Why I Rent: The Power of Apartment Living

I like to think/pretend that I had a traditional childhood, but that’s just not true. My mother, sister, and I lived in apartments until I was almost 15 years old. Although I grew up mostly in one city, we moved from apartment to apartment on a yearly basis (sometimes less than a year, sometimes more than a year). Of course, when I went away to college, I took up the tradition that my family had cultivated during my childhood. In college, I lived in 3 different dorms and 2 different apartments. I went straight to graduate school from college and did pretty much the same thing. It got to the point that I was always shocked when I renewed a lease…which meant I’d lived in one apartment for over a year!

With that background, you might be thinking that I’m a little wacky and probably a bit of a nomad – both of those things are true and that’s why I LOVE renting! As I’ve aged, I’ve managed to live in a few places for longer than a year, but even then, I absolutely love the freedom that being a renter brings.

Being a renter – a lifelong renter – has given me the opportunity to try out a variety of living experiences. I’ve lived in studio apartments in century old buildings and I’ve lived in brand new luxury apartments. I’ve had landlords and I’ve had property managers. With all my renting experience, I’ve shied away from renting houses, so that is an experience I’ve not had, but it is something that my sister and her husband are currently doing. One of the things I love about Redwood apartments is that I feel like I’m renting a house, without the anxiety that I have about house maintenance. I have a large two bedroom, two bathroom apartment, with an eat-in kitchen and an attached garage. I’m pretty sure it doesn’t get any better than this!

So, I mentioned anxiety. Although I am a pretty darn carefree person, I do love my freedom of movement. Just the idea of not being able to take a job in another state makes my heart race…I love my freedom. I like the idea of being able to pick up and travel the country or the world at a moment’s notice. To me, buying a house represents saddling yourself with a liability that requires a high level of maintenance and will take a significant amount of work to be rid of. One of my single friends who owned a house, went to a conference, came home to a broken water heater and a flood in her basement. After she paid for a new water heater and replace all of her belongings, she decided that owning a house wasn’t for her. Well, I don’t have to have that experience to know that I don’t want to have that experience.

I’m grateful that apartment living affords me the ability to comeome to a housing problem – but not have that problem become a housing crisis. Having a property management company means that if the refrigerator breaks (which mine has), it gets replaced the same day – THE SAME DAY!! If I had a house and my refrigerator stopped working…I might end up living out of a cooler for a month. If my garage door opener quits on me (which mine has), a nice young man comes to manually open it, so that I can get my car out…and the opener is replaced within the week. Again, if that had happened at a house that I owned – my car would still be trapped in my garage and I’d have become a professional walker. 

Renting gives me a level of freedom that allows me to really love my life. My dog and I can travel and see the world and not have to worry about what’s happening at home. The ability to share the responsibility of my housing with an apartment manager is exactly the freedom that I need to feel ultimately at ease and in control of my life.

*Written by Lindsay S., a proud writer and Redwood resident.

It’s Not Too Late to Learn Anything: Going Back To “School”

Every year around this time, regardless of whether you’re in school, have kids in school, or have been out of school for decades, we’re all reminded that it’s “Back to School” time.  Since Autumn is my favorite season and I have multiple degrees from different schools around the country, Back-to-school season always resonates with me and makes me want to join in!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not interested in spending (or borrowing) thousands of dollars to sit in a classroom…but I would like to learn some new things, just to keep myself sharp and current in my industry and to develop some new hobbies.

So, how does an adult go about developing a new skill set or refreshing themselves in their field – without heading to the local university or community college?

Fortunately for us, there’s the internet – which holds countless ways to learn new tricks at any age. I’m going to take it upon myself to show you the magical ways that the internet has to teach us new things.

YouTube

 

Let’s start with the most basic (and free) tool that is available for you to learn anything – YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine, behind Google, and there’s a very good reason for that. If you want to learn “how to” do just about anything, someone has created a YouTube video, maybe even a YouTube channel. Want to learn how to change the oil in your car? Want to learn how to do the perfect cat eyeliner? Thinking of starting a business? Want to learn to play chess? Using YouTube will help you get started and with somethings, even perfect a new skill. The pitfall of YouTube is that for every great instruction video, there are probably 3 horrible instruction videos and the only way to know the difference is to watch them. But, in this case, that’s the price of free.

