Well, it was only a matter of time before we had to move.
We are moving temporarily for work so we didn’t feel it was necessary to go through the home buying process, only to move again to a more permanent location.
So, after five and a half years of homeownership, we are moving back to an apartment!
This was such a hectic time in our life but it’s so full of promises and exciting opportunities. While it was a short notice, we are definitely ready for something new.
A change in scenery and environment is exactly what we need right now as a family.
The wild thing is, we signed on this lease without ever seeing the property in person.
We had to rely purely on email correspondence with the property management, as well as the gallery photos from their website–that’s it!
Gosh, the amount of times I’ve looked at those pictures for months, envisioning our little family living in it.
I am definitely a whirlwind of emotions right now, just mere days away from moving out of our first home.
So in this blog I am sharing the things I’ll miss about homeownership and what I am excited about living in an apartment again!
Let’s dive in.
Things I’ll Miss Being a Homeowner
When my husband and I first got married, we lived in an apartment for all of three months, then we purchased our first house together.
It has been a dream in so many ways.
Living in a house for almost six years definitely had its benefits. Here are a few things that I am grateful for and I will surely miss.
1. The square footage
There is no doubt that I’ll miss the 2100 square footage of our home.
We are going from a 4-bedroom to a 2-bedroom. The size of our house is just perfect for our growing family, and it’ll be interesting to see how downsizing and living in a 1700 sq ft apartment with two little ones and three pets will go.
In any case, I am so grateful! I’ve lived in much smaller spaces with more people. No complaints here at all.
2. Being able to renovate
This is probably the thing I’ll miss the most. I’ve loved decorating our house, especially painting the walls.
With the exception of one room that my husband painted because I was pregnant, I single-handedly painted all the walls in our house haha.
I love it so much that I only wanted to do it and no one else.
Not being able to paint the walls, install a backsplash, and mount shelves in the new apartment would be tough at first, I’m sure. But I’ll survive.
3. Gardening
Just like painting walls, gardening has been my thing in our house.
I learned how to garden for the first time in this house, and there have been many lessons I’ve also learned that I’ll bring with me when we move to our next house.
But losing the space would definitely be something I’d feel once we move into the apartment.
Not being able to get down in the dirt and plant flowers might be tough at first, but believe it or not?
I’m actually excited about this and you’ll find why later down this list.
4. Backyard space
This is probably more for my 90 lb dog. I’ll miss having a large yard for him to run around in and lay on the grass.
Thankfully there’s a dog park at the apartment, and is super pet friendly. Walking him will also be added physical activity for us!
While it was nice having this large backyard, for much of the year we weren’t able to enjoy it because of the Georgia heat, and also bugs and mosquitoes haha.
The backyard was definitely owned more by our dogs’ than us.
5. Driveway
I am only slightly nervous about not having our own driveway to park our cars in.
But the apartment is rated safe and quiet by lots of residents, so hopefully we won’t have to worry about anyone breaking in to our cars in the public parking lots.
If we get a designated parking space then that will be nice, otherwise finding parking every time might get annoying.
6. Mail delivery
I will miss walking a few feet to our own mailbox to pick up mail, or simply opening the front door to pick up our packages.
Not too big of a deal going to the main office, it just means I may have to tone down the online shopping a little bit haha!
7. Privacy
It has been really nice to have ample privacy from living in a house.
Especially since our house is the first one in the block, we only have one neighbor next to us. The other side is has a bunch of trees, then the road.
Behind us is basically a forest with a trail.
It might be a little challenging living with upstairs neighbors and just on the other side of the walls again.
Especially since we have small children who tend to be so loud haha.
I hope we get lucky with nice and quiet neighbors; then them living in such close proximity may not be such an issue.
These are the few things I will surely miss living in a house.
I hope I don’t sound too privileged. It’s actually been nice coming up with this list because it has made me feel grateful that I got to enjoy these things, all of which were things I once dreamed of having.
Things I’m Excited About Living in an Apartment
While it is bittersweet to leave our first home, I am actually really excited to move back into an apartment! Here are a few reasons why.
1. No yard work
This is the biggest one haha!
For years we’d paid for lawn care for the house so we didn’t really think too much about it.
But when we canceled the service to try and save some dollars, a mowed lawn was something we didn’t take for granted again.
Living in an HOA neighborhood surely had its perks; our neighborhood is so beautiful and I’m grateful for it!
But it also came with the pressure to look pristine all the time.
Mowing every other week was a chore for sure. We had a push mower, so it was a nice workout, but doing it in Georgia heat and humidity was not so fun.
It also never looked as perfect as a professional lawn care, but it was good enough.
I’m excited to not have to worry about yard work for a while haha. It feels nice that someone else will be doing that lol.
2. Balcony gardening
Okay, this one goes off of #3 in the first list.
Having a lot of outdoor space in a house was nice, but let me tell you: it was absolutely overwhelming.
Keeping up with the garden beds around the house was a lot of work, not to mention a lot of money to cover all that space.
Especially since I was new to gardening and was experimenting all of the time.
I’ll write another blog about gardening lessons I learned later on, but if I had planned out the gardens right off the bat, I wouldn’t mind having such a big backyard.
For a new house down the road I’ll have more of a garden vision, so a large space will come in handy then.
For now, I am looking forward to a beautiful and cozy balcony garden with containers of flowers and herbs!
I feel like I will be able to attend to them better and more consistently.
A moment of silence for all the plants that died when I refused to go out in the summer heat for days on end in our house…
The only concern I have here is in which direction the balcony will be facing in the new apartment, not knowing yet which unit we will get.
This is a big deal, as this is the main factor whether I’ll be able to grow anything at all. Please do not let it be north-facing!
4. Less space, easier to clean
I previously mentioned I’ll miss having 2100 sq ft, but I am really excited about having a smaller, cozier space because it will be easier to maintain.
Less space also means not accumulating so many things, which would make it easier for the next move too.
5. Maintenance service
It will be nice to be “taken care of” again haha.
Having your own house comes with many responsibilities, such as being the “adult” to fix things that break yourself.
Being able to call someone whenever we need maintenance will be a nice change, even for just a little while.
6. Rental-friendly “renovations”
I consider myself still a beginner when it comes to some form of interior design.
I feel like renter-friendly DIYs are a lot less pressure than more permanent ones in a house.
It will leave room for less anxiety knowing that I can change anything that doesn’t work out with ease.
***
I have always lived in apartments until I got married and my husband and I became homeowners for the first time.
Now, after five and a half years in our house, we are moving back into an apartment. Only this time, with children and pets.
While it is bittersweet leaving our home, my heart is so excited for the change in scenery, and many benefits of living in an apartment again!
