Is it Time to Move?

As most of you know, we live in a one-bedroom apartment in the city. We love it. It feels like home and we feel so blessed to live here. Have I ever give you a tour? No, well, maybe that will be my next post! Watch for it.

Anyway, as William approaches his first birthday, we've been talking more about our space and our needs. There are pros and cons for both staying and moving and our feelings about what we can handle seems to change everyday.

Yesterday we looked at a two-bedroom place for the first time since starting to talk about it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't "it." It was good to see it. It took our conversation to the next level. And we decided that we aren't ready to move quite yet. (This owner wanted to have someone move in on Sept. 1!)

If you've read anything about living in San Francisco lately, you know the cost of living here has gone up at least 30% over the past couple of years. There's a lot of demand for housing, but not a lot available. So, our biggest concern and reason for not moving is cost. Our rent would most likely double.

Q: What would we need to be willing to do in order to stay in our current apartment?

A: Convert our living room to our bedroom and give William the bedroom. This would mean sleeping near a very busy and loud street. It would also mean putting an end to hosting our small group each week (because there is a bed in our living room).

Q: What else is holding me back from moving?

A: Moving to another part of city is like moving to a different town entirely. There's new grocery stores to get used to, new routes to learn, new community to get to know. There is also the fear that our current community would change. Maybe we live too far away to see each other often. Maybe we wouldn't be able to make it to our church every week (adding commute time to William's already nap-delayed day). So I guess there is a fear of losing things I really love.

There is also a fear that our new place wouldn't be as "homey" as our current place. Will the kitchen be nice/bigger than our current kitchen? Will the bathroom be well designed? (The place we looked at yesterday was so bizarre. A full-size tub with no shower head and then a shower stall that was 2'x2'.. . and so grimy).

Q: What are the pros to moving to a two-bedroom?

A: William would have his own room and we could sleep better!

Many of the positives depend on finding the right place:  It would have more space/amenities  (i.e: bigger kitchen, a back yard, parking, laundry in the unit). It could be a quieter neighborhood, Chris's commute could be shorter, it could still be large enough to host larger dinners and be close enough to the places we love. Moving could be a very good thing -- if we found the right place.

Timing has a lot to do with it. How do we know when the right time to move is? How long can we/should we share a room with William?

I have a lot of questions. Some days, I'm ready to move "now." Other days, I think we can wait another year. I have no doubt that God will provide for us when the time comes. He has not failed to provide for us since we made the jump four and half years ago to live here. I praise Him for that every day! It will take more prayer and more faith to make the next move, too.

How have you known it was time to make a move? Whether you moved across town, across the state, or world. Please share!

As most of you know, we live in a one-bedroom apartment in the city. We love it. It feels like home and we feel so blessed to live here. Have I ever give you a tour? No, well, maybe that will be my next post! Watch for it.

Anyway, as William approaches his first birthday, we've been talking more about our space and our needs. There are pros and cons for both staying and moving and our feelings about what we can handle seems to change everyday.

Yesterday we looked at a two-bedroom place for the first time since starting to talk about it. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't "it." It was good to see it. It took our conversation to the next level. And we decided that we aren't ready to move quite yet. (This owner wanted to have someone move in on Sept. 1!)

If you've read anything about living in San Francisco lately, you know the cost of living here has gone up at least 30% over the past couple of years. There's a lot of demand for housing, but not a lot available. So, our biggest concern and reason for not moving is cost. Our rent would most likely double.

Q: What would we need to be willing to do in order to stay in our current apartment?

A: Convert our living room to our bedroom and give William the bedroom. This would mean sleeping near a very busy and loud street. It would also mean putting an end to hosting our small group each week (because there is a bed in our living room).

Q: What else is holding me back from moving?

A: Moving to another part of city is like moving to a different town entirely. There's new grocery stores to get used to, new routes to learn, new community to get to know. There is also the fear that our current community would change. Maybe we live too far away to see each other often. Maybe we wouldn't be able to make it to our church every week (adding commute time to William's already nap-delayed day). So I guess there is a fear of losing things I really love.

There is also a fear that our new place wouldn't be as "homey" as our current place. Will the kitchen be nice/bigger than our current kitchen? Will the bathroom be well designed? (The place we looked at yesterday was so bizarre. A full-size tub with no shower head and then a shower stall that was 2'x2'.. . and so grimy).

Q: What are the pros to moving to a two-bedroom?

A: William would have his own room and we could sleep better!

Many of the positives depend on finding the right place:  It would have more space/amenities  (i.e: bigger kitchen, a back yard, parking, laundry in the unit). It could be a quieter neighborhood, Chris's commute could be shorter, it could still be large enough to host larger dinners and be close enough to the places we love. Moving could be a very good thing -- if we found the right place.

Timing has a lot to do with it. How do we know when the right time to move is? How long can we/should we share a room with William?

I have a lot of questions. Some days, I'm ready to move "now." Other days, I think we can wait another year. I have no doubt that God will provide for us when the time comes. He has not failed to provide for us since we made the jump four and half years ago to live here. I praise Him for that every day! It will take more prayer and more faith to make the next move, too.

How have you known it was time to make a move? Whether you moved across town, across the state, or world. Please share!