I've lived in this neighbourhood my entire life.
So, you ask, why would I want to move?
Reason # 1
Smog. As nice as our neighbourhood is, we live a block away from this:
It's one of the only expressways that runs north-south across the city. Very busy. Very dirty. I swear I could dust every day and I still couldn't keep up. Especially in the summer.
Reason # 2
The lack of space. I can't open my dresser drawers fully because they hit the bed. Move the bed over you suggest? Then my husband wouldn't get to open his drawers at all (insert lewd remark here- hey oh!). Our bedroom shares the space with the iguana cage, an amp, a guitar, a rack full of clothes since we lost our closet to Alex, and, wait for it, an oscilloscope. Don't ask. I had to pack some books away just to get my sewing machine out in the open where I could use it.
Reason # 3
Laundry. Oh the dreams I have of owning a washer and dryer. Right now if mister is awake it takes about 20 minutes of meandering (hello Blogger spellcheck meandering is too a WORD) downstairs to put the stuff into the dryer. Even longer if we have to bring the clothes back upstairs. That and don't get me started on the washer lineups (after having just dragged Alex downstairs with the laundry).
Seriously, how sexy is this?
Reason # 4
Noisy Upstairs Neighbours. Also known as Man Boom Up-up. Lifting weights in Alex's room at 10:30 at night. Up stomping around at 1-2-3-4 am. Serious screaming matches with his girlfriend. Even putting the sound on his computer full blast so I can hear everytime someone sends him a message on Google Chat. I hate him. I called the landlady building manager and she said she would speak to him. He got louder. I hate him.
Reason # 5
Parking. We have alternate sides here on our street. No parking on Mondays or Thursday from 10-11am or Tuedays and Fridays on the other side from 1-2pm. Plus there's reserved parking, so only permits allowed. Plus there's a school zone, so no parking there. There's also a large apartment building across the street that has limited indoor parking. And when it snows? All bets are off. Husband regularly parks 2 blocks away because there's only houses on one side of the street (across the street from the expressway) but parking on both sides. Oh and did I mention he takes the metro to work?
Reason # 6
Kitchen space. Seperate from general lack of space. It's to the point where I have to limit how many groceries I buy because nothing fits. I have to eyeball a box of cereal to see if it will fit in the cupboard. Sometimes I fail and the cereal has to live on its side. I don't have a single square of counter space that Alex can't reach. No fruit is safe. The toaster needs to be unplugged. I have to chop vegetables on the stove because it's high enough.
Reason # 7
The Junkies. This is a new one. They've started hanging out in the unlocked front lobby of the building. Not even the middle of the night. Sometimes at 6 or 7 pm. They're nice enough to leave their needles behind. The owner is trying to do something about it but it means moving the intercom outside and putting a new lock on the door. Tricky for a building that's 80 years old.
Reason # 8
Grass. The park three blocks away is very nice. Big playground. Super fun water park. It would still be nice to have a patch of grass that Alex could play on. Something of our own. Or at least something the neighbourhood dogs didn't have access to.
So why do we stay? Rent. We've been here so long, and our rent only goes up about 10$ a year. So if we move that will be a rent increase of at least 300-400$ a month. Gulp! Sure we'll get some of the benefits, but it makes us pause and say "should we stay one more year?"
