Challenging ideas about housing needs

[Radiance]

Now that I have decided to rent, I am trying to determine what do I really need vs what I want or what I am used to.
I am a single mom of a toddler boy who receives family in, typically elders. I am currently on a 3/2

So, this is what I think I need

A bedroom; a place to put a bed and have a closet for clothing and other personals
A bathroom: Bathe, clean up, 'go to the bathroom'
A Kitchen: A place for a fridge, a range and a microwave
A space for a dinning table.
A place for the PC: basically a place to locate a table to fit the pc, monitor and printer. I need the PC for side business. I don't want this on the same as the bedroom since I work after my son has gone to sleep.
Kid play area: An area for my sons toys and books.
Guestroom: place to put a sofa bed and a nitestand.


I could fit this on a one/one, almost:
Bedroom - check
Bathroom - check
Kitchen - check
Place for the PC a and kid area - use the 'living area' - you'll notice I didn't mention living room, I hardly ever use mine. When my friends visit we end up in the kitchen or the comunity pool.
Guestroom - ok, THis is a tricky one. If I don't have a living room designated area..
Maybe if the area is big enough I could fit a dining table on one corner, a desk for the PC in a another corner and a sofa bed too?
Or if the masters is big enough I can keep my son's toys and books there?

Renting a 1/1 with about 900-100Sq ft is $1000 in my area....Vs 1500 for a 3/2.

I am taling about renting from private, from a rental place is about that price for 800sq ft 1/1

What do you think, What are your housing NEEDS?

[KTP]

Hmmm...when I saw your other postings I assumed you were a guy coming from a divorce with no kids. I was thinking to myself "he should really find a good housemate and share the costs of a 3/2 with them".

A single mom though with a toddler...totally different ballgame. I don't think you want to trust anyone with living in the same house as you and your kid, so a apartment or house of your own would be better?

We currently live somewhat out in the sticks with no kids but lots of hobbies. It allowed us to buy about 3x the house we could have in the city, which was probably a mistake. We have completely filled a 6bd 3 bath house and 5 car garage with crap and I barely have room for my legs while I am typing this. Obviously I am not really qualified to answer your question, but personally I would LOVE to get into a smaller, more manageable space a bit closer to the city. I think we could even be happy in a studio apartment if it were close to the waterfront or had a nice view.

It can be kind of fun organizing things to fit neatly into a small space...we do that on our sailboat quite well, which makes the junky sprawl of our house seem a bit ridiculous.

[Radiance]

Yes, I have actually considered renting with another single mom so we can help each other! In this case, of course I would need a 2br.

In the mean time I am trying to redesign my space. Drawback of this is what to do with all the furniture that will not fit it the new smaller place...

[creditcardfree]

How often do you have overnight guests? How long at each time?

We have a 3 bedroom home, 1500 sq ft. Husband, me, two daughters. We do not have a guest room. My parents visit only one night at a time, maybe 4 times a year. They take the kids beds...they each have a twin. My girls sleep on the floor in our room. My sister comes for a couple nights at a time, maybe twice a year. One daughter gives up her room, while the other daughter sleeps on floor in other daughter's bedroom. So, could you sleep on the couch while company visits?

I would definitely think about how you can do double duty on space and live in the least amount possible. Good luck!

[Radiance]

They come once or twice a year for 1-2 months....they come from overseas.

could you sleep on the couch while company visits?

Not on the couch (I wont have a couch, no living room) but I just remember I own an inflatable bed. I would be willing to move things around while they are in each night and they stay on my bed ... Good thinking!

My son sleeps on his crib still, so he can not give it up to an adult...
It seems a 1/1 will be just fine,

Now to think what to do with the furniture.
Furnture is just not selling unless it is an antique.
There are a lot of thirft stores full of furniture and people giving it up for free. I just had to give my dinning set for free

[LivingAlmostLarge]

How much longer will your son be sleeping in your room before you want more space? I ask because from other parents, not me, they say they want to stay up later and work in the bedroom so they like the second bedroom for their child if older than 1 year.

[Radiance]

I like the 'family bedroom' concept so he will stay with me another year or so.
I won't need to furnish a room for him for some time. He is one year and a half.

I don't mind currently going to the 'office room' to work at night.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

We lived in a 3 room (living room, bedroom, kitchen) plus bathroom apartment of probably 450 sq ft until our child was 5 years old. For us it was idyllic. Give me my sweet family, safety, and satiety of food, and I can live pretty much anywhere. No, really, I have only wonderful memories of our smallest living spaces. Those rooms were all multi-purpose rooms in reality.

I don't think we had any guests to stay for more than a week. Our guests were adaptable people. But if anyone was going to be there longer, I think I would have needed more space. That's just me, though.

[KTP]

What is that saying? Goes something like "house guests are like fish. they both start to smell after a week or so"

[creditcardfree]

Not on the couch (I wont have a couch, no living room) but I just remember I own an inflatable bed. I would be willing to move things around while they are in each night and they stay on my bed ... Good thinking!

I'm glad that will work out...it saves you so much more money!!

[Aiming4Simple]

Kudos to you for your efforts to configure your space efficiently!

My husband and I usually sleep on an inflatable bed when company comes. We also have a futon. We're a family of 5 in a 3/2. We lived in a 2/1 apartment for 8 months before we bought our current house. We've hosted families of 4 and 5 people for short stays in our 3/2. We also had my mother stay with us for a week after our third child was born, and that was in our 2/1 apartment. So while more space might be nice, we can still accommodate guests in smaller housing.