Non-clicky pole re: Apartment lyfe.

CinemaGoddess · April 2012

So we're getting down to the wire for finding an apartment. DH and I have come up with our respective wants/needs lists. For the most part we're on the same page. Our budget is limited but we're trying to find everything we need within our price range.

However, the issue we're finding is that most apartments within our price range have either 2 bathrooms or a washer/dryer in unit. They don't have both.

We need a washer/dryer in unit because we have so much fracking laundry that we would be laundry room hogs.

I anticipate we're going to need two bathrooms because the girls will be potty training soon and 4 people (3 of which are girls) and one bathroom seems like a bad idea.

Once we move, it's not likely that we'll be able to move again for a number of years, so this isn't necessarily a temporary housing situation.

So, I'm posing this question to the Bumpies:

Which would you rather give up:

Second bathroom or washer/dryer in unit.

TYVM.

XOXO.

gisa886 · April 2012

I'd give up the washer and dryer in unit.

schnappycat · April 2012

Do you expect to be able to move before they are teenagers? I think having one bathroom now would be ok. If your kids are anything like mine, there is no such thing as privacy. My DS potties while we are in there and certainly doesn't care if I'm going and barges right in regardless. It's all share, share alike at this age. But teenage girls? Definitely need their own bathroom if at all possible.

Right now I think a washer/dryer is more important.

ETA: And honestly? My kids hardly actually use the actual bathroom. We often brush their teeth and do their hair in the kitchen because we are running late for preschool and it's easier than running back upstairs. Little kids don't need much bathroom time to get ready, you know?

KJmashup · April 2012

What an unfortunate decision to have to make. WTF, apartment designers?

I guess if it came down to it, I'd rather have the two bathrooms. One bathroom sucks even with only two people in the household.

But gah.

LilyRose28 · April 2012

As much as I'd love a second bathroom, having to do laundry in a separate place with a toddler in tow would be a bigger pain for me.

emiliemadison · April 2012

You're all going to use bathrooms several times per day. You may only use the washer and dryer a few times a week. Give up the washer/dryer and do less laundry

Plus, have you dealt with stomach bugs yet? When more than one of you has to use the bathroom at the same time? Yeah. 2nd bathrooms rock.

MrsWindyCity · April 2012

I would give up the second bathroom, hands down. Not having a WD in unit sucked enough before kids. Now, I can't even imagine. All the trudging up and down stairs (or going somewhere if it's not on site), the suckage of possibly being on your own with the kids and doing the laundry, etc.

Or, is there any way you can get a WD hookup and buy your own WD?

CopperT0p · April 2012

schnappycat:
Do you expect to be able to move before they are teenagers? I think having one bathroom now would be ok. If your kids are anything like mine, there is no such thing as privacy. My DS potties while we are in there and certainly doesn't care if I'm going and barges right in regardless. It's all share, share alike at this age. But teenage girls? Definitely need their own bathroom if at all possible.
Right now I think a washer/dryer is more important.

This. The cost and pain in the arse of schlepping laundry around would not make having a second bathroom worth it in my opinion. I had an apartment with laundry not in the unit for a while, and it was just myself and two dogs and it was a huge pain to haul all my laundry back and forth, and have to sit and watch it because dang people couldn't be trusted not to steal it.

wonkatalia · April 2012

I would have to give up the 2nd bathroom. All that laundry would be a ridiculous burden.

DH's family of 5 only had one bathroom and they survived.

emiliemadison · April 2012

I really have no idea the paramaters for your search and what might be available for you, but have you looked into renting a condo, townhouse or single family instead of an apartment? They might have more options for you if something like that is available.

CinemaGoddess · April 2012

The bathroom thing is not really a modesty thing. It's more imagining all of us getting the stomach flu at the same time and having a battle royale for use of the terlit.

It's not a CP because I wanted there to be actual explanations n' stuff.

ames71 · April 2012

We have only one bathroom, and it does suck, but I'd still rather have the W/D as opposed to a second bathroom. Just the thought of having to drag laundry and a kid (two in your case) to a laundry facility several times a week makes me feel exhausted.

CinemaGoddess · April 2012

emiliemadison:
I really have no idea the paramaters for your search and what might be available for you, but have you looked into renting a condo, townhouse or single family instead of an apartment? They might have more options for you if something like that is available.

We're kind of stuck with apartments right now. If we wanted to go with a condo, townhome or single family unit, we'd have to look at places that are geographically much further away than we want.

Bejebus · April 2012

We are also a family of 4 and I cannot imagine not having a washer/dryer in our home. One of our bathrooms is attached to the kids' room and so off-limits most of the night... we never use it. Like PP said, when they are PTing, it's all about the family bathroom LOL. Definitely get the unit with the in-house washer/dryer.

