housing choices, HELP!

[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?

[bmccasland]

The apartment is up in the hills, and I'd have an end unit, but on the bottom. So there'd be people above me.

The house is one block from a freeway and near the airport - jets fly by on a regular basis.

Not knowing who my immediate wall neighbors would be, it might be a toss up on which would be quieter, but for ambient outside quiet - the apartment complex definitely wins.

[badger]

I personally hate communal living. I live in a condo now, and if I can do away with noisy/inconsiderate/unfriendly neighbours, I would. If you're not on the top floor, you'll hear people stomping around upstairs.

Another thing that you may want to consider is: I'm assuming your cats are indoor cats? if they were in a house, would they be tempted to go outside?

I suppose what you could do is try out the house and if you absolutely loathe it, maybe you can at that point look for a spacious apartment. $400/mo is a lot, that's $4,800 a year - you could get a pretty swanky bike for that kind of money!

I feel for you, I hate decision making, too!!

[badgercat]

The apartment is up in the hills, and I'd have an end unit, but on the bottom. So there'd be people above me.

The house is one block from a freeway and near the airport - jets fly by on a regular basis.

Not knowing who my immediate wall neighbors would be, it might be a toss up on which would be quieter, but for ambient outside quiet - the apartment complex definitely wins.

I hadn't realized noise was a concern. I grew up in a house a few blocks from two expressways, a few blocks from train tracks, and basically on a flight path for planes landing at Chicago Midway airport... so ambient noise doesn't really register for me. Just another example of how it's all relative to what you're used to and what makes you (un)comfortable. My parents moved to a less densely populated area a little while back (after spending their first 60+ years in/around Chicago) and found it unsettling at first because it was TOO quiet!

Does reading advice from those of us who leaned towards the house give you "that sinking feeling?" If so--your gut is probably telling you to go with the apartment, and maybe you should follow it. If not, deal with the smaller space, put away that rent differential, and get yourself a fabulous place in a few months that makes both you and the kitties happy.

[ClockworkOrange]

For the sake of 12 months, the cheaper place sounds a good option, then with the money you save you could upgrade and go for a Specialized Allez Sport 27 2011 Road Bike or similar..........

Being realistic, it's only four walls, with the winter coming along it will be cheaper to heat and smaller means LESS HOUSEWORK!

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Clock

PS I shall be sending you my invoice for Consultation fees all in due course.

[pll]

Things I'd consider:

• Location... a freeway and the airport do not sound appealing to me. That's the main downside of the smaller space, with the limited information I have. How is it in terms of windows / light?
• It's only for a year... And Seattle is great -- even in the winter, you can spend time outside, hiking, biking, there is skying within a reasonable distance...
• The opportunity cost. $400 per month is a lot of money. With those savings in one year, you could give yourself a nice vacation, say, biking in Italy... Or a new bike, as Clock suggested.

Simplifying life might be an outcome. The amount of stuff we have is positively correlated to the amount of horizontal space at our disposal. If I got a bigger desk, it will soon be covered with paper.

[emily_in_nc]

I would go with the house. My DH and I have been on a de-cluttering/downsizing and simplifying kick for the past year, and it feels SO good. We've gone from a 4 BR, 2.5 bath house with a 3-car garage and outside shed on 11 acres, but far from everything and a 59-mile round-trip commute for me daily; to a 2 BR/1 BA apt. with no garage, 21-mile round trip commute for me, on the busline, walkable/bikeable to lots of great places, stores, and restaurants, and I'd have to say that our quality of life has improved immensely!

Sure, there are things I don't particularly love about apt. living (having to dress to take our dog out each morning rather than just letting her out back into the fenced area in my jammies being high on the list), but overall, having a smaller place to clean and take care of is a huge plus, as is being closer to everything. Having a shorter commute to work has given me more time every single weekday to do things I'd rather be doing than wasting time driving and/or sitting in traffic. Having less stuff has been liberating and enlightening too!

In our 1100 sq. foot apt. we have 6 bikes, other hobby stuff, and the three of us (DH, doggie, and me), and we're doing just grand. If I were single, I'd live in an even smaller space. I feel like I used to be owned by "stuff", and now I feel much more in control of everything, somehow. But that's just me - everyone is different, and the noise of the house for you might indeed be enough of a negative to rule it out. Is there another apartment option closer to your work and less $, by any chance?

Like someone said, don't count on your house selling anytime soon. I don't think many people are moving to the Gulf these days. If Katrina wasn't enough, the oil spill has certainly depressed the market there even more. If it does sell; great, then you can get your dream place, but until then, I'd go for the less expensive option, even if it means living out of Rubbermaid containers for awhile.

Good luck!