The Costs of Moving

So we are moving from a 1 bedroom apartment in the ‘bubs (way out and under served by mass transit) with a dishwasher but no w/d to a studio apartment in the less far out ‘burbs (across from a metro station/bus hub) with a free w/d down the hall and no dishwasher, and the tiniest kitchen known to human kind. There is less square footage, but the space is nicer, closer to jobs, and a transitional home while we work on the house my mother owns to make it live-able.

To move into this space we had to secure a safety deposit of 1 month of rent + 200 for the pet deposit. Then there is a condo-move in fee, and an elevator deposit you get back on the same day. The smaller moving incidentals: truck rental, box buying (if you can’t score boxes for free – so far we have purchased 10), beer + pizza to bribe friends to help you load up the truck, etc. are starting to pile up. We are trashing our couches (both being well loved/used hand-me downs) for an loveseat futon, and finally buying a bed frame for our mattress that has sat on our floor for 8 years. We are hoping to use the space under our bed as extra storage.

Because we are renting from private individuals I understand their need for a larger deposit, and am ok even with the condo fees. But having to move on a week day (again – condo association) means that I have to take yet another day off of work.

Now all of this has so far been doable because of a combination of family help, and office jobs where taking a day off is at least conceivable. When I first moved into the apartment I live now I had my first office job (a data entry job) where I made a fraction of my pay and taking a day off was about as easy as growing a horn on your head. So the idea of not relying on an apartment complex (now mostly owned by even larger ‘property management companies’) is another economic luxury like my veganism and boycotting of Walmart.