Moving on up (or down)

Gina and I got some great news a few weeks ago that I've been meaning to post about, but I've been out of town for what feels like six years (it was a week). We are moving from our studio into a ONE BEDROOM in our building. That's right, we're saying goodbye to The Treehouse, and hello to the lap of luxury.

The move is just down one floor and towards the front of the building. We're losing our view and a bit of our seclusion (we're way in the back now - no one bothers us), but we're gaining a slightly bigger kitchen with BUILT-INS, a slightly bigger bathroom, and A BEDROOM. Our rent is increasing very nominally, which leads me to believe we're moving into the cheapest one bedroom in Hollywood.

This is a very meaningful move for us. It's a very grown-up apartment compared to what we have now, although that's not saying much. For me, this is the first apartment I haven't chose out of necessity. That is, ever since I moved here seven years ago, I've always lived in places solely because I can afford them. Even when I lived in my studio five years ago, I chose that one because I had a friend in the building. The apartment was not ideal at all - it had the worst parking situation I've ever had to deal with. But I could afford it, and that's all that mattered. Besides that place, I've always had roommates. The Treehouse has been great, but the lack of space is... not okay anymore for me. As a friend of gina's said, "A relationship needs doors." And I think it's true, if for no other reason than I'm an early riser and gina's a night owl. Now we can leave the other sleep and watch TV or do whatever in the OTHER ROOM!! And on top of all of this, we can actually invite people over for dinner, poker nights, movie nights, game nights, group sex, whatever!!

It's also meaningful for us because we set a date of end of this year to start thinking about having children, and now we'll be in a place that if we feel like we're ready, we can manage it. We both agree it's okay to have a baby in a one bedroom, as long as there's a plan to move into something bigger soon after, which there already is. The homebuying time frame is about a year to a year and a half from now, ideally. We've done what we thought was impossible: we found a one bedroom that will allow an easy move and cheap rent, which will keep us on our financial track. This might not seem tough to a lot of people, but any readers living in Los Angeles know this is not an easy task. This makes me think we can do anything, as long as we do it together.

Now, if only I can convince her that we should buy an actual couch instead of furnishing the living room with the two futons we own...

Please stay tuned for before and after photos