stephanier.1765 Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 My son and his fiance rent a 3 bedroom house in a nice neighborhood for less than $1200. That's crazy for a one bedroom apartment. While we also live in a southern city, we probably don't have the COL New Orleans does, though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 On 7/6/2024 at 10:03 AM, heartlikealion said: That may be true but $1200 for a one bedroom seems insane to me. It would be $2200 in central MD. It’s getting absolutely let-them-eat-cake crazy lately. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 6 minutes ago, KungFuPanda said: It would be $2200 in central MD. It’s getting absolutely let-them-eat-cake crazy lately. 2 blocks from me you can rent a brand new 3/2 2 car garage for $1475. Small town very nice neighborhood., Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 14 minutes ago, Scarlett said: 2 blocks from me you can rent a brand new 3/2 2 car garage for $1475. Small town very nice neighborhood., That's stunning. It's crazy how wildly different it is from one part of the country to the other. What's minimum wage where you are? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 I’m not sure what the average here is but remember I almost took a 1 bedroom with working W/D for $900/mo when I got here. That neighborhood wasn’t quite as nice and the lease was so rigid I had to keep looking. I do think my current rent ($1100) is not uncommon for a 1BD here. But many people I know share their home or at least have a higher rank in the library earning more. For a single income it’s really, really hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Housing is insane. Our sons are in a cheaper city thank goodness, and have managed to rent a 3 bedroom/2 bath apartment for $1477 a month. It is a steal, and in a safe, comfy, walking neighborhood. The downside is that management does.not.fix.anything.ever. So they do their own repairs which means that when we visit, Mark and I teach them home maintenance things that they never had a chance to help with when they lived at home. Next up, re-hanging a bathroom door whose hinges were some of the crappiest quality hinges I have ever seen, fixing an under sink leak, and replacing a light fixture that seems to have a wiring issue. Management would rather risk burning down an apartment complex than get off their butts and actually make an effort. So the switch is taped off right now to prevent anyone turning it on. If they are going to stay another year, they very much need to replace carpet. It is in such bad condition, but the manager will never do anything about it. It was terrible when they moved in three years ago and they asked about it before signing the lease. The manager just laughed and told them that if they wanted decent carpet, pay for it themselves. I am not happy about this. On the other hand, rent hits $1900+ for the same size apartment somewhere else, and they are trying to build savings. The 3 bedroom is so nice because they use the back bedroom as an office space and guest room which means when we visit, we have a private place to sleep. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livetoread Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, Faith-manor said: It is a steal, and in a safe, comfy, walking neighborhood. The downside is that management does.not.fix.anything.ever. When I was in graduate school, I rented a bedroom in a group house in Bethesda, MD. We lived on a main street surrounded by expensive homes, so the decrepit nature of our house was on proud display. We were all graduate students, and there was always at least one person going to law school, so whenever our very absentee landlord tried to raise our rent, the law student would send a letter pointing out all the things wrong with the house (of which there were many) and he would back down. Our neighbors hated us - we didn't even own a lawnmower, lol. Good times. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 Dad doesn’t meet me at the meeting spot often (usually it’s stepmom) and the kids said he was assembling a bed for their grandma (stepmom’s mom). I asked a question after saying you don’t have to answer anything you don’t want … is she moving in or just visiting? They got funny and dd said she’d share info with me but Dad told her not to and I said that’s fine. A girlfriend gave me a bag of tops she collected in a clothing swap. Almost all of them fit! They are mostly things I’ll wear to work. I gave her some clothes recently too that didn’t fit me and I think fit her. Yay for freebies. Friday the kids and I are going with a friend to see Despicable Me 4. That should be nice. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 Just got my moving approval 🎉 22 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 I think you got your answer when dad told dd not to talk. He wouldn't care likely if she was coming for a visit. This means she is moving in, but he doesn't want the kids to tell you how they feel about it or about being relegated to the garage. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 12 minutes ago, Faith-manor said: I think you got your answer when dad told dd not to talk. He wouldn't care likely if she was coming for a visit. This means she is moving in, but he doesn't want the kids to tell you how they feel about it or about being relegated to the garage. Yup. Another possibility is she is coming for an extended visit? She’s coming from Peru so I don’t know how long she’d want to stay to make the best use of visa or whatever. Just guessing. I don’t know how that stuff works exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 There’s probably some concern about sending the kids to the garage — I know in some states even converted garages can’t be used for living space without special permits, so that might be iffy. Grandma sounds like she will be at least semi-permanent. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 38 minutes ago, heartlikealion said: Yup. Another possibility is she is coming for an extended visit? She’s coming from Peru so I don’t know how long she’d want to stay to make the best use of visa or whatever. Just guessing. I don’t know how that stuff works exactly. Usually 90 days is the most one can get on a tourist visa. They would need to go through a more lengthy process for her to stay for six months or a year. It is a LOT of paperwork, and generally expensive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 I have not asked but at some point I’m sure dd will tell me if the garage is comfortable or not. Surely they will need some sort of heating or cooling. I’m not going to pry now. I’m so relieved I’ll be pulling myself out of debt soon. If more babysitting jobs come open I’ll try to take them. The goal is to move over stuff July 20. But if we don’t finish no stress because I have til the end of the month. Main thing is to have beds moved because I get the kids the evening of the 21st. And if the couch is too big of a nightmare to do that day, I do have the folding metal frames that the mattresses can go on instead. