SOLD! What I Will/Won't Miss About Apartment Living.

We sold our flat two weeks ago now after two weeks on the market. It's nice to not have to clean like a mad woman everyday just in case someone wanted to inspect the house on short notice. Actually, the one day I let the house go a bit because I thought we were just about sold (we were in the haggling process with a potential buyer), someone did want to inspect leaving me with only a couple of hours to clean. Twenty minutes before the impending arrival (and I still needed to mop the floors) hubby calls me to say that the buyers have made another offer and wanted to know if I was happy with it. I wanted more but I also didn't feel like mopping so I settled.

I am quite proud of how spotless the flat is was.

It now looks like this with Bubby's Yellow Plastic Crap all over the place.

What I won't miss about apartment living.

1. My filthy, lazy and disgusting neighbours who have turned this place into a bit of a ghetto (my brother joked that we should market our flat as Ghetto Vogue). I'm sick of finding rubbish everywhere:

- on top of the intercom box going into and coming out of the car park and the lift. Seriously, If you're on your way in why don't you just bring your rubbish with you and place it in a bin in your flat and if you're on your way out then why didn't you put your rubbish in the bin before heading out? It defies logic.

- on the garbage room floor. FFS! There is a garbage chute, you pull the handle, drop your rubbish in and close. I know it takes an extra 5 seconds but it takes less time than it would to kill the cockroaches that move in, not to mention the stench that wafts into the hallways. 

- in the stairwells. You're keen enough to take the stairs instead of the lift but too lazy to take your rubbish into the garbage room

- cigarette butts in my car space when we are a non-smoking household. Apartment !$^ you're an ass.

2. Cigarette smoke entering my living room from neighbours smoking on their balconies. Keep your lung cancer/emphysema/heart attack/stroke to yourself, thank you very much.

3. Intercom video that hasn't worked for several months probably even over a year. Sometimes it doesn't work altogether like that time it was broken for over a month and I had to go down to the car park or lobby to let people in. Not fun at all when you're 34+ weeks pregnant and could barely walk from hip pain, Braxton Hicks or pre-labour contractions and later when Bubby was only days/weeks old and I'm recovering from a C-section. Building manager's response at the time was "the executive committee is having a meeting about it" meetings ain't gonna fix it buddy, it's been broken for over a month. Just ring up the damn company and get them to come and fix. I'd even do it for you.

4. The noise from the construction next door. This one is probably the least annoying of them all as it's not really the result of idiotic neighbours or incompetence.

5. Idiot drivers driving in the wrong direction on our one way street. 

6. Having to go to the post office to pick up parcels when I'm home most of the time simply because the packages don't fit in the mailbox and I guess it's too time consuming for the postman to figure out which building I'm in, walk up the stairs, walk across the courtyard and ring my intercom (if it's working) to see if anyone's home. I don't blame them, I wouldn't do it either. There is a post office just a short 5 minute walk down the road but my parcel always ends up in the one that is a 15-30 minute walk depending on if I'm solo or with Bubby in the pram. 

7. The idiot who leaves his dog on the balcony and lets it bark all night.

8. My moronic neighbours (the same ones who drop their cigarette butts in my car space) who let their toddler run around late at night. Like what is a little child doing up and running around at 12.30 AM. Put your child to bed! 

9. Inconsiderate neighbours who let their kids run noisily in the hallway. Kids will be kids, I get it, but there shouldn't be kids running around past 10 PM. I sound like a grouch but to be honest I don't really like kids. Babies are okay, kids aren't.

10. Having to take the lift to get to and from the car. It takes so long. When one lift isn't working I don't bother waiting for the other one as it's quicker to go down the stairs even if I'm on the top floor. Of course, I can't do that with a pram.

Just so you don't think I'm all about whining...

