After I asked for a lot of feedback on Twitter about which home we should choose and shared a little about the insanity of the process on my blog, oh, two weeks ago (stress has swallowed my ability to blog, *clug clug*) – I thought I’d share more! Because if there’s one thing I know I like, it’s reading about other people’s decisions.
To recap:
We are moving to western Massachusetts for my husband’s job as a professor. We do not want to buy yet, so even though we knew we were moving 5 months ago, we had to wait until this month to see what rental properties were open. We hauled our two little kids to 18 viewings in 3 days. After we drove 10 hours there. Hooray for moving. (No, but seriously, hooray for a job.)
The Homes:
On the first day, we saw a place we LOVED (open floor plan, huge backyard, perfect size home, low rent), but it was off the market 3 hours after we saw it. *Weep.*
On the third day, we applied to another place (condos close to Mike’s work, low rent included all utilities, shared big yard), but they chose a single person instead of a family of four.
We left pretty discouraged. We were worried nowhere would work out, so we decided to apply to 4 places:
#1: Perfect but Far A home we adored that was 35 minutes from Mike’s work. It had lots of living space (1800 sq ft – 6oo more than we have now!), was bright and open, a fireplace and plenty of windows. Plus, everything was on one floor except the finished basemen. It also has a guest bedroom/office (I love one floor living). The backyard was huge and had a compost and garden. The house itself was perfect for us, but the location was not. It was far from his work and the neighborhood wasn’t walkable, though it did have some sidewalks. It was also the most expensive home we looked at, of course.
#2: Close Condo A condo that popped up in the same property close to Mike’s work, but had 3 instead of 2 bedrooms. The square footage is about the same we have now, but includes a washer and dryer in unit, a private patio, and a pool on the grounds. It was about the same cost as #1, but all utilities are included. It’s not an incredibly walkable area, but it’s near a JCC and the big park in the city. We never actually got to see this unit since it came on the market right after we left.
#3 Creepy Gingerbread A slightly creepy home that seemed to be the Goldilocks home – bigger than #2, but closer than #1. It was in a walkable area, BUT it was not accessible to the sidewalks. It was set back from the road and up on a hill, which meant it would involve walking down a long alley to get to the road. It was kinda creepy and isolated. Plus, the people were ending their lease early, which made me worry something was wrong with the house or landlord. It was super cheap*, though. (*Note: super cheap in MA is still almost double our rent here)
#4: Fallback Townhome Our safety rental. Far from Mike’s work, but a great little community of townhouses and tons of families. Near a bike path. Plenty of units available, so we knew if we needed a place should everything else fall through, we could live here.
Then we received word (after sending in deposits, bank statements, credit reports, and our first-born), that we got all four rentals! Hooray! Except…then we had to decide and decisions can be the worst.
We hemmed and hawed and hemmed and hawed for days.
I even asked friends and Twitter to weigh in:
Our hearts said #1. But our heads said #2. #3 was off the table due to creepiness. And #4 was really only our last resort.
One minute, we’d think, “More indoor space in the winter for kids! #1!” The next, “What if I need the car and have to drop Mike off at work? 8 minutes beats 35 minutes. #2!”
The Envelope, Please:
Ultimately, the distance decided for us. In a city and state where we will know no one else, I worried about an emergency arising and having Mike 35 minutes away – or more in the winter. Plus, we want to stay a one car family as long as we can, so we decided to make the responsible choice and rent the #2 condo. We’re not sure what Mike’s schedule will practically be like as a professor, so we don’t want him to have to drive an hour roundtrip for an hour meeting. Until we get our bearings on the job and the region, this seemed like the best choice.
It’s not the thrilling or exciting choice (#1, we will always love you), but we’ll save more money and it will give us a good base to explore the region while we figure out where we’ll move in a year. Because, yes, I plan to move to a longer term home in a year. Hopefully somewhere with a yard and in a walkable area. And, hey, maybe that first home we fell in love with will come back on the market!
