What I Want In A Home

Chase and I moved to Philadelphia in 2009 with little money and zero knowledge of the city.  We found our first place having only 1.5 days to look and less than 2 weeks before our wedding. It was an oppressively hot July day, and after trekking up 3 flights of stairs to finally see an apartment that seemed livable, we signed the lease and were flooded with relief.  Somehow in the five minutes the realtor took us through the 900 square feet of space, I didn’t notice the popcorn ceilings, the lack of air in the third floor walkup, the teeny tiny bathroom with zero storage, or the gally kitchen with a refrigerator that belonged in a dollhouse. We spent a full year in that apartment before moving, and although it wasn’t an easy year for many reasons, I will always look back on it with happy memories.

During my search of over 30 possible future cities to move next year, I have been longingly looking at listings showing beautiful apartments with tall windows and old hardwood floors, green spaces in the back and multiple bathrooms. I allow myself to dream when I am grumble over our lack of entertaining space (“No we can’t have friends to dinner; where would they sit?!”) and miniscule closets. Someday I will have a spare bedroom.  Someday I will be able to let my cats wander through our fenced-in yard.  It seems that HGTV has convinced us as Americans that we all need 2,000 square feet, a stainless steel kitchen and mass acreage in our backyards.  A post on For Me For You has challenged my thinking and allows me to consider moving to another apartment similar to the one we are currently in. My husband recently admitted to me that he never wants a large home because he enjoys the closeness we have in our one bedroom. We rarely have to yell for one another, our space is not cluttered and easy to clean, and things are always less lonely when you actually feel the presence of the person you live with. I have begun to picture a future with my husband (and perhaps kids!) in a little bungalow with just enough space for us to be comfortable.  I believe it is more important to live in a desirable location and in a happy home than one that is aesthetically perfect and inappropriately sized.