the baby on your back and load up your arms with groceries and do it once. I almost always did.

We have a dishwasher now and I've used it less than 10 times. There's really only a need when we have people over. So, you'll use less water. Probably not paying the water bill, but, good for mother earth.

Radiator heat - if you're too warm, you can open the windows. It's usually easier to cool off in the winter months than it is to heat up. I'd be/was totally ok with this.

As for the carpet and the babe - mine is at the "let's just throw this on the floor stage". Since we have hard wood floors, I haven't drug out the floor mat, but, you can get one of those. Inexpensive, easy clean up. Designed for under the high chair use.

At 15 mos, I still can bathe my son in the sink. The prep sink. So, it's probably the size of your single kitchen sink. And, since you'll have toasty radiator heat, it'll be easy to do when he's bigger and has to keep standing! He won't freeze!

That's all I've got for now.

ETA: I lived in my place for 11 years. 4 of them with kids. 6 mos with 2 kids.

[VisionaryMom]

I don't know. That would have to be the only thing available for me to want to move there. I wouldn't want to go up & down 4 flights of stairs all the time with my 3YO and 5YO. Nor do I like going without a dishwasher. I have, but I don't like it. That's pretty much a deal breaker for me at this point unless I had absolutely no choice.

So, that's no help to you, I know, but at least you know others would feel the same way!

[Thystle]

Well if you can't find anything "better", it will ALWAYS beat being homeless. Period.


You have free choice, so remember that part. You can choose to move there or not. You are not being forced. If you choose it then own it and make the best of it.


And then buy a couple of big dishpans to wash dishes in, a baby bathtub to put on the counter (I have washed a 4yo in one) and maybe "splurge" the $50 and buy one of those Wonderwashers to keep inside to do small loads of clothes.

And find a park with grass close by.

[smokeylo]

Some of these drawbacks might shift as your baby gets older. My toddler likes to shower with us, and enjoys going on walks more than just sitting still in the grass. You'll probably be seeking outings to keep him busy anyway, so I think this could net out in more positive ways soon. Is it near any parks or schools where you can play? I live in a condo with a little grass and we definitely enjoy that, but if I let her my daughter would have a field day in the parking lot, too. The only thing I would HATE is the 4 floor walkup. My god that sounds awful.

[ltlmrs]

The first seven years of my life were spent in an apartment like that, but we only had one bedroom and there was a tub. Well, and no washing machine or laundromat (foreign country, obviously, my mom washed by hand: including diapers and without a wonder wash). When it was just my sister and I, it wasn't a big deal. The balcony was enclosed and my sister had it as a bedroom most of the year, moving to the couch in the winter time. When my two little brothers came a long, it was cramped!

I think that you really have to think about your personality in making a choice like that. I currently have only one sink and even though we have a dishwasher, often wash by hand with dish pans. Ladybug could still fit into that sink for a bath if we needed her to. We don't have a washing machine or a coin op one in the building. I used the wonder wash when Ladybug was a baby for dipes and small loads, then took the other stuff to the laundromat. I could still use the wonder wash and probably will again in the future.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind the effort too much. I think that I could even learn to appreciate climbing up to the fourth floor because I don't get much exercise otherwise. But, there was a time period when a situation like that would have been pretty awful for me and I know that my mother and my sister, having lived through similar circumstances, would think I was nuts. But, to me, being able to walk everywhere and coming home for lunch, etc would pretty much outweigh everything else, especially since there is a balcony.

[eirual]

month to month?

Any chance you could take your runner-up apartment on a month-to-month basis? That way if something dreamier came up you could leave with no huge obstacles.

We're about to embark on the same mission. DH is going to school, we're moving across the country. I'll have no job so we need to keep it on the cheap until we settle in. I'm hoping to just get a roof over our heads that won't drag us down until we can decide exactly where we want to be. I want to find a place we'll love, but the chances of that happening are slim to none. Keep looking! ...and keep your fingers crossed that you're the one out of the three they chose for your first choice. GOOD LUCK!!!