Lynda.com

 

From basic to advanced – Lynda.com. If YouTube is the trial and error version of learning online, Lynda.com is the tried and true way to learn advanced career-building skills. I’ve used Lynda.com to learn how to use the entire Adobe Creative Suite – which I’ve used in almost all of my jobs and in my current business daily. If you’re thinking of learning a new technical skill that you can market to employers, Lynda.com is the first place to go. The additional bonus to Lynda.com is that they were recently acquired by LinkedIn and if you have a premium LinkedIn account, Lynda.com is free! I’ve you’re not a premium member, there’s a small monthly fee, but not anywhere near the cost of a university education.

The In Between

 

YouTube & Lynda.com are the poles of online learning, but there are hundreds of options in between. We live in a skill sharing economy, which is the basis of YouTube & Lynda.com, but if you want a formalized way to pick up a hobby, Skillshare.com is a great option. I’ve taken a class on the fundamentals of interior design and absolutely loved it. CreativeLive.com can help you learn to sew or become an infant photographer. In addition to these skill sharing sites, several Ivy League universities have placed all of their course materials online and make lectures available via podcast. So, if you’re interested in learning about existentialism, that might be the way to go!

I just want to encourage you to get out there and get learning. There are so many options for learning and growing and going back to school without having to set foot on a college campus or even leave the comfort of your couch.

*Written by Lindsay S., a proud writer and Redwood resident.

Reflecting Light: Changing Décor for the Fall Season

After getting all geared up for summer, we find ourselves facing fall. Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love fall – I mean LOVE fall. I’m not a PSL person (mostly because I don’t drink coffee), but I’m looking forward to the changing colors and the crisp air and the tempting smells of all things apple.

Something else I’m looking forward to is decorating for the changing light. As fall approaches, and the days get increasingly shorter, the light begins to change. My apartment at Redwood faces east, which means that my front room (which houses all of my plants) has fantastic morning light. It also means that my living room, and my patio doors, face west. Behind my apartment is a luscious strip of deciduous trees. As the fall approaches, the trees begin to go dormant and lose their leaves, exposing the white tail deer as they roam about.

It also exposes the most beautiful fall sunsets a girl could ask for. I’ve lived in several states and in countless apartments, but I’ve never been transfixed by the light in any other apartment like I have in this one.

Because the light is so beautiful and the season is so short – almost too short, I want my décor to compliment that fantastic glow that streams into my apartment each evening, but I want to do so in a way that is temporary or at least prepares me for the coming holiday season, which will be coming all too soon.

Reflecting Light

 

In order to make the most of the light that my Redwood apartment affords me, I’m leveraging a tried and true decorator’s tip – mirrors. I’m going to assume that, like me, the idea of putting a bunch of mirrors around my apartment doesn’t sound too appealing at all. I mean, seriously, pride in one’s personal appearance is a fantastic thing, but who wants the expense or maintenance of a hall of mirrors?

What I’m suggesting is a simpler and less obtrusive way to use mirrors – and that’s mirrored accents.

Mirrored tables have been all the rage for bedrooms for years. They’re so popular, that you can even find high-end replicas at your local big box discount chain. Of course, I wouldn’t necessarily suggest purchasing an entire mirrored dresser or end table, but maybe adding a few mirrored tiles to the top of your current end table or console? I’m a huge fan of mirrored tiles. You can pick up a pack of 12 at a hardware store for a few dollars and use each of the mirrors on different surfaces.

Using double sided tape or Velcro, you can temporarily glam up any piece of furniture in your apartment. And, if capturing the light is the goal, using mirrored tiles allows you to move them around as the season progresses.

Other mirrored accent option include mirrored lamps, vases, candle holders and clocks. Placing these accent pieces around a room will create extra glimpses of that beautiful fall light.

I can already hear you – “But Lindsay, we’re talking about fall décor, what’s up with the mirrors? Isn’t that a glam thing?” Actually, no. If you visit any décor shop or décor aisle in a discount store, you’ll see a variety of mirrored accents, many of them with blended textures – mixing wood and metals with the mirrors – adding a rustic or fall inspired look. You don’t need me to tell you that fall is all about the colors orange, brown and red. It’s a standard because those colors literally reflect the colors of the season. But, for decorating, let’s be a bit more creative and let’s play with the light that each of these beautiful fall days affords us.

*Written by Lindsay S., a proud writer, swimmer, and Redwood resident.