This morning we got the call approving the application for our new apartment. We drove over and dropped off our deposit (only $195--nearly $800 cheaper than some places we looked at), and should move in sometime around October 15th. Moving is going to suck, but I'm really excited about the new place.
The pros vs. our current apartment are many and significant, the cons are few and less-so. First the cons, so I can end on a positive note.
Cons:
No second bathroom. This is actually somewhat significant as our second bathroom is currently the "cat bathroom". It gets a bit messy in there and without it we'll have to be a lot more diligent about cleaning.
No outdoor storage. Currently, we have a nice little outdoor storage closet that we stuff all of our hiking, sports, and Christmas stuff into. It is literally packed to the ceiling (with the help of some cheap shelves). I think we've got a tiny bit more indoor closet space in the new place though, so hopefully we'll be able to find places for it all.
Smaller on-site laundry. The laundry rooms only have one washer and dryer each. We usually save up for weeks and do a batch-laundry evening with three washers running in parallel (and bring our DSes).
Smaller balcony, not fully covered. The cats spend a lot of time on the balcony, but I think it will be big enough for them. The bigger issue is that it's not fully covered. I'm out there a lot in the rain, which is nice, and we've got some patio chairs that won't like getting wet.
No racquetball court. Our current apartment has a racquetball court in the clubhouse. It's about 20 degrees cooler than Dixon and never closed for weird reasons, making it the premier racquetball venue in Corvallis. I'll miss it, and my home court advantage.
Pros:
$230 cheaper per month. Yay! We can eat again!
Vaulted ceilings and skylights. I'm stoked about this. The whole place feels much bigger and brighter. And more natural light is good for my instinctive cave-dwelling tendencies. Plus our plants, which have to be kept out of reach of the cats, will probably do much better.
Gigantic walk-in closet. We have small walk-in closets at our current place, which is nice, but this place has a huge one in our bedroom. I think Allison can still probably fill it.
Bigger kitchen. This will be really nice. Allison's parents have been trying to give us this island/cutting table thing since they're remodeling their kitchen, and we should have plenty of room for it now.
Closer laundry. Rather than one huge laundry room, this place has small laundry rooms in each building. Although batch-laundry will be harder, as I mentioned above, not having to lug it 200 yards up a hill will probably make doing it more often a lot easier.
Not on top of a huge hill. While my bike ride to school will no longer be the exciting, high-speed thrill-ride it is today, my ride home won't force me to take a shower.
Better bus route. I am now on one of only two bus routes in town to operate half-hourly instead of hourly. Come winter, with my bus-missing frequencies, this will be a big plus.
Right next to WinCo. The back entrance is right across the street. Walking distance to the most amazing grocery store ever, w00t! I like walking to get groceries and have missed that since leaving Seattle.
Ping pong table. We're trading the racquetball court for a ping pong table. While a good racquetball court is harder to find, I think this is a net gain, since Allison will play ping pong with me but not racquetball.
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