On the move

After the Big Move here - for a long time - I was unable to deal with the thought of moving again. It wasn't just that we'd made an international move with a newborn and preschooler, but only months prior to that, we'd had to move house in Sydney. I was 35 weeks pregnant with Miss Pie and Sydney was one hot bath of humidity - or maybe it was my pregnancy.

At any rate, I was in no hurry to move again for a while.

The apartment we found here ticked most of our boxes. Fridge, washing machine and dryer included; open living space; outside patio space for the kids to play; no staircases (I sensed that lugging bags of shopping up from the underground parking, along with a young baby and stroller was going to be complicated enough - let alone having extra flights of steps to deal with). The complex is in a convenient location - J cycles to work most days, and there is a supermarket on the next block. It doesn't feel like we live in an apartment because in the complex, all all the apartments have their own entrances - even the upstairs ones. There are no grimy hallways, just paved walkways and gardens.

So far, so good... but not completely.

Our apartment - being on the ground level - is located immediately adjacent to one of the main security gates into the complex. People slam that motherfucking gate from 6 am most mornings, as they leave for work. Consequently, the Faery and Miss Pie start the day early. As for Friday and Saturday nights, it gets pretty noisy out the front too. Even more annoying is the number of visitors (and residents) who think it's perfectly acceptable to call out over the gate for one of us to come open it, like it's our duty. Umm, no. I've become pretty good at ignoring unfamiliar faces at that gate.

We're a little bit over the constant human traffic past our place and lack of privacy (the guest parking is right beneath us, and the lift is just on the other side of the gate). Of all the various buildings in this complex, we ended up in the busiest section.

We're more than a little bit over our sleep's quality being dependent on the upstairs neighbours. Their living room is directly above our bedroom, and their front door and stair case is right next to the girls' bedroom. Whether they're gangsters (true story) or hyenas (also true), we haven't had much luck.

Time for a change, then.

We've been keeping our eyes open for different place within the same complex, but didn't want to pay a whole lot more than we do now. We figured there was no rush, and that when the right place came along, we'd move.

Two weeks ago, we found it - ready to move in at the end of June. It's in a much quieter section of the complex. It has its own external flight of steps (it's above a ground floor apartment) and has two levels. One of the other reasons we wanted a change is that, currently, the girls' bedroom is right next to our living room. The idea of entertaining friends in the evenings has always been a bit daunting - as if we'd be disturbing the girls. The new apartment layout means our bedrooms are upstairs, away from the living space.

(I just need to find some friends to entertain now - joking)

We'll still have a patio, which will be smaller... but at least it's private. We won't have any noisy morons above our bedrooms to keep us awake. Also, now that Miss Pie is bigger, the idea of stairs isn't scary any more. The stroller and groceries are still going to be a pain, but we'll manage. And bonus? A truck will not be required for the move. Just a shitload of going back and forth with some rented trolleys. A few mates to help with the furniture, and hopefully it won't be too bad.

Incredibly, it'll only be $40 a month extra - despite having being almost 200 square feet bigger (whatever the hell that is in metric).

I'm a little amazed at the amount of stuff we've accrued in our two years here. Some serious spring cleaning is order, which I've started making inroads into - trying not to feel too mean for throwing out three large bags' worth of prechool artwork... and counting.

I'm looking forward to being in a bigger, quieter apartment... but I still hate moving. Desperately wishing there was a cheat sheet for it, or at the very least, some family members to materialise out of thin air and whisk the girls away for a day or two.

Luckily, I have the knowledge that we've survived much bigger moves.

It's going to be fine.