housing choices, HELP!

[bmccasland]

So I'm still living in a hotel, me and the cats. Oh joy. One of which is sick.

A couple of weeks ago I posted on the e-bulletin board at work that I was looking for a 2 bedroom house to rent for 6-12 months. Heard nothing...

Last weekend I put a deposit down on a 3 bedroom 1245 sq ft apartment, at the $$$ going rate. I would have, and pay for space, lovely space. No more living cramped. Even if it is for a year. Still waiting for my house in Louisiana to sell, or rent out, silence on that front.

Then yesterday a gal at the office contacted me that she had a 2 bedroom 850 sq ft house, for $400 less per month rent, and it has a large garage. I went to see the house today, and it's pretty cute, but calling that second bedroom a "bedroom" is pretty generous, more like a nursery or a small office; the walk-in closet at my mother's house is bigger.

The gal is in the process of moving out, and there's still a whole bunch of *stuff* that needs to go. My concern is that she wouldn't be cleared out by the time I'm scheduled to move into something. Or maybe knowing she'll have a tenant will get her to get on the ball and hire a local moving company to help her.

One other consideration - the apartment is 15 miles from the office, and I'd be commuting by car. The house is 5.5 miles from the office and I have the choice to van-pool, take public transit - with vouchers means my transit costs are free, or drive in.

So do I go with the spacious apartment, further out, near my new wonderful vet (I have two high maintenance elderly cats) for $400 more per month?

OR do I go with tiny house where much of my stuff (sewing room/needlework things) will have to stay packed for a year or more? And yes, I am subject to cabin fever in small spaces - learned this living in a really tiny cabin one summer where it was nice enough to go outside to escape.

I can afford to pay the mortgage + house rent without dipping into savings if my Louisiana house isn't rented out. Not so sure about paying the extra $400 per month for the larger aparment.

I told the gal I'd give her my decision on monday.
The economical side of me says I should go with the house, but the part that wants space, really wants it's space. I have furniture for a 3 bedroom house (1 doublebed suit, 1 twin bed, and office / sewing room). Ooh, ooh, I could expand easily to a 4 bedroom, anyone want to subsidize me?

[Pedal Wench]

I just sold my house -- after it being on the market for THREE years. So, don't make plans on based on selling or renting the other house anytime soon.

Why not rent the house, pocket the savings, and use it move to a better place if something opens up.

Moving from a house to an apartment was an adjustment for me. Hearing neighbors, being worried about making too much noise myself, not having a garage, having to unload my car every day, well... I miss my house!

I just think that in this economy, any chance to save without much sacrifice is a good thing.

[badgercat]

I'd go with the closer+smaller place, for what it's worth. My boyfriend and I rent a 2-bedroom house with similar square footage, and inside the house we have a total of 6 bikes, his huge computer setup (he's a comp sci graduate student) and a desk for me too, 3 bookcases for all of our textbooks and papers, my sewing desk and collection of craft supplies and costumes, and a piano, 3 wind instruments, and a formidable collection of sheet music between us (we have a lot of hobbies, none of which are very compact ). We don't have pets like you do, but I have to believe you can make that amount of space work for a year.

Sure, a little more space would be nice, but to me it wouldn't be worth a 3x longer commute (we live ~3 miles from campus [where we're both full-time students and part-time employees] and bike-commute). I had also been one of those people who always liked to spread out, but I've adapted relatively well. If I get stir-crazy, I go for a bike ride.

ETA: I can also appreciate that everyone is used to different things (I'm very much still a student and used to living in cramped quarters, I haven't had an opportunity to live anywhere roomier since I moved out of my parents' house), and there's the issue of what to do with your spare furniture, but maybe there's a reasonable storage locker you could rent somewhere? Anyway, good luck with your decision, I'm sure other folks will have good perspectives and advice here.

[ny biker]

I chose a 1BR with three closets because it's in a neighborhood I like and close to my job. I've found that I've been able to get rid of lots of stuff that I don't really need. I use storage chests as end tables, my coffee table is a storage ottoman, I keep linens and spare blankets in under-bed storage. I have patio benches on my balcony that double as storage. It's not ideal -- I would love a second bedroom to use as an office/bike room. But the convenient location is important, and worth it.

Just my $.02.

What does your gut say?

[KnottedYet]

In which domicile would you sleep better?

[shootingstar]

 I have furniture for a 3 bedroom house (1 doublebed suit, 1 twin bed, and office / sewing room). Ooh, ooh, I could expand easily to a 4 bedroom, anyone want to subsidize me?  

Just for myself, I couldn't have that amount of stuff in a home to maintain. So you must be quite an organized, neat person to want to have this amount of stuff.

[XMcShiftersonX]

A year is a long time. My house is my sanctuary, and I don't do well with things displaced within it. They were doing construction in and around our condo for the last 3 months, and I thought I was going to have a mental break. For me, the questions would be, am I going to be happy with this living arrangement for X amount of time? Why live in misery just to make something work, if it's not really what you want? Are there other options available? I know you've been looking for some time now, and living in a hotel must be hard. I hope something works out soon.

[Trek420]

Location location location. I'd go for ease of commute, errands, shopping, close to public transportation options as well as cycling.

You don't want to spend your life driving to work.

What area feels best to you?