Apartment Living - Perks and Attitudes

 

The apartment is coming together and we are feeling great making this move. Thank you all for your encouraging comments. Your positive attitudes are a blessing 😀 

We've had a mixture of responses when we tell people we are downsizing and moving into an apartment. Some outspoken people have flat out said "An APARTMENT?!" You're going to hate it there!" I mean, really? It's a good thing they don't know my opinion about how they are living, huh?

Others have shown genuine excitement over the idea of doing something different; saying they would love to do that one day.

And then there's the "our people" crowd, who have already done what we're doing, as in downsizing to a simpler way of life and loving it. These are the ones we listen to, by the way 😀

Over the months, as we've contemplated this move, we've watched a lot of YouTube videos of retired couples who have sold their homes and downsized into apartments, tiny homes, condos, etc. It's been inspiring to hear their stories and know that, in this phase of life, it's more common than you think, to want to simplify things. 

We are nowhere near retirement, but are seeing this move as more of a pre-retirement set-up. We are setting ourselves up for that season, so that when we get there, we are in much better shape than we have been, especially with all the job loss we've gone through over the past 10 years. 

And the perks are plenty...

We have a pool.

We live in a gated community.

We have valet trash pick up every night at our door.

We no longer have to change a lightbulb, air filter, mow the grass, weed the flower beds, fix the plumbing issues, pay the astronomical amount of property taxes or homeowner's insurance (our renter's insurance cost $16 per month!) and when we want to move next time...we're free to do so and don't have to sell something, pay a realtor, etc. It's a win-win, as far as we're concerned.

As I've told my kids - this is not their season of life. They are in the season of building families, getting excited to buy their first home and having their own backyard to play in. Every family should have that privilege. We did and we have the best memories of those years. I don't want to discourage them from doing any of that. 

But this is the season we are in; the one where we've already done all of that (many times) and it's time for simplifying and letting go of things now, so we can just enjoy living. That's what we're looking forward to.

Change is hard and I get that. But it's part of life. I think those who are adaptable to new seasons will be happier in the long run, because you can't stop changes from coming. What you can do is make choices for the season you're in and put things in place that can help you navigate new seasons with grace, instead of panic. Like the saying goes...don't just let life happen to you; make it happen the way you choose. (or something like that 😅)

The exciting thing is finding people who are also thinking of doing what we're doing and they are genuinely curious about the process. Now we can be the ones to help people along. David has already had that opportunity this week, with an old friend and it was so exciting to think that we could help guide someone with our (very new) experience. 

Well, that's all the news for now. We are getting settled in, boxes are all unpacked, but we still have work to do at the house to get it ready to be sold. I'm dreading dealing with all of that. But at least I get to come home to a tidy, little apartment at the end of the day. 

I hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July! See you soon!

Until Next Time...

Blessings!