Let's Hear It For Apartment Living

The temperature reached ninety degrees today, so that and the fact that it was Sunday made it the perfect time for the Air Conditioning to go out.

But, did I worry? I did not. The work order request was turned in to Maintenance this afternoon and, within an hour, the A/C was humming merrily, pumping lovely cool air. I love my apartment. It is less than half the size of the house I used to live in, and the only complaint I have is a minor one. I could use a walk-in shower instead of a tub with sliding glass doors. I can only hope there is a special circle of Hell for the person or persons who invented those glass doors.

But, never mind. When I decided to sell my house, my friends warned me I would regret it. It has been 10 years and here's a list of my regrets so far:

1. I had to get rid of most of my books.


Now, here's a list of things I don't miss:

1. Yard work, weekly in summer. $$$

2. Painting the outside of the house every few years. $$$

3. The dishwasher that never got the dishes clean, no matter how many times Sears tried to fix it. $$$

4. Having to get a loan every spring from the bank for repairs that were absolutely necessary, such as a new septic tank located in the front yard that suddenly caved in, leaving a gaping hole that could be seen, and smelled, by everyone who drove down the street. Then, I had to hire someone to rebuild my front porch that, over time, pulled farther and farther away from the house, until it left an unsightly, and dangerous, gap that could also be easily seen from the street. $$$$$

5. Property taxes. $$$

6. Insurance. $$$

7. A new water heater. $$$

8. A heating and cooling unit that drove the electric bill into the stratosphere in the winter and the troposphere in the summer. $$$

9. Replacing the roof after spring hail storms every couple of years. $$$

10. Removal of the two gigantic Arborvitaes that flanked the sliding glass doors into the back yard. They were a favorite residence for snakes. $$$

11. Fencing the back yard in the vain hope that it would keep our dog from escaping and knocking up the neighbor's pedigreed poodle at every single possible opportunity. $$$

12. Hordes of kids at Hallowe'en, snatching and grabbing and never saying "thank you". $$

13. And finally, living under the ever-present eyes of the curious (nosy) old lady across the street, peeking out of her front window.

14. Putting out the garbage in time for the pickup, only to have packs of neighborhood dogs rip the bags to shreds that had to be picked up by yours truly. Or Jay, or Kelley.

But, enough. My years in my little apartment have been amazingly stress free. I only wish I had sold that money pit years earlier.

Stay tuned.