should we move?

[Anonymous]

We're a family of 3 (me, DH, 7-month old) in a very expensive area in NOVA. We rent a small one-bedroom apartment. When we moved from out of state 2.5 years ago, we knew little about the area -- we were rushing to find a decent apartment fairly close to DC before DH started grad school.

We'd like a larger apartment as our baby is becoming more mobile. We're not ready to buy a home yet because we plan to leave this area in 1-2 years. Our place feels a bit cramped now, but we make it work. Frankly, we're comfortable. We live in a great neighborhood. Our baby's awesome daycare is less than a mile away from home.

If we move to a larger apartment in the same neighborhood, we're certainly going to pay a lot more in rent than we do now. If we move farther out to a cheaper neighborhood, we'll increase our commute times between home/work/daycare/school. I know long commuting is the "norm" in this area, but more time on the road = less quality time with family. Family time is important to us.

WWYD? Is it worth the costs and headache of moving for the sake of more space, or should we continue to make it work until we move out of the area or buy? DH and I can't reach an agreement on this.

[Anonymous]

I would stay where you are and just save the money. At that age it isn't a big deal.

[Anonymous]

I agree, just stay where you are and save your money. Moving is such a pain and doesn't seem worth it if you are planning to leave the area in 1-2 years.

[Anonymous]

For a year - stay put. The headache of moving alone will make you regret moving.

[Anonymous]

For the sake of a year, I'd probably stay put. Maybe rent a bigger unit in the same building so the move costs you nothing but the irritation of elevator time?

[Anonymous]

Have you considered Fairlington? It's a beautiful part of NOVA and with many floorplans and individuals renting out I'm sure you can find something that suits your budget. There is also Belleview in Alexandria that has tons of children and is right off the beltway.

I agree that with kids that small it's okay to be in a one bedroom (we did it) but the extra space is also very nice.

[Anonymous]

It's way too much of a hassle to pack everything up, move, unpack, and get settled. Stay where you are and save the money.

[Anonymous]

As someone with now school-aged kids, I wish that we had stayed in our apt longer and banked all of the money that we could have banked. The neighborhood is more impt, and since you love it, you can be out and about so that you aren't feeling cramped. Even our house feels cramped with all of the kids stuff. The bigger space, the more stuff. And, if you moved into a larger apt, no guarantee that your baby would sleep in his own room anyway (our littlest still likes to sleep in our room, sigh).