It looks like there's a lot of change going on all at once here in K-land. So I was thinking maybe those of us who are moving, getting hitched (or recently been hitched), welcoming yougin's to the world, starting new jobs, leaving old jobs, got a crush or new gf/bf, could (if you're so inclined) state what's old and what's new in your world right here, right now.
Maybe this is dumb. I don't care. I'm starting things off:
OLD
Reggie + Baltimore.
NEW
Reggie + DC...again. Started working this month at Murky Coffee and, as of this weekend, will be moving into Brad's place in Mt. Pleasant in DC.
WHY
Being that I was broke most of the time I was in Baltimore, the notion that "it's cheaper than DC" is really hogwash. It's all circumstantial. Case in point, I'm going to see a $70 decrease in my rent while moving to an equivalent neighborhood. Also I'll be driving less since I'll now have access to a quality mass transit system and therefore won't be spending money on gas just to get to work. (In Baltimore I only worked within walking distance of where I was living for a grand total of about four months.) Also, I work a job where I see a decent amount of tips and therefore will generally always have cash in my pocket. And I'm not totally above getting a second J-O-B.
josh [email] said at 11:57 AM 09-28-2007: baltimore is amazingly cheaper if you want to live alone, i dunno about if you want/need roomates. there is no way i could get a 2 bedroom apartment with a nice view and a huge courtyard in an equivalent neighborhood in DC for $650 a month. nooooooo way. a house with roommates, i'm sure it's doable. but i like living alone.
marcia [email] said at 12:44 PM 09-28-2007: Yeah, Will and I live in a 2 bedroom and it's $2000 a month. We're trying to find another place to move in DC but 2 bedrooms are about $2500-$3000 for an area that is rasonably safe to walk/cycle in. Arlington, here we come (quiet sobbing).
reggie [email] said at 1:13 PM 09-29-2007: Ahh, see I was making a reference as to the dominance of Netflix and stuff. As in DVD's stores are a dying breed.
reggie [email] said at 1:10 PM 09-28-2007: I said it's circumstantial. For MY circumstance I'm better off in DC. Less rent, Metro, slightly closer family, more friends and WAY more movie theaters.
I liked living alone too but being that I was in a new city, only knew a handful of people (and had no girlfriend.) it was a little daunting. A better situation (in retrospect) would have been to move in with roommates, learn the city and THEN move to my own spot. Oh well.
In the end though, I really just don't like Baltimore. Kinda like how really just don't like cold weather. I'm sure both are good for some but not for me.
josh [email] said at 2:40 PM 09-28-2007: well your post seemed to imply that it's circumstantial that rents in bmore are cheaper. i dunno. overall, rents in safe neighborhoods in bmore are cheaper. whats circumstantial is if you can or want to live alone and take advantage of them, is all im saying.
reggie [email] said at 9:34 AM 09-29-2007: Reading it again (and really, just for the sake of argument) at no point in my statement do I say that RENTS are cheaper in DC. If you read the whole comment I refer to other factors benefitting my situation that have nothing to do with rent, i.e. Metro, getting tips, not driving to work. None of these have anything to do with rent but are very much contributing factors to COST OF LIVING, which is what I was referring to.
josh [email] said at 4:45 PM 09-29-2007: yeah but you could get a job at a coffee shop in baltimore too, or anywhere. that has nothing to do with a cost of living comparison. when you lived here, you worked at a job that was in the suburbs and you didnt make tips, sure.
reggie [email] said at 10:39 AM 09-30-2007: So what you're saying is the circumstances under which I was working and living weren't as beneficial as they are with my new situation in DC right?
Hence it all being circumstantial. And as mentioned above, I really didn't like Baltimore all that much.
ed [email] said at 12:01 PM 09-28-2007: OLD AND BUSTED:
Ed in South Florida.
NEW HOTTNESS:
Ed in Anniston, Alabama.
WHY:
I lost my job, which was actually quite a liberating thing. I am now free to move about the country (ding!). But seriously, I'll be moving in to my dad's house. It'll be good for both of us. I will help him remember to take care of himself better, and he'll pretty much force me to do the same. We'll be there for each other, keeping the sometimes crushing loneliness of being a widower at bay.
I'm really looking forward to it for many reasons, including (but not limited to) having four seasons again, having mountains again, and the fact that I'll be in a much better area from which to launch road trips. I'm moving the day after tomorrow. Yay!
brandonA [email] said at 12:51 PM 09-28-2007: OLD:
largely domesticated, mostly hermetic life with my girlfriend. work.
NEW:
largely domesticated, mostly hermetic life with my girlfriend. work.
WHY:
I don't have the energy right now for big changes, and work is not quite boring me enough to generate motivation - I'm still getting more and more different things to do.
(and I propose a modification to the model:)
NEXT:
largely domesticated, mostly hermetic life with my wife. work. maybe a move to new zealand, if her grant comes through.
kara [email] said at 11:31 AM 10-02-2007: thanks! there's more pictures in the flickr (click those photos).. I spraypainted that thing pink.. I painted this other dresser an even brighter pink, it's intense.
