it always works out
Earlier this week I saw someone online refer to having just purchased their “forever home” and I asked myself, “What the fuck is a forever home?”
This makes sense if know that I grew up in a military family. I traipsed across the globe and the United States 10 times before coming to New York in my early 20s. In my 13 years here, I’ve moved seven times with a six-week sublet nestled somewhere in between. That math puts me at about 27ish different moves in my lifetime. When the military pays your bills, you don’t have much choice in the matter, so I learned in my early childhood that randomly having to move somewhere new was just how people in our circumstance lived. The concept of a forever home was never one for me to understand, though as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate the control and autonomy that I have in making these decisions for myself.
I bring this up because on Monday I was informed that my landlord is ending the two year pandemic deal that I’ve had on rent and it will be increasing by an extra $1,700 per month. The minute I read the email, I texted my husband laughed out loud. I mean, this place doesn’t even have a dishwasher! But the landlord says they can get more for our unit, and though we’ve been great tenants, it’s time for us to pay more or move on. Even if I had that extra cash laying around, I would not be spending it on rent. A mortgage, maybe? Padding my emergency fund and investing, sure. More vacations, definitely. But not on an apartment in a building with a rotating cast of Pratt students and again, no dishwasher.
I didn’t imagine myself living in this apartment forever, but I was hoping to get two more years of out it and then skedaddle my way out of city after 15 good ones and try something new. It’s too soon to exit the city before my lease is up in a few months, and I still don’t know where I’d go post-New York. Those two extra years were supposed to buy me time to figure it out!
Anyhow, this abrupt bit of news this week put me in planning mode (aka: HOW CAN I CONTROL THE UNKNOWN). I started scrolling StreetEasy, Zillow, and Craigslist, fully knowing that it was too soon to be looking. But feeling out of control, I wanted to see what the rental market looked like. I wanted to find a hidden gem that would deliver me a perfect apartment that aligned with my move in date to get me off of this anxiety ride.
Of course that’s now how this works, which I knew, and then I had a moment of clarity: I have moved seven times in the city and every time I have found a place to live. Great ones, at that. Why would it be any different this time?
Get this week’s playlist here.
Have a great week, friends.
Meghan
Sorry, I have to: if you know of a great 3 bedroom apartment in Bed-Stuy, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, North Park Slope, Williamsburg, or Greenpoint with an April 1st or May 1st move in, let me know :)