So around 9:45 this morning, I posted a Tweet about how I was really hoping we'd find out soon if we are getting this apartment, because we would need to buy a couple of big-ticket items to make the space work for us (slightly shorter fridge and a mezzanine-bed are the minimum purchases, although we may need a few other things down the road) and I was hoping to take advantage of the big January sales.
Well, for once, the Universe heard me loud and clear because less than one hour later, I had a call from the real estate agent saying that WE GOT THE APARTMENT! This is such good news on a number of levels, the #1 being able to get the Little Guy started in a really good middle school next fall (one that is in the same building as a really good high school, same lycée his three older siblings attended). Except for not having a true second bedroom (hence the mezzanine bed), this apartment pretty much checks all the boxes, although it is technically in the upper 9th arrondissement instead of the 18th/Montmartre (Georges has lived in the 18th for going on 30 years). But it's a great area, a 5-10 minute walk to Montmartre and with even better amenities than we have now, and all at a very reasonable monthly rent. And I'm SO ready to give up these hills and staircases, which are killing my knees and back.
All in all, well worth giving up our incredible views. We won't have any views in the new place. You can't always have everything.
This isn't our forever apartment, but it will take us through the next two to three years until the boy is older and will need more privacy. In the meantime, I'm working hard to sell my book and start writing others, and hopefully by the time we're ready to make that next move, we'll also be ready for our dream apartment.
So I'm already starting to think about packing, which means we have to go and get the flat cartons out of our storage unit so we can make boxes and fill them. Again. And this is why I wish I had a car, just for things like this. We have a couple hundred flat boxes over there, and trying to take them home a few at a time via the bus is not practical. So we'll probably end up renting a large car with fold-down rear seat or a small van. And then renting another one around the time we actually move, to put all the things in storage the professional movers won't be able to take to our new place, which is smaller than where we are now.
Maybe we'll have to try the city's new Autolib service, although those cars look pretty small and I'm not sure how many boxes they could hold (flat or filled!)
