My Prison
I got yet another sign last night that I need to move out of the apartment I’ve lived in for the past 7.5 years. Specifically, as I checked my email last night, I realized that a portion of the carpet in my home office was wet. On further investigation, I discovered that there was some water leakage from the kitchen. I was so disgusted and frustrated by the whole situation. This is not the first time I’ve had water damage in my apartment. Last Christmas a pipe in the apartment above me broke and caused damage in my bedroom. The summer before that, there was a similar problem. It’s one of the reasons I got the management company to replace the entire carpet early spring. I suppose this is what happens when you live in an old building. Of course, it’s not that old. If I had to date it, I’d say circa 1960s. Anyway, as I was throwing out some of the stuff that got wet (mostly papers thank goodness), I came across some of the research I’d done re moving to a apartment/condo in Chicago, another city in the US or possibly somewhere in Europe (ideally London). If you hadn’t guess, I’m totally restless and ready for a change and since I don’t have a husband or kids, I thought I’d explore all options. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet decided where I want to be. Prior to moving to my current apartment, I had moved 8 times in 24 month. After graduating from college in Ann Arbor, I moved back to Boston; then from Boston to Washington DC for law school. Then back to Boston when my Mom took sick. Then to Chicago (apartment 1) after my Mom’s death to live with then boyfriend. Since, we broke up two months later, I took a summer sublet to decide if I wanted to stay in Chicago. After sampling most of the summer festivals that Chicago had to offer, I decided I wanted to say and took a year lease at apartment 3 with a wacko roommate. Once my younger sister came to live with me, I moved into apartment 4 and this is where I’ve been since then. So as to be imagined, I didn’t want to move again for quite sometime. However, after all these years, this apartment is starting to feel like my prison. Being the packrat that I am, lord knows how I’m going to get all must stuff out (mostly concerned about my books). But I need to get out, I need to move on. I’m so ready for new beginnings. Now it’s just a matter of where.
Related Posts
Finding Self
I absolutely love this manifesto video created by Holstee. It is a call to action…
Splendificacious
I can't stop looking at my forty & fabulous photographs. Does that make me vain?…
August 16, 2003 at 8:45 am
jr
Chicago is a strange place. It may not be the glitter capitol but it’s mostly clean and you can always find a job here. I’ve left several times only to end up back here. May I suggest that a change of address within the city my give you a new outlook.
August 16, 2003 at 2:25 am
Bink
I too live in Chicago and have been thinking about moving. That phase “new beginnings” sounds so exciting and sparkly when said. I am thinking about Atlanta, parts of TX (major cities) and the Washington, D.C. metro area. Where are you contemplating?
August 15, 2003 at 6:58 pm
bfap
You need to buy something. I live a little north of you and prices for a 1 bedroom condo near the red line are around 150-180 thousand dollars.
August 15, 2003 at 6:54 pm
amit
WOW…how exciting! Someone with few “ties” such as yourself, has the whole world just waiting to be explored. Be brave and even “reckless”, for its not the things you DO in your life that you really regret…it’s the things you DON’T do!
August 15, 2003 at 1:21 pm
Nichelle
Hello,
I hope that you find a wonderful place to live. I know how it feels to want a change. About two years ago, my husband and I were living what most people would consider to be a wonderful life in the Washington, DC area. I woke up one day and thought “Is this all that life has to offer?” About a month later, we both quit our jobs, put our house up for sale, and went to Paris. Paris has about 100,000 Americans. We stayed there for about 2 months and decided to make our home in Chicago.
Why Chicago? Because we visited once and really loved it. If I could give you one word of advice: Don’t select a location just because you had a wonderful time while on vacation. It is very deceiving.
Well, we settled into an apartment in the heart of downtown Chicago. During my stay there, a pipe burst and flooded the second bedroom that I was using as an office. Many of my books and clothes were ruined and I was very perturbed because we were paying tons of money to live there. But what can you do, things happen!
I too am ready for another change because although Chicago is great, I’m looking for something a little different and more diverse.
I have researched moving overseas, however, in England, Belgium, France, etc., it seems to be hard to get a job legally unless your employer sponsors you or you are a EU citizen. However, there’s always the back door (i.e., work until your Visa expires, take a trip out of the country for the weekend, and come back in and do it all over again. JUST KIDDING:)
Best Wishes!!!
August 15, 2003 at 11:13 am
serenity
Come to Houston with me!
I know how you feel about the whole moving all the time and bad apartment situations. Ugh! But they make for good stories later.
I guess your first step is to figure out what you really like and can’t live without. (ie: scenery, weather, population, etc.)
Best of luck finding the new location that makes you happy! It’s a little bit scary but it’s a lot of fun!