First Floor Apartments

For apartment rentals, there is a trend where, the higher the floor, the higher the price. I've never really understood this. As someone that grew up in them, I've always envied the first floor people. They seem to set the tone for the rest of the building. They're more visible, they can talk to people easily from their "balconies", and if their cat jumps over the guard rail it isn't a tragedy. Often, they can sprawl out with company because they functionally have a front yard. They don't have to go as far to get outside. Sometimes they can bypass the need to go through the lobby to get to their unit entirely. The higher your apartment is, the more divorced from reality you are. Superintendants always seem to have one on the first floor, so they have to be good.

I guess it does sort of conceptually go against the idea of an apartment. It can be funny how despite being at ground level, they usually have the standard guard rail for their balconies. I've heard it might be a security thing, but houses are at ground level and don't require a locked lobby to get in. Maybe it's because the balconies have a sliding door, which might be considered less safe than standard. But houses have windows. Besides, it's relatively easy to kick in a door. I had to do it once, and I've known two others with less imposing statures who have needed to do this as well.

I've heard it might be about noise, but depending on location this could be more or less true. Apparently most people just want the view, but I'm scared of heights and don't ever want to be above the treeline.

So I'm pretty stoked that my mom and brother have been accepted for a first floor apartment!

It's in Kitchener. In fact, it's in the same neighbourhood as me and Lee-Anne. Since they've been staying with us, this means they're already accustomed with the area. Because it's on the ground level, we can just carry their stuff from our place and pass it through their balcony. Easy move. Well, they'll eventually need to move the stuff from the storage unit in Guelph, which will take more planning.

They're going to have a dishwasher, which is really nice. I've never had one long-term. I sublet for five months at a a place that had one. It was awesome while it lasted. I feel like there is a subtle class difference between those that have dishwashers and those that do not. Not that their place is super swanky. I didn't expect that perk.

They're going to have a bathtub too, which Mom is really happy about. Both they and we have been living in basement apartments that only have showers. I didn't even notice it on viewing. Honestly, I fail to see the appeal of those little standard apartment bathtubs. They seem to be only large enough for children. But I don't remember the one at this new place, so maybe it was a bit better.

They're going to have access to an outdoor pool, a gym, a social room... and maybe a few other things. Mostly I just remember the pool and gym because those are things I would like access to. There aren't any gyms in the immediate area so I've just been doing home workouts.

They're set to move December 1st, which is Sunday. We have a few things to complete in the next couple days to make that possible though. We need to connect them with hydro, with tenant insurance, and we need to make out a bank draft with first month's rent. But we've signed the lease, so the hard part is over.

My brother had been in the States for an extended visit, finding himself after the fire. He came back a week ago, so our place has been a bit crowded. But we'll all have our own space again soon.

The application process had a few hiccups which I might blog about. Still, it was the first place we tried, and it was our first choice, so everything worked out well.