Our own House Hunters

For various reasons, we decided not to re-up our lease this year. We've been in this apartment for three years, the longest we've been in any place since we've been married. (Twice over.) But then life did what life does and threw a curve ball, and we needed an apartment here ASAP. So we went to the leasing office in our same building and asked what they could do.

Have you seen House Hunters on HGTV? I'm totally addicted. Basically people are shown three different residences matching their space/budget requirements, and at the end of the show, they eliminate one (if it's House Hunters International), and then they announce which one they to chose to buy.

We were presented with a similar situation: three available apartments, varying pros and cons, and a very short time to make a decision. The options were:

1. 23rd floor, similar floor plan, similar view of Hudson River and Empire State Building. Same price we would've paid to re-up this place.

2. Same floor we're on now, two doors down. Opposite side of the hall, faces west toward New Jersey, so no Empire State Building. Similar floor plan. Costs a little less.

3. 10th floor. Similar floor plan, faces west, closer to the ground, lesser view. Costs same as option 2.

We eliminated option 3 fairly quickly. Neither of us were loving the location in the building, putting us right over a busy street (and being further down is noisier). Because it was lower, the view wasn't as good. So we were left with 1 and 2.

In Option 1, the layout was flipped from our current apartment, which was a bit weird. If it was just the two of us, the 23rd floor would be totally fine. But with an old, arthritic dog, 23 flights of stairs during a fire alarm is a LONG way down. But it DID still have the fantastic view of the city, and the price was really reasonable.

In Option 2, we were aware that the would-be next door neighbors often fight. LOUDLY. Being on the other side of the building seemed to be a plus for us though, since even though we lose the Empire State Building view, we'd get the sun in the afternoon/evening instead, allowing us to sleep better and cooler in the mornings since we keep late schedules.

And the apartment we chose is ....... Option 2.

We move in a little over a week. About 10 steps down the hall. No boxes required.