We've DOWNSIZED - moving closer to the beach ain't all that bad!

We've DOWNSIZED - we moved out of our 3bed/2bath 2,000sq.ft. house with garage and backyard to a 2bed/2bath 950 sq.ft. apartment right on the beach.

WHY?
Well, once your rent creeps up on $4,100/month and you realize you are working to live and saying "no" more than you'd like to fun stuff like vacations, you end up with quite a unique perspective. Not only the rent but the utility bills to heat/cool a house that big, the maid service to clean a house that big, and the hours we spent weekly taking care of such a large front/backyard... none of it felt worth it. So, after 5 years in that house, and with Emily and Nolan both changing schools anyway, it was the perfect time to say "good-bye" to being a slave to someone else.

WHERE?
Once David and I decided we didn't just want to move to a cheaper house, that we didn't want a single family home at all, we directed our search to townhouse and apartments. They require way less maintenance and are about half the cost of a single family home!

Our must-have list:
One-site laundry - no driving to a laundry mat!
Assigned parking - he works late, untraditional hours, so a designated parking place was essential
A great layout with good separation between bedrooms
2 bathrooms
A porch/balcony to store all our stuff
A pool

Our wish list:
Big kitchen
Quiet, small building with long-term tenants
LARGE living spaces - small bedrooms didn't matter

I narrowed it down to two apartment complexes pretty quickly, as not many have a pool, assigned parking, and great layouts, and as soon as I toured the place we ended up in, I knew it was "the one". We got everything on our must-have and wish lists PLUS our building has 20+ year tenants, all who are super clean, quiet, and respectful, and it's located on a less busier piece of the beach.

WHEN?
We moved in July 21st, just before our family vacation to Maui this summer. We've been here almost 6 months now.

David and I both worried a bit about living in such small space compared to what we've been accustomed to but he's gone at work all day, the kids are gone at school, and we are outside or doing things on weekends so, it's not like a huge chunk of time is being spent cooped up indoors, anyway. When we are home, the kids spend way more time playing in their rooms than they ever did in our last two houses or we are eating diner together at the table or watching a movie together in the living room.

Not having a garage and driveway means David can no longer work on our cars himself (I've never paid for brakes or tire repair nor an oil change!) and we have to use one of three shared laundry rooms; however, with more than one washer and dryer, we get all our laundry done all at once so, it's kind of a bonus!

I'd say so far, so good! And, with all the financial freedom we have, it just means more fun, more family vacations, more savings, and less stress all the way around.