CGKyle · April 2012

I have moved three times in the last three years. The first one had a second bath, but no washer and dryer. That was the last apartment that ever happened because I hated it so Dang much. I would give up the 2 nd bath. There is only three of us though, so Idk for sure what my answer would be with extra people. But I love love love my washer dryer in unit.

racegrrl714 · April 2012

PB1980:
Give up the second bathroom. Consider toting loads and loads of laundry to and fro in miserable weather.

This. I've done it and it royally blows.

CinemaGoddess · April 2012

intheflowers:
That depends. The ones that don't have W/D in unit-- do they have it in the building and what floor is it on?

Most of them are in a separate building (if it's a multi-building development) or on the first floor (most of the apartments we're looking at are on the upper floors).

KJmashup · April 2012

emiliemadison:
You're all going to use bathrooms several times per day. You may only use the washer and dryer a few times a week. Give up the washer/dryer and do less laundry Plus, have you dealt with stomach bugs yet? When more than one of you has to use the bathroom at the same time? Yeah. 2nd bathrooms rock.

This was my line of thought as well.

When I've had to go elsewhere to do my laundry, I have waited until weather permits, unless it's an absolute emergency (and I never have laundry emergencies because I'm lazy like that).

discobush · April 2012

I'd give up the second bathroom unless the laundry room was close and almost always available. Having lived in one-bathroom, no-laundry apartments for pretty much my entire adult life, I can say that while I occasionally wished for a second bathroom, I constantly wished for in-unit laundry.

schnappycat · April 2012

CinemaGoddess:
The bathroom thing is not really a modesty thing. It's more imagining all of us getting the stomach flu at the same time and having a battle royale for use of the terlit.

It's not a CP because I wanted there to be actual explanations n' stuff.

Yeah, but honestly, think of the laundry associated with the stomach bug! I just went through this and actually thought how much it would have sucked if we didn't have a washer/dryer. I spent a week washing sheets, towels, PJs, etc and must have done 50 loads! No way could I have survived with no washer/dryer.

You can always puke in a bucket. Or put a pullup on the kids.

ETA: And how often do you have a stomach bug? Hopefully not often. But you DO need to do laundry weekly.

Luckie519 · April 2012

I'd give up the second bathroom. My first apartment did not have a washer and dryer and it was the biggest pain. I couldn't imagine lugging our laundry to a laundry mat and then having to sit there with it.

RayRay007 · April 2012

I'd give up the second bathroom and go for the in-suite washer/dryer, but that's just me b/c I've never not had laundry in-suite. I couldn't imagine spending hours in the basement and paying to do laundry.

chardonnay24 · April 2012

Second bathroom.

I grew up in an old home with only one bathroom and 2 sisters. It wasn't ideal but it worked. The only time it was a huge issue was when a stomach bug went through the house.

missymo · April 2012

I would give up 2nd bathroom in a heartbeat. Lugging my crap to the laundry room/laundromat for a few years seems MUCH worse than sharing a bathroom.

numeria11 · April 2012

MrsWindyCity:

I would give up the second bathroom, hands down. Not having a WD in unit sucked enough before kids. Now, I can't even imagine. All the trudging up and down stairs (or going somewhere if it's not on site), the suckage of possibly being on your own with the kids and doing the laundry, etc.

Or, is there any way you can get a WD hookup and buy your own WD?

This take it from someone who currently has 1 bath and laundry NOT in her unit (3 stories down in the basement) it sucks. A second bath would be nice but for us it's not a must but a W/D in unit is absolutely one in the next place when we move at the end of summer.

wolverine8 · April 2012

I already hate doing laundry so to have to move it back and forth would make me go crazy. I did that in college. Never again. We live with only one bath and 98% of the time it works out great.

haleyjean84 · April 2012

kirky05:

I'd give up the second bathroom.

We have one bathroom in our house, and while it sucks sometimes, I couldn't imagine taking our loads upon loads of laundry somewhere else to do it.

this exactly

3003girl · April 2012

I would give up the second bathroom.

LO uses a babybjorn potty right now anyway, but we only have one bathroom and it works fine for us. DH is also a super private person and hogs the bathroom, but it hasn't been much of an issue yet.

We did have food poisoning once, and used the empty pot technique. It sucked, but how likely is it going to happen and even if it does it's only one or two days of sucking, as opposed to hauling your dirty laundry all over the place every fricken' week.

ASmallWonder · April 2012

I grew up in a one bathroom house and only in the last 6 months have I live somewhere with two bathrooms and we've all survived. However, I've never had to do my laundry in a laundromat or haul it to a laundry room and for that, I will always be grateful. Seems like such a PITA.

nosoup4u · April 2012

I would give up the extra bathroom, no question. Not having a w/d in unit is super sucky! Especially if you have kids! You never know when there will be a midnight puke fest, or something gross gets spilled at dinner, etc etc.

Jillibean85 · April 2012

I would give up the bathroom... To me, W/D is a MUST.

