Just when I turned 30, I moved to the Washington, DC area to look for a new job. I had just gotten out of a serious relationship and was finally moving out of the small town where I had grown up. I was ready to start a new chapter of my life and eager to
Just when I turned 30, I moved to the Washington, DC area to look for a new job. I had just gotten out of a serious relationship and was finally moving out of the small town where I had grown up. I was ready to start a new chapter of my life and eager to embrace a metropolitan lifestyle.
For my apartment search, I made a spreadsheet with my top considerations for my ideal bachelorette pad, including amenities like pool, gym, balcony, in-unit washer and dryer, and views. I also wanted it to be within a reasonable distance of a subway station.
I found a 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartment that had it all, complete with a balcony overlooking the pool and Rock Creek Park. My balcony faced east and in the morning I was greeted by magnificent sunrises. For me, my place was perfect.
Just a year later, I would surprise myself by walking away from the apartment that ticked all my boxes for something that would have scored very low on my spreadsheet.
After moving to Washington, DC, the author found an apartment that ticked all her boxes, including amenities like a balcony and a pool. Courtesy of Renate Flanagan.
My time in the single life didn’t last long.
After moving to the city, I dove into the dating world. To my surprise, I met a handsome guy who soon became my boyfriend, about a month after moving into my apartment. His apartment was in DC, less than 10 miles from mine. Before going to each other’s house, we talked about our apartments on the phone. I told him about watching the sunrise while drinking coffee on my balcony. “That sounds amazing,” he said, “I have a view of a building and a tree.”
I mentioned that I had some extravagant furniture that belonged to my grandparents. Before moving to DC, my boyfriend had been living in another country and didn’t bring much with him. He described his apartment as “minimalist” and admitted that it gave off “American Psycho vibes.” His furniture, he said, largely came from people in his building who were moving out.
Merging a bachelorette party and a bachelor pad
Not long after we started dating, we were spending time at each other’s houses regularly. During the first year of our relationship, we realized that we had something special and wanted to live together with the intention of getting married and starting a family. In the end we did both.
The next question was: where should we live? Looking for a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom place seemed like the obvious choice, since we were both working from home due to the pandemic, had future plans to have a baby, and I was worried about sharing a bathroom with a guy.
When we began our search, we quickly realized that a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment with our list of must-haves was almost as expensive, if not more, than paying for our two individual apartments. While our motivation for moving in together wasn’t financial, the thought of paying more to live together was difficult to stomach.
I had to give up a lot
Then my boyfriend suggested something that seemed outlandish. What happens if I move into your 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment? It was in a better location, but her house didn’t have a balcony or washer-dryer in the unit. If we didn’t like it, it had a month-to-month lease, so we could move somewhere else whenever we wanted.
The author said they converted a dining room into a daycare once their son was born. Courtesy of Renate Flanagan.
Five years and a toddler later, we’re still in the same apartment my husband had when we met, but now it’s filled with my furniture. In the end, a good location and flexible layout allowed us to reconfigure a dining room into a workstation and later into a nursery.
Sure, I miss having a washer-dryer in the unit, but not enough to consider moving. At least not yet. While a balcony and second bathroom would be nice, it’s not worth the extra $1,700 a month we’d pay to have a larger place in our same building.
The author said she has been able to make her husband’s apartment, which they now share with their son, feel like home by adding her own furniture. Courtesy of Renate Flanagan.
We would prefer to use the money we are saving on housing to allocate it to our long-term financial goals, going out on the city or traveling. I’m glad we kept an open mind during our apartment search as a couple. Our living situation may seem unconventional to some, but it works for us and allows us to raise our son in a prime location in the city while still having disposable income for fun activities.