The Search for A Better Living Arrangement Continues

Update: We aren't moving to JC, at least not right away. I loved the apartment, Matt loved the apartment, and the place is amazing, but every time we talked to them the price went up $50! This is mainly because we are approaching crazy season in NYC - from May 1 to mid-Aug, leases are up and people are moving all over the place, so apartments move super fast and prices go up.

And my internal debate on where to move continues - close to Matt's work or close to the kids' school? The kids' school is actually a more stable place, because if Matt's office gets moved again back to Midtown we'll still be convenient to it. But in Jersey City we can get so much more out of the money, and it'd be nice to have Matt home for dinner more often.

So I've finally figured this out. If/when we move close to the kids school (in Chelsea or the West Village), it has to be fast and furious. This is how this awful city works. We basically need to have 80% of our stuff packed, and start looking no more than 3 weeks in advance, MAYBE a month, but that's it. The best way to get a good deal is to go direct through the landlords that never use brokers (there are a lot like that, and I've finally figured out how to pin them down). But you can get amazing deals this way.

So it would require that we:

1. Stop being wishy-washy. Landlords don't want to even consider showing the apartment if you're not desperate for a place at the same time they are desperate for a tenant.

2. Pick a date, any date, and tell our current landlord we want out by then.

3. Pack as much of our crap as possible.

4. Determine how much we can really afford for rent.

5. Get all our paperwork needed for application ready in advance.

6. Spend the 3 weeks in advance of the move at the Starbucks next to the school and search online, call landlords, and view apartments all day long.

In Jersey City, it's just a matter of watching the prices online at apartment complexes we are interested in, and probably still packing most of our stuff so we can pick up and move if we want to.

Meanwhile, Patrick continues to make every commute pure torture, having recently added stubbornness and playfulness to an incredibly slow pace.

This is all so frustrating!!!