And we’re still fighting to get our (REFUNDABLE!) deposits back for #1 and #4. (They deposited our check for $1790 two days after we withdrew our application. Classy.)
On to the next decision to stress about…which moving container company to choose. Aiiii. (Related – have you used and loved or hated U-Pack or U-Box? Do share!)
Related post: https://www.ourlittleapartment.com/house-hunters-rental-edition/
Congrats on finding a place! And brutal about the deposits being cashed – that’s so shady.
I’ve used U-Pack & really liked them a lot! I got two containers when I moved from Atlanta to DC in 2013. They say that a 1-br can fit in one container, but I think that’s a lie. I think they literally mean the bedroom, and don’t account for other spaces like the living room & dining table.
My advice would be (and I’m happy to help with more specifics via email!)
— get one more container than you think you’ll need, just in case. I’m 99% sure U-Pack will pick up the empty one & not charge you for it but at least it’s there if you need it.
— get rid of anything you don’t love. Seriously. When I moved from DC to Portland, I sold every piece of furniture because I knew I could basically buy it all again for less than the cost of shipping it across the country. If getting rid of a chair & table means you don’t need that extra container, you’ve saved money even if you have to purchase those things again.
— HIRE MOVERS ON BOTH ENDS. They get the job done in like, 2 hours, and are total professionals when it comes to traversing stairs and packing the containers safely. I hired people from U-Pack’s website and it was great because they were familiar with the process.
— do ALL the packing yourself though. Most of the movers will help you wrap your furniture (raid Goodwill for blankets & towels since the movers won’t be giving you moving pads since they won’t get them back) but the more you do yourself, the faster they will be (saving you money!)
— prepare for a night or two (or five) in MA without your stuff. Depending on how long it takes you guys to get there, and how full the U-Pack truck is, you could get there days before your stuff does. Pack clothes, necessities, and maybe an air mattress into your car with you so you have somewhere to sleep.
Umm ok this is a lot but the bottom line is I had a great experience with U-Pack. I was able to call them directly and negotiated my price down a little bit (not a lot, but every bit helps when moving because those costs add up!) and they were super professional and friendly. Good luck with the move!
This was fun! A real-life version of House Hunters!
Oh, yay! I’m glad you have a place, and I think #2 was the right choice. The short commute will make up for a LOT, especially in winter weather. Also, I can’t BELIEVE those people deposited your checks after you withdrew your applications. RUDE! That makes me extra glad you didn’t go with #1, because how dare they!
I always recommend the shortest commute because 1) emergencies happen 2) gas/public transportation costs add up very quickly 3) a study years ago showed that one’s commute is the biggest factor in one’s job satisfaction. Seriously! Now, I’ve liked having half-hour commutes on Metro so I can listen to audiobooks, and 1/4 mile walks to work so I can just roll out, and short drives so it’s not a big traffic problem, so it’s not just the length in time of the commute, but the whole experience itself.
A POOL IS AWESOME. And I’ve had excellent experiences with JCCs, too.
Totally the choice I would have made… I bet you’ll love it!!! Is U-Pack the same as ABF? That’s what we used to move from PA to OK three years ago. It was a very good experience. We did the pay-by-the-linear-foot-in-a-trailer thing and I loved the flexibility of it vs. PODS or something similar. Also, everyone I talked to from ABF was very pleasant and helpful. I would definitely use that again.
We used U-Pack to move from Texas to Boston, and it was very easy over all. (Especially because we didn’t have a place to live for the first month and a half, and U-Pack stored everything for us.) We downsized A LOT and still needed two pods to move 850 square feet worth of stuff for two people, so keep that in mind when ordering. Re: depositing your check late–welcome to Massachusetts. Don’t forget to pack your “don’t mess with me” face when you move. (Don’t worry, the scenery and the fun weekend trips make up for it!)