May 18, 2009

Rental Indecision

Friends,

Today, I learned of a problem soon arriving. My rent will go up by $24 a month. Not a lot, but when making a pittance, that's a big deal.

This apartment complex has it's problems...the recent nearby domestic murder notwithstanding. Typical issues like hot water issues (kitchen sink does not stay hot for long), some service problems, it's drafty in the bedroom and the heat doesn't seem to work, and irritating neighbors (like the ones that stole our halloween decoration from our door). And we already pay a lot for where we are and what we have, so paying more for what we have, hmm, I can't say I like that.

But they are awesome at snow removal here. Supremely top notch. And we already nested here. So, you know, moving would require moving. Packing up boxes, carrying boxes, breaking down stuff. Probably renting a UHaul since I don't think we know anyone with a truck, and, to be honest, don't think we know anyone that would be willing to help us move up here either...and I can't imagine too many people would be willing to drive the 5 hours to come lift shit, even for free pizza.

So, I gotta wonder, is finding a better, safer, cheaper place worth it? I know only Emily & I can answer this question fully, but god, why is this such a hard question? Moving is really just a hard day's work, so it must really disturb the psyche to uproot like this. Nomads don't seem to have a problem with this...unless they are a really depressed, irritable people...or it takes generations to suppress the nesting instinct.

Then again, maybe it's me & Emily that's weird and we have such a strong aversion to moving that we willing to put up with all the problems just so we don't have to box up the stuff again. You think we have enough legit complaints to move...is everyone like this? Is moving that bad?

viva el mustache

2 comments:

Luke said...

My rent went up 40 bucks and I decided to move. Take a look around at some of the apartment complexes, at least. My stupid complex went up by 40, but the townhouses down the street lowered their price 100 bones a month... which makes it actually cheaper to live there. In-town Uhauls are pretty cheap, too. Moving is a pain in the ass, though.

Another thing you can try... my buddy suggested this. You can ask if they have any open apartments in your complex. If so, then you can try to bargain with them. If they aren't full up, they shouldn't be willing to lose regular rent payers for 300 bucks a year.

word verification=messivel

Big Perm said...

Yeah, I like Luke's idea. Look around. The way the economy is, many places should have some kick-ass move-in specials. Those specials might mean much better apartment for much less, and might make the move worth it. (Plus, if you're moving close by, you could see if you can overlap the rents on each place by a couple of days, and you could move things in slowly by car and a small U-Haul.)