signing lease tomorrow!

[klo1335]

Well everyone, wish me luck. I am signing the lease on my new apartment tomorrow! This will be my first apartment. I have been living at home for a year since I graduated from college. At first it wasn't so bad but it just got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. Lucky for me, one of my sorority sisters was looking at moving to the Philly area and I suggested that we look for a place together. And everything worked out wonderful. We have an awesome 3rd floor 2bd 2bath w/ a balcony. I just hope everything works out. Talk to everyone later :)

[pisces2473]

Congrats Klo!!! That's great--having a roommate that you know will be good...and living on your own should be fun too. Good luck!

[coll214]

Good luck Klo :)! there's nothing better than coming home that first time knowing it's your own place and you have no one to answer to but yourself :D !!

[pisces2473]

The only thing that's better about coming home to your own place than what Coll said is when the magic cleaning fairies came in while you were out and cleaned up your place, did the dishes/laundry and made you dinner ;)

[coll214]

You have magic fairies?? no fair :p !! LOL unfortunately my shoes stay wherever i put them and the dishes aren't going to get done unless i do them!:)

[klo1335]

Can I just tell you all how excited I am to be able to come home after work...take my shoes off...and not hear about a million times "Katie, put your shoes away." Just leave them there until I put them on next :)

[coll214]

I know! my mother and sister used to constantly tell me that. now sometimes if i know they are coming over i leave them out just to annoy them :twisted: . then my sister proceeds to put them away. LOL

[pisces2473]

Wait, I'm the only one with fairies? I'll have to bring them to the Northeast get-together and share with everyone :p I wish I had someone around to tell me to pick up after myself--I'm always being lazy about things since I'm the only one who has to look at it, lol. I should ask my mom to make more surprise visits and then she can yell at me! LOL :)

[libscigrl]

Good luck, Klo!:) Rooming with someone you know sounds good.

I'm looking for my first apt myself, with 2 current options: room with someone I don't know but who seems nice and seems to have similar interests in a great 2/2 TH (townhouse), or a one bdrm that's small but has a known good price, good landlord and it has character (wood floor, near the beach, etc). Maybe a no brainer for some but for various reasons I'm finding it hard to decide.

Anyway, I"m looking forward to being on my own, having my own space, etc. I have no fairies to wash my dishes or clothes, but having no one to nag me about getting them done sounds nice :)

[klo1335]

My new apartment is wonderful! It is so nice to be out on your own w/o having to deal with my family every single day. I mean, I love them and all...but sometimes it just gets to be too much. I can't wait to go out this weekend without having to hear my mom say "now be careful and call me when you get there and when you are on your way home." To her it is just being curtious. But to me it felt like I was being babysat. But everything is great now!

[coll214]

i don't know how your family is klo- but mine still asks about my whereabouts...of course you can always leave out specifics...;) !

libscigrl- I was in the same predicament and chose to live by myself by the beach...it's weird at first, but have definitely come to enjoy it!

[LakeJay]

Hey all
Just wanted to input my two cents for libscgirl in making your decision. I currently live with a good friend of mine in his townhouse where he has set the rent (incl. utilities) for me rather low for the area. I do like being on my own but I must admit that I would probably be happier if I were living alone. But that may just be the way I am. I think you need to take into account that in living with someone else you need to be weary of how they do things and the certain things that they do. Maybe it's being the baby in the family and getting things my way or just being used to how my family does things, but I know there are some things that my roommate/friend does that irk me. So just keep that in mind. Plus having a place by the beach sounds pretty cool. By the way, what ocean or lake are you by?

Thanks,
Jay:green:

[klo1335]

I have to disagree with LakeJay. I would hate to live by myself. My roommate is a friend of mine from college, and if there are times I just need to be by myself or something, I will go fro a run or just lock myself in my room. Living by yourself has to be so boring and lonely. Yeah, sure you like things your way but isn't the whole idea or getting out on your own and growing up the idea that you are going to have to adjust the way you are used to think and adapt to other people? what happnes if you get married and your spouse does something you don't like? I just think that sharing an apartment with someone helps the growing up process.

[LakeJay]

klo1335 - Like I said, I just wanted to give libscgirl something else to think about in making her decision. In terms of being alone, yes that is true I can always get away or lock myself in my room but for me, that can be kind of rude. Plus like I said, it's not like you are going to lock your room the whole time you are there. You are always aware of things such as dishes unwashed, food being eaten and other little things. For me, part of moving out was the independence. If I am correct, a lot of people move to get out from their parents' "rules and regulations" and other nuances. :confused:
In terms of adjusting to my ways and growing and all, I tend to think I did a lot of that in college. I had a lot of different roommates and I was also in a fraternity so trust me when I say, I learned to adjust to people's different ways. And in terms of a spouse, that's apples and oranges. When you are married this is the person you are committed to for life, you chose to marry this person for all their qualities and you are going to continue to work to get through any differences you two should have. Getting out of the house is, at least for me, a year or at the most a two year thing. Please also keep in mind, it's not like we're duking it out every night. It's just something that ways on your mind and for me, if you're looking to be totally independent, you aren't 100% completely with a roommate.

:( I'm sorry if I rambled on. I thought you made a lot of valid points. I just wanted to make sure what I was saying was clear. There are definitely numerous benefits of living with a roommate. I also wanted to let libscgirl know that there are also some things she might want to think about before moving in with someone. Even if they are good friends. Anyways, I better start doing some work.
Have a good day.

Thanks,
Jay:green:

[coll214]

LakeJay-
I'd have to agree with you. I moved out of my mother's house about 8 months ago and am now living by myself. The reason was to be out and completely on my own. I had debated about looking for a roommate, but personally i've known too many people who have had so many problems w/ roommates that were friends first and then the friendship didn't last. the beauty of friends is that if they do something that pisses you off, then you can go home to cool off - at least for me anyway. Plus i'm still a social person and go out w/ friends plenty, so i've come to enjoy my time alone when i'm home. it's peaceful. :p I don't want to live by myself forever, but for now i'm enjoying it.

[andrewx]

I enjoy living alone. Look at it this way: NO FIGHTING OVER THE
TV.

Andrewx

[coll214]

Yeah!! or the bathroom or who ate whose food....

[libscigrl]

Assuming it's still available (I'm tryng to contact the landlord now) I plan to take the 1 bedroom. One deciding factor is that I can pay rent month by month--my job status requires flexibility at the moment. I also like the idea of having my OWN place and doing things how I want them done (or not done, as the case might be).

As LakeJay said, people are brought up doing things certain ways with their families--basic assumptions can become major issues when you live with someone else (e.g., "What?! Why on earth would anyone do ___ that way??!! That's retarded/inconsiderate/rude/insane!").

Indeed, this can be a learning experience that turns you into a more mature and tolerant person. At some point, I would like to try out a roommate situation, as I have not yet (my current situation of living with my boyfriend and his dad is not really the same thing). I'd like to try both, but perhaps it would be better for me to try it after I have experienced life on my own first. Maybe not, as it may just make me more picky :) I do agree with LakeJay that in a roommate situation you may not really be as independent as you would in your own place.

Thanks for all the help! I saw some great ideas and points.

PS--The one bedroom would be near the Atlantic Ocean :)
(to answer LakeJ's question)