I suppose this is inevitable. One’s shelter is inextricably tied to any conversation regarding family. Today, I want to talk about the factors that I am considering with the new place we are going to be renting.
I admit without a doubt that with the space we are going to use, we are definitely overpaying for our condo unit. A one-bedroom condo unit also limits our household’s absorptive capacity in terms of being able to provide a living space for a nanny, in-laws, or any guests for that matter. All in all, given traditional views of the house meant to start a family, our new place will definitely fall short from ideal.
But I have always believed that one’s living space should be defined by the life one has to lead, not the other way around. We have agreed on what kind of life it would be, what kind of life we would want, at least for the next two or three years. That life will most probably ….
- involve constant travel for both of us, even when we have a baby already. Nature of mine and Pong’s work involve traveling. On times that we will both be out, I have an aunt or my mom to leave my baby to. Our house should be easy to leave as well. Condo units tend to be more secure than houses left unattended for days.
- entail continuing to deal with our lack of domestic skills. One year of being together and we guiltily did not improve on any major house chores we need to supposedly learn to survive – i.e. cooking, ironing, laundry, cleaning, and buying grocery. Living in an area full of klutzes like us (our neighbors are full of call center night owls and yuppies like us) provide us a wide, wide array of food places to choose from for breakfast, lunch, dinner, even our walk-abouts at night. All of these places are very, very near. Our options run from the lowly sidewalk carinderia, the enterprising neighbors who sell viands, the canteens from the dozens of corporate buildings around the village (my building included), the food joints generously distributed around the vicinity, and of course, all the food places found in three huge malls 10 minutes walk away from our place. They say cooking at home is supposed to be cheaper, but it has not been the case for us. I think it is only cheaper if you are willing to eat the same meal for three days in a row. Other than that, restaurants can still manage food more efficiently than we do.
- continue working our asses off. We will face our 2009 with finally, only one credit card debt left to deal with. We are finally saving up. We already have some money for emergencies. Nonetheless, we are still far from our target of financial security. Balancing that with raising a baby involves maximizing time. I am making my life much, much easier by being 5 minutes away from the office. I do not have to deal with the nagging guilt of being a working mom. I can see my baby any time of the day. I can take off during breaks and down time so I can be with my kid. It is easy for me to go home during emergencies.
- continue living a streamlined lifestyle. Aside from the rent, I wanted to make this move because I believe that it will reduce all our other costs. We are taking off my commuting costs. Since I am also late for work most of the time because I hated the commute, we are lessening my deductions from being late. This significantly decreases Pong’s commuting costs as well. Add the convenience of access to cheap food anytime. Also, all our entertainment needs are within walking distance. Coffee places, dvd shops, quaint boutiques, friends who work in the area, etc. take away cab costs. We can even invite friends over for coffee to make it cheaper.
- living a streamlined lifestyle (part 2). The amount of space we have automatically limits the stuff we can bring in. This means we will not be spending on furnishings. So far, from what we have agreed to, we are only left with four household chores – cleaning up, buying takeout, bringing laundry to the cleaners, and washing the dishes. Taking care of the baby will already be taxing enough. We need to make our lives as easy as possible to make this work.
- mean starting out as a family. Rooms are intended to give privacy. They are also meant to divide people. This is not the time to start growing apart. This is the time to grow together. I know that our living space will not allow for other people to join in, but I never intended them to be a part of it anyway. We will have friends and relatives who will want to help and they are welcomed to do so. But this kind of setting means that it only has space for the three of us, as I believe it should be. In the end, we can only have helpers but for this phase in our lives, it is just us.
So these are our the things that will constitute our lives for the next few years. We value mobility, proximity to work, access to cheap food places, access to entertainment, low maintenance, and a place that will allow us to grow together as a family.