What I will miss about apartment living

1. My actual flat. It is spacious, airy and bright. It is a bit odd that the bedrooms are downstairs but the living area is upstairs but I love the space. I love the skylight, I love the 12 foot floor to ceiling window (I hated washing it though and you can clearly see how high I could reach as only the bottom half is spotless). Of course, we are moving to a much bigger place since it feels cramped now that Bubby is here. It's also special since it's our first home and we moved in on our wedding day exactly five years ago on Saturday.

2. There's no lawn to mow and water and no plants I can kill. There is a pool but someone else cleans it and keeps it from turning green.

That's pretty much all I'm going to miss about apartment living the rest are things I'll miss about the area.

3. It's close to the city, work, the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, Centennial Park, the Children's Hospital, the beach and the airport. It's so conveniently located.

4. My mothers' group. I love my mummies' group. Before I gave birth I wondered if I would join one. I was worried that the other mums will be competitive or stuck up or just not nice in general but I'm glad I was wrong. It was great that I have them to share the ups and downs of motherhood with. Most of us are first time mums and we pretty much didn't know what we were doing. I can complain about lots of things and they just get it. It's great to have others who understand, who are going through the same things as I am. They are supportive, strong, smart, inspirational and fun. I learnt a lot from them. They listen, give good advice and tight hugs when I really needed it. I think I'm really lucky there. I'm not just saying this either because some of them read my blog. There's also the babies. It's been fun watching them grow and reach milestones. I will miss watching Bubby interact with them. I don't know what I'll be doing with my Wednesdays. Actually, I have a pretty good idea how I'll be spending my Wednesdays as I'll be back at work. Thank goodness for Facebook.

I like to support local businesses and there are a few I will miss.

5. Bourke Street Bakery. I will miss their macadamia and honey sticky bun (Yummm!) plus they make a pretty good decaf mocha (I'm sure they make a good caffeinated mocha too).

6. Hong Ha Bakery. They make really good banh mi and there's usually a very long line at lunchtime. Their chicken roll is pretty popular and cheap too. I used to go for a walk there on Saturdays just to get a chicken roll, then run back so it's still warm, good exercise. I don't know if it's as good as what you'll get from Cabramatta or Ashfield but around these parts it's awesome. 

7. I8noodles. The best Chinese takeaway ever. If you're ever in this neck of the woods you must try their Special Fried Rice, Salt and Pepper Squid and stir fry with the I8 Special Sauce or Chilli Garlic sauce. Absolutely delicious. They're also very generous with their portions. Their large takeaway containers are really large and they're never stingy with the squid, they fill it up to the top that they can't even fit the lid on and unlike other Asian takeaways that sell salt and pepper squid they don't put the squid on a bed of lettuce (What's up with that anyway? Is it for presentation? It's in a plastic takeaway container no amount of leaves is going to make that any more presentable). Best Salt and Pepper squid I've ever tasted. It's salty, peppery, garlicky and spicy from the chillis. We definitely have to have a last meal of 18noodles before we move and maybe have some for the road. The only problem with this place is it's closed on a Sunday and they close at 8 PM. What kind of a Chinese takeaway is closed on a Sunday or close that early?

8. Rosebery Laundry and Cleaning. Nothing to do with food, I know but they are such lovely and hardworking people. They're open from 7 AM, 7 days a week. Often they are open till 7 PM. Even if I arrive after they've closed the sweet lady (I really must ask her name) will let me in. I went there to pick up some clothes I had altered (she's also a seamstress) on Sunday afternoon and they've already closed but she let me in when she saw me. I'm actually glad when I drive past and see that they're closed. They deserve to have some rest. They're also very quick and your dry cleaning, laundry or alterations are done by the following day. I'm sure if you drop in early they can do a same day service. I might even still go here after we've moved even if it means crossing The Bridge certainly for alteration as I trust she'd do a good job.

And there you have it. There are a few things I'll miss but for the most part it is adios apartment living! I'm sure once I'm in my new home I'll soon forget about you except for the bits I'll miss.