Also... curious, cause i know you're from Seattle, and that is where we are re-locating this summer (military, not sure if you saw it in other post), but is it possible for you to move to the burbs, or outskirts somewhere?? I was considering the Edmonds area, or even a little further up near Marysville/Lake Stevens... Couldn't you possibly pay close to the same amount, but get a little more bang for your buck up there? I also read traffic sucks big time, so maybe that plays into it... ?

CinemaGoddess · April 2012

Jillibean85:

I would give up the bathroom... To me, W/D is a MUST.

Also... curious, cause i know you're from Seattle, and that is where we are re-locating this summer (military, not sure if you saw it in other post), but is it possible for you to move to the burbs, or outskirts somewhere?? I was considering the Edmonds area, or even a little further up near Marysville/Lake Stevens... Couldn't you possibly pay close to the same amount, but get a little more bang for your buck up there? I also read traffic sucks big time, so maybe that plays into it... ?

We're up north in the 'burbs already. We want to move closer to the city so our respective commutes are shorter.. Also, the bus service going home has gotten shittay, like the buses are regularly 30-45 minutes late, so we want to avoid that bus system if we can. The Seattle bus system is much much better and if we move to the area that we want to move to, DH can bike to work and we can cut waaaaaaaay down on gas costs.

J+MS · April 2012

Second bathroom is not necessary. Toting laundry is the absolute worst, I will never do it again.

jamiedsgirl · April 2012

Multiple episodes of concurrent food poisoning for DH and I mean that I would never, ever live in a house with one bathroom.

hopkins5 · April 2012

I'd give up the bathroom.

How long do you plan on living here? I wouldn't want to lug that much laundry back and forth, no matter the distance. Definitely not if I'm going to another floor. I've only lived in an apartment once (with a room mate for one year) so I don't have much experience, but laundry was the worst IMO. It was on the same floor but there were only two washers and two dryers and it wasn't open 24/7. I always felt so rushed because I knew many others were waiting. I'd end up doing darks one day, lights the next day, sheets the next...and so on.

hopkins5 · April 2012

Also, doing laundry somewhere else is expensive!

SoDoMojo · April 2012

kirky05:
I'd give up the second bathroom.
We have one bathroom in our house, and while it sucks sometimes, I couldn't imagine taking our loads upon loads of laundry somewhere else to do it.

This exactly.

veronicacorningstone · April 2012

Do the apartments without a w/d have them on site?

I'd give up the 2nd bathroom, unless your apartment was really close to where the washer & dryer are located.

I lived in one apartment that had a w/d about 4 doors down. It was so convenient. If that's the case, keep the 2nd bath and walk a few feet to the w/d. If the w/d facilities are far away, then give up the 2nd. bath.

hoping4sticky · April 2012

Are you talking laundry down the hall or in the basement of the apartment building, or literally needing to take your laundry to a laundrymat? If laundry is somewhere in the building, I would totally go with the second bathroom. We have done one bath with just the two of us and there were some uncomfortable 'hey get off the pot incidents'.

If it means hauling lanundry further than the building, I would give up the bathroom.

outnumbered · April 2012

schnappycat:
CinemaGoddess:
The bathroom thing is not really a modesty thing. It's more imagining all of us getting the stomach flu at the same time and having a battle royale for use of the terlit.

It's not a CP because I wanted there to be actual explanations n' stuff.
Yeah, but honestly, think of the laundry associated with the stomach bug! I just went through this and actually thought how much it would have sucked if we didn't have a washer/dryer. I spent a week washing sheets, towels, PJs, etc and must have done 50 loads! No way could I have survived with no washer/dryer.
You can always puke in a bucket. Or put a pullup on the kids.
ETA: And how often do you have a stomach bug? Hopefully not often. But you DO need to do laundry weekly.

I have 3 kids and I could live with one bathroom. It would be a pain, but the torture of lugging laundry would be worse. We have all had the stomach bug within the past month. 3 of us had it in one night. I was doing loads of bedding in the middle of the night. I cannot imagine have a stinking pile of sheets to bring somewhere when I was not feeling so hot myself.

Marc's Mrs. · April 2012

schnappycat:
CinemaGoddess:

The bathroom thing is not really a modesty thing. It's more imagining all of us getting the stomach flu at the same time and having a battle royale for use of the terlit.

It's not a CP because I wanted there to be actual explanations n' stuff.

Yeah, but honestly, think of the laundry associated with the stomach bug! I just went through this and actually thought how much it would have sucked if we didn't have a washer/dryer. I spent a week washing sheets, towels, PJs, etc and must have done 50 loads! No way could I have survived with no washer/dryer.

You can always puke in a bucket. Or put a pullup on the kids.

ETA: And how often do you have a stomach bug? Hopefully not often. But you DO need to do laundry weekly.

All of this. I was the youngest in a family of five. I lived in a farmhouse with 1 bathroom until I went to college. Trust me, you can live with one bathroom. No W/D is a dealbreaker for me. I'm not down w/ toting laundry bags around and pumping quarters into the machines. It's a huge waste of time and $$.

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