STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

laken1 · Hermes

RE: Help me not be cheap

atlgirl · Gucci

Okay, I've read (skimmed) this thread a bit, and here's my two cents' worth:

1. it's not being "cheap", it's being frugal. Renting an apartment is not "like" throwing money away, it *is* throwing money away because you don't get anything in the end. IMO it's like leasing a car - you might have a lower payment during the lease, but you have nothing when it's all said and done - no vehicle to sell / trade for something else. I say save your money and put some each month into an account for a house. You'd be amazed at how much a house can cost - over and above the mortgage - the first year alone will kill you with little expenses (I say this being 1.5 years into our first home), so save as much as you can and don't feel that you have to go for the nicest apartment around.

2. if you can, definitely try to get out there to view places first. Will your man's company not pay for at least one visit for you two to look for living space? When we relo'd to Georgia from Arizona, DH's potential employer (he hadn't even accepted the offer yet) paid for two visits for us to find housing. But even if they won't pay, I'd never sign a lease sight unseen...IMO that's asking for trouble.

3. I personally think that 1200 square feet is plenty of room for two people. We lived together in a slightly over 700 sq. ft. apartment in Phoenix for a bit and it was definitely too small. When we moved to GA, our apartment was just over 1200 sq. ft. and it was just fine for us (3 bdm, 2 bath apt). Now our house is a little over 2200 and it's almost too big LOL. I suppose it depends on the people, but we never had any problems in the 1200 sq ft apt, personal-space-wise.

4. No matter how many flights of stairs (2 or 3 or more), it's still a PITA to get groceries, furniture, etc. in and out. Trust me; this gets old very quickly. I can completely understand your reasons for not wanting the third floor...but second floor isn't *much* better...if you can find a first-floor place, that's the best way to go.

5. Slightly unrelated, but on the fun side - any ST'er worth their salt would LOVE the Cherry Creek malll, so be prepared to enjoy yourself there once you're settled. That's a beautiful part of Colorado (my DH is a CO native, and we travel to CO fairly often) and the shopping (for mall shopping) is STELLAR.

Good luck with all this, and try not to stress out too much during the whole process. *s*

lynnie · Chanel

Get the nicer place! I am ALL FOR saving, I love to save, but you do only live once! you will spend less of your money on rent at your new, nicer place, and since you are used to scrimping, you will easily be able to save as well. I am like you, sort of, so used to scrimping that now that i have money, it is hard for me to spend it! Even though I make a few big purchases every once in a while (shoes, etc.), I save on everyday things (groceries, eating out, entertainment) and don't buy many cheaper items. I am trying to break that habit though, and let myself live more in luxury while still saving and not going completely crazy racking up my credit card bills.

honey · Gucci

okay, i read what everyone else said, and while i haven't changed my mind i do want to add one more thing. you should really push for the company to fly you two out so you can look at apts. in person. considering how much they love him, and the drastic change you two are making, i think it's only fair they foot the bill for you guys to relocate.

poptart · Coach

Okay, I read the whole situation and now I have even more thoughts!

I am totally against second and third floor apartments. PITA *big time*. So that's a bias. But, I also think that you can find an amply-sized one bedroom that would be less expensive than the 2 bdrm. which is all they have available. And I agree that high rent is just wasted money. I think you can do better!

dot · Marc Jacobs

whoa everyone has given alot of great advice. i just wanted to say after throwing away 2k a month for years on a rental... it's sooooooooooo NOT worth it.

also i just wanted to point out that with a bigger apt you would probably need to buy more stuff... just adding to your spending.

bex · Chanel

jumping on this one late- but here is my 2 cents

if you are at home a lot to enjoy your place- i say get the super nice place. me- i work from home 2 days a week- so having a nice place with lots of amenities nearby is important to me.

however- if you are never home and literally come home to sleep at night- get the cheaper place and put the money you would have spent on the nicer place into a savings for your own place someday.

best of luck with whatever you decide!

FashionPrincess · Hermes

All that I want to add is that I would choose the top floor apartment any day of the week over hearing people in the apartments walk/stomp/etc above you, imo that's worth having to walk a little farther with groceries, hey it's good exercise anyway

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

I was on the fence until I read your post about the price difference. If the better apt. is only 3% more than the smaller place...I say go with the luxury.

