Holy Flurking Schmidt!

So we've been thinking about moving for oh, say, about 6 months or so. We knew we couldn't do it in the fall (I was too busy with work and then we were going to China) and we didn't really find anything that looked interesting available in the winter. But the last couple of weeks we've begun looking in earnest, mostly at craigslist - because everything good comes from craigslist, right?

It's not like we have to move or anything. We've been in the same place since I moved to Denver over 3 years ago, and they've never raised the rent or anything, and it's only 3 blocks from my work, so it's a pretty sweet deal. But living in one place for so long has gotten me antsy and anxious for change, and there are a few things that we decided we absolutely must have in any new place. We need 2 bedrooms, a gas stove/oven, a bigger kitchen (one big enough for us both to cook in at the same time), and my number one issue - a yard we can work in (grow a garden, play in the dirt, etc.). We'd also prefer offstreet parking available, a good amount of storage space, and a washer and dryer. Our current place is pretty good for what we pay, size-wise, but it's got a tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom and we just want a bigger place. And I hate sharing two expensive washers and two dryers with 23 other apartments.

Last week we looked at a 2-bedroom upper flat in a duplex in the neighborhood near the University of Denver - it's kind of a ways from where we live now, but it's a good neighboorhood. They wanted a lot more for the place than we really wanted to pay, and nothing much about it made us say to ourselves "Hey! This is it! This is where we want to live!" So we moved on.

Today, we went to look at the inside of a flat in a Victorian in our neighborhood. I saw the listing on Craigslist on Thursday and emailed about it. The woman told me that we could walk around the outside and that they'd show the inside of it to us this weekend. We made an appointment for this afternoon, and walked around the outside of the place on Thursday evening on our way home from the grocery store. Hulk's comment was "The inside will have to be really something for me to be truly interested" and I agreed, because I was concerned about the amount of light the place got. The apartment we're in now is on the second floor and has east and south windows, so gets lots of light. With the amount of plants we have, and for my mental health, we need light inside.

Today we got to see the inside. It has every single thing we wanted - 2 bedrooms, a washer and dryer, a big kitchen, a yard (front and back) to play in and improve, plenty of storage space, a gas stove, and offstreet parking. It's the first floor of an 1895ish Victorian and has some interesting architectural details - high ceilings, original hardwoods in the entry way and living room, hidey-hole closets, 1950s era pulls on the cabinets in the kitchen, with a huge backyard area that could use all kinds of TLC - but isn't bad as-is, either. There's plenty of room for me to grow vegetables and herbs.

It isn't as light inside as our current place. The main bedroom will certainly be a lot darker than I'd prefer (It has a big window that faces south that's five feet from the big Victorian next door), but the laundry room, kitchen, entry way, and living room will get a good amount of light. We stayed nearly two hours poking around the place, asking questions of the landlords, and meeting the upstairs tenants. As we were walking through the place, and the longer we stayed, I found myself fantasizing about what furniture could go where, and what could go on the walls, and whether there might be hardwoods under the carpet in the bedrooms.

After the first 20 minutes, I'd made up my mind - and so had Hulk. We're going to move!

The rent is a lot more than we're paying now, but they pay for all utilities except electricity. Currently, we have to pay all individual utilities, plus a share of the building utility expenses. Plus, we pay $50 a month for a parking space that is included in the rent of the new place. Ultimately, the new rent will be only $200 more a month, all those things considered. It is a few blocks east and a block north of where we live now, so my morning commute will be a 15 minute walk instead of an 8 minute walk - and Hulk will have to leave a little earlier to get to school. But it's on a much-less trafficked street, in a mostly owner-occupied block, and it's not near any liquor stores or bars or other establishments that might cause a lot of noise and foot traffic.

Man, I'm so excited to have a big change like this. I've been feeling so stagnant, and we've stayed in our current place so long out of inertia and convenience. It's time for a change. I can't wait.