While visiting Charlie in New York last month, I think we both realized how much we love life in a big city. We both love being able to walk and take public transportation. We love the street festivals, the parks, and the people watching. We have plans in the works to move to either Chicago, NYC, or San Francisco next June, and I'm already giddy about the thought of moving. Apartment Therapy has a contest going on right now called small/cool where people send in pictures of their small apartments. It has me dreaming of living in a teeny-tiny 400 sq. ft. apartment...
Luckily, Charlie got to stay in a corporate apartment during his trip. It was a small studio in the financial district with one closet smaller than our entryway coat closet, no central heat or air, and a community laundry room where you had to pay $3.50 to do a tiny load. Most of these things would normally make me cringe, but I couldn't help from keeping myself up at night imagining how I'd decorate and organize it if we lived there.
Even though we love each other dearly, one thing we absolutely will not compromise on is having an actual bedroom with an actual door. We need our time alone. We would ideally also like to have a dishwasher and a washer/dryer. Unfortunately this is a very tall order in NYC, and if you want to live in Manhatten, you can expect to pay a minimum of $3,000 a month. It's pretty much the same scenario in San Fran, so Chicago is looking like the most likely candidate for our future home. Until then I will enjoy our walk-in closets, laundry room, balcony, central heat and air, and parking space.