You know it's in a good, safe, neighborhood, close to work, etc. and believe me, when you're lugging stuff up the stairs, one flight is a HUGE difference.

In my opinion, home is a safe, comfy place that should be as nice as you can possibly make it. I think in general, we spend too much time at work, so having a wonderful place to go home to is extremely important.

If it doesn't work out, you're only locked in for a year, which will go by in the blink of an eye. You can spend that time looking around for a cheaper place if you decide that the extra bedroom is not worth the money.

Good luck to you.

Elle · Hermes

I love you guys!!!

We do get $2,000 in relocation costs, but most of that is going to be spent on the actual move itself. And I just realized that if he flew down for Memorial Day weekend, his flight would only be 4 days away and therefore about $520 instead the $250 it would have been had we booked it before last Friday. Sigh.

I'm still not sure what we're going to do. I think we'll definitely keep looking for sure - but if/when he gets the official word he's gotten the job, we're expecting them to need him in Denver on the 20th - He doesn't get back from Houston until the 12th, we're going to Portland from the 13th-15th, he graduates on the 16th, and we'd have to move the 17th & 18th! Whew!

If we can we'll try to push it back another week to give ourselves a bit more time, but we're at the mercy of orientation schedules so it's not totally up to us. I'll keep looking for now, I guess.

Thanks everyone!

Dizzy · Marc Jacobs

"Thrifty-ness" is a real thing in my family - and seriously, it's not worth it.

I really believe that the things you surround yourself with, every day, are important to your sense of well-being. You wouldn't wear ugly clothes to save money, would you? In my family, people do, like they're waiting for some special occassion - and it's not just clothes, they do this with everything from plastic bags to cars to, yes, where they live. But the special occasion never comes and they end up just WANTING all the time. And playing all these extra games and spending all this extra time arranging ways to save money. It's like a variation of anorexia. And it's really hard to watch. Maybe they just feel like it's safer to keep something in reserve. Like whatever they can save would really protect them from the bad things that happen in life (I'm not saying don't have an emergency fund - just that nothing really bad that's ever happened to me would have been helped by a bigger savings account). So maybe spending the money, in their heads, is like admitting they can't control life's rough spots.

Anyway, sorry for the back story and the pop psychology, but I think you should get a really beautiful apartment, one where you feel comfortable and happy and have fewer worries than you would in a cheaper place (I like an on-site gym, trash pick up and as many utilities paid as possible) and you should look around every day and say "I love this, I enjoy this and I deserve this..."

PS - I know that moving into a third floor apartment is no picnic, but after this year I will NEVER live on the first floor again - my sweet little old lady upstairs neighbor has some weird thing where she MOVES BIG, HEAVY PIECES OF FURNITURE EVERY MORNING AT 6 AM - what is that? What IS that?

-- Edited by Dizzy at 17:14, 2005-05-23

jacL · Coach

Well, I agree that renting is like throwing money away, but if the rent for the more expensive place is still only 23% of your total income, that is really good--then I would go for it. You will enjoy having that extra space, and this way, you probably won't need to rent a storage locker in hte basement (if they even offer that option). If you are really concerned about it, try looking elsewhere for a two-bedroom. I wouldn't take a one-bedroom unless you had to (and you don't have to) because it is nice to have extra space for storage, office area, etc.

Bottom line--take it.

Hedvig · Coach

I think the place you live in and come home to every single day has an enormous effect on your life. And, having lived in 1BR apartments together with my bf for years, I don't really believe there is such a thing as too much space.

For as little as $125 more a month, I know I would definitely get the bigger apartment. Besides, I don't think paying rent is throwing money away. To me, living in a cramped apartment and hating every minute of it would be like putting my life on hold. You can save on a lot of other things!

Good luck, whatever you decide!

jacL · Coach

Does the building have an elevator? I am assuming it does not since you are talking about walking up the stairs. In that case, I would go for a second floor apt but IMO, third floor still isn't too bad. I have always been weary of renting a ground-floor apt, especially if there is a patio door...they are so easy to break into.