We Might Be Moving!

Yes, again. Can you believe it? Neither can I.

Our apartment building offers a "relocation guarantee," which means that at any point during our lease term (but only one time), we can move within their properties for no penalty. They'll just restart our lease in a new apartment. We had this in mind when we first moved in, because although we loved the building and location of our apartment, the actual unit itself left a bit to be desired. But, it was basically our only one-bedroom option in this building, so we decided to take it with the mindset that we could always move into a better unit if something opened up.

And something has opened up!

There's an apartment now for about the same cost per month as our current apartment. It's on the tenth floor (we're currently on the eighth), and it has some things that we would really want in an apartment. Actually, it has nearly everything. It has a pass-thru kitchen like our old apartment in DC did, which we loved. It has larger closets, which is a big-time plus in our tiny, storage-challenged New York world. But the best part is THE VIEW. The big, long window that stretches across the living and dining rooms, that faces east overlooking Manhattan. From that window (and the bedroom window too, in fact) you can see numerous Manhattan landmarks, including the Empire State building and...get this!....the New Year's Eve Ball. Yes, we could actually see the ball drop from our living room if we lived there. Why hello there, Mr. Super Warm and Comfortable New Year's Eve 2010. Oh, how I've longed to meet you.

So those are the pros. Naturally, there are cons. One is that the living room is somewhat awkwardly shaped, so there's a very good chance - rather, a probability - that all of our living room furniture won't fit in there. Certainly not neatly, at least. It will take some creative furniture arranging to make it look decent, and will probably ultimately lead to some new furniture purchases. Our couch, which we got used for cheap back in DC, is just too darn big. I love how big it is for lounging on and for accommodating overnight guests, but it's just not New York-sized. So, it might need to be replaced. Not that that's a bad thing...we had planned to get nicer furniture over time anyway, and this would just force our hand a bit.

The other con is the big one. WE HAVE TO MOVE. Yuck. Packing. Moving furniture. Arranging furniture. Unpacking. Hanging pictures. Changing our address. Setting up cable. Etc, etc. All those dreadful tasks we just did in August will have to be re-done. But, when it's done, we'd have a super-snazzy apartment. So is it worth it?

Care to take a look at the potential new W. household? Let's start with the floorplan:


Below are a couple pics of the nighttime view from the living room window.

Looking southeast

Looking east

And because those pictures don't even do it justice, here's a video of the view:

And last but not least, a video of the whole apartment. It starts from the front door and heads in past the kitchen to the dining area then living room, then into the bedroom. Also, in case you're curious, that clicky-clacky noise you hear in the background is Achilles prancing about on the hard-wood floor.

So what do you think? Is the view worth the hassle of moving?

I'll keep you posted!