...and try to have an open mind...friendly folk? laudry mat nearby? put some sod/mini pool on the balcony?

[Poddi]

I lived in an apartment like that for a few years. Except it's on 5th floor. Although I was young and in great shape then so I always zoomed up and down the stairs without much thought. Didn't have any babes to carry. Though I imagine once your baby's walking he can at least walk up and down partially (like one flight of stairs) to give you a break.

I think it's doable if you guys are in good physical shape and are willing to declutter a lot.

[Siennaflower]

Dh and I lived in a similar apt for years before kids. I could do it again now if I had to, but I admit the laundry situation would be difficult particularly with diapers. We do several loads a week as a family of four. I could probably beef up our wardrobes so we have enough clothes to get through a week without washing but the diapers have to be washed every couple of days especially in the summer. A Wonder Washer sounds like it might help with that. A dish pan would help with the dishes and keep the sink open for quick baths for the little one. A window unit in the bedroom to keep it cool for naps and night time would be nice (ok, it would be necessary for me but I'm very heat intolerant). Being organized and having some kind of schedule would really help with keeping on top of everything, especially when you add homework and studying into the mix. Is there a park or library in walking distance? Somewhere to walk to with the babe in a sling or stroller for a change of scenery.

[dealic]

It sounds similar to our place, though we have an elevator. In theory. Its just always out of service. It bothers me at times but it really was the only thing in our price range. I did want to mention the one saving grace that made it liveable for us. We bought a portable washer. It hooks up to our sink and does a great job. We then have string hung on the ceiling to hang everything to dry. We run a load in the evenings when our electricity is cheaper, hang it overnight and put it away in the morning. It saved us lugging everything up the stairs whenever the elevator wasn't working, or when the machines were broken or in use. We got a great deal on it second hand.

[zebra15]

No.... I would need to keep looking. But thats just me personally.

[Artichokie]

I think you can put up with anything for 24 months in order to achieve your larger goals. I think you'll need to be super organized so that you minimize the number of up and downs a day, but it is totally doable. You might invest in a large hiking backpack to help schlep up things that are bulky. Fill it with groceries after shopping and laundry after laundry day so that you can get more up in one trip and/or have hands free to help LOs. My sister lived in a 4th floor walk up in a major city (but before they had kids) and had parking issues (not enough spaces, ever), and really she just learned to plan trips out efficiently and spent a lot less time running around disorganized. My previous home had a one bowl sink and no dishwasher and we made do. It isn't forever. You could get a large basin to bathe your kiddo in -home depot has a cement mixing tub that is pretty large and you might be able to store under the bed.

[KayleeZoo]

You lost me at 4th floor, lugging laundry to the basement/laundromat, no dishwasher and no bathtub. Sorry.

BUT I hope you and DH find something that works out great for you and helps to make your long term goals attainable, no matter where it is

[lolar2]

Put most of your dishes and utensils and cooking utensils in storage and keep out just a very few of them. That will make it much easier to keep up with the dishwashing. I've lived in several no-dishwasher places in the last ten years, and that is what I found worked best in keeping up. Also ditto what everyone said about a dishpan.

I wouldn't be able to live in a fourth-floor walkup nowadays because of disability issues, but many people do it.

[Proudmom2Teeg]

This has been inspirational! I have been considering downsizing our luxury apartment to something more simple and CHEAP! Its hard to do when you are spoiled with big kitchens and bathrooms. But then again I never thought I could live without cable or cell phones. Now I will never pay for cable or cell phones again! So I think I could adjust to downsizing once paying bills was a whole less stressful! If you are going to be miserable I wouldnt do it. However if you think there is a chance of adjusting go for it! I am REALLY new to being thrifty and living a more simple life. So far I have been enjoying the down to earth feeling!