My Own Drum Section: Condo Dweller

I am a condo dweller, not completely by choice. It has its pros and its cons.

A little back story...

Joe and I lived in South Carolina for two years (I know, why would I move back to Illinois, right?). When we moved back we had arranged to live in my grandmother's house so it would not be vacant (she had passed away earlier in the year). Joe and I lived there for a few months when one of my aunts decided to sell it, and sell it quick she did. We had a month to find something. So here we are, condo dwellers. It was a flip so everything was freshly painted, new carpeting and new appliances. We only thought we would be here a few years, then the economy tanked. There are so many foreclosures in our area, there is no way for us to sell (we had it the market for awhile and had no bites).

So here we are over seven years in our condo. The longest we have lived in one place since we got married. We were a little like gypsies our first six years of marriage. We lived in five different places! That is a lot of packing and unpacking. Our next move will hopefully be our last our second to last. I really hate packing!

There are a lot of advantages to being in our condo. First of which it has afforded us the ability for me to be a stay-at-home mom (now). We are blessed with a small mortgage and low expenses. We also don't have to worry about yard work (too much anyways). The place cleans up pretty quickly. We have no stairs to worry about Gwen falling down. And it is easy to keep an eye on her when I am cooking or doing dishes. It also affords us much more family time, since we don't have as much to do.

The downsides to be a condo dweller include crazy neighbors below us, community property that certain people don't take care of (crazy people below us), changing demographic in the area, not a lot of privacy, no yard and no sense of personal space.

I know we are completely blessed to be in the situation we are in and the pros definitely outweigh the cons, but somedays I just want my little house with the white picket fence and a vegetable garden. Until that day comes though, I will be content with the roof I do have over my head.

Here are a few picts of our dining/living room.