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Is it only your kids in garage, or stepkids too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 14 minutes ago, Spryte said: Is it only your kids in garage, or stepkids too? At dad’s house the boys were sharing a room and now the garage is going to be for the boys so grandma can have their former room. My son and his stepbro. Dd will remain in the house. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 9 Author Share Posted July 9 Got my babysitting money and put most on a cc payment. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 Xh said he’ll be in the area Sun so he can pick up the kids. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is scoping out the place I’ll be moving (he has the address as we need to report these things). It’s a very safe neighborhood. I’m just glad it will save me a little gas and hassle. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 1 hour ago, heartlikealion said: Xh said he’ll be in the area Sun so he can pick up the kids. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is scoping out the place I’ll be moving (he has the address as we need to report these things). It’s a very safe neighborhood. I’m just glad it will save me a little gas and hassle. I think that’s fair enough. I would want to know where my kids were staying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 4 minutes ago, freesia said: I think that’s fair enough. I would want to know where my kids were staying. Fair. Too bad he isn’t giving her the same consideration by informing her of who is living with her kids and that her son is being put into the garage. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 1 minute ago, Scarlett said: Fair. Too bad he isn’t giving her the same consideration by informing her of who is living with her kids and that her son is being put into the garage. I agree 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 Yeah it’s fair. I don’t care. But he’s not a fair person lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 42 minutes ago, heartlikealion said: Yeah it’s fair. I don’t care. But he’s not a fair person lol No, he is not 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 WWII museum is Sunday so that will give us a little more leeway on time restraints. I already told the kids that it’s been redone and the museum used to be like 1/4 of the size (locals keep me in the loop lol) so let’s not kill ourselves to see everything if we want to just go back another day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 (edited) A WTM boardie sent me an Amazon card and I purchased stuff for the new bathroom to try to make the tub function as a shower. ❤️ thank you for context see image. I bought stuff to hang the shower curtain and shower head. While the kids and I were out we drove by the new house. Friend will get me a key made soon. The kids and I saw Despicable Me 4 with a coworker today. We had a good time. Dd refused to get in this pic but I got a nice photo with ds. The movie was cute. Edited July 13 by heartlikealion 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 There are 6 buildings here. Dd had an upset stomach and is in the bathroom for the 3rd or 4th time. We’ve barely explored and we got complimentary tickets to a 1:00 film which I doubt we’ll see because dd will need to exit the theatre inevitably. I might just give up and take them home. Ds is so disappointed. I wish I could have come without dd. Dd was complaining from the start prior to bathroom trips. She hates heights and area are bridges and stairs. We had to use elevators because she was paralyzed with fear. Sigh. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 10 minutes ago, heartlikealion said: There are 6 buildings here. Dd had an upset stomach and is in the bathroom for the 3rd or 4th time. We’ve barely explored and we got complimentary tickets to a 1:00 film which I doubt we’ll see because dd will need to exit the theatre inevitably. I might just give up and take them home. Ds is so disappointed. I wish I could have come without dd. Dd was complaining from the start prior to bathroom trips. She hates heights and area are bridges and stairs. We had to use elevators because she was paralyzed with fear. Sigh. Aw, I’m sorry. Is this a typical anxiety stomach reaction for her or more likely to be illness? If the former, perhaps she could take some pepto bismol and wait for you in areas where she doesn’t have to do the heights? If she knows she’s not going to have to do those things, maybe her stomach will calm down and you can still enjoy the rest of the visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 1 hour ago, KSera said: Aw, I’m sorry. Is this a typical anxiety stomach reaction for her or more likely to be illness? If the former, perhaps she could take some pepto bismol and wait for you in areas where she doesn’t have to do the heights? If she knows she’s not going to have to do those things, maybe her stomach will calm down and you can still enjoy the rest of the visit. We missed an area that appeared to be stair access only but I might look again in case. I asked her if she thought it was an anxiety thing and she admitted she ate a bunch of the popsicles we bought at the grocery store (I didn’t know she ate more than one!). We made it through the 40 min 4D movie ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 Well we made it through most of it! We missed a submarine tour (not a real sub) but they didn’t label the times and we had no clue. I felt really bad for the tourists from out of state that were told the same. I told ds I’ll bring him back if he wants but we had a peek inside before we were ushered out lol ds had a good experience and dd found a couple things she liked by the end. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 Ds inquired about a room labeled library. I said must not be for the public. We asked an employee and they said we can speak to the librarian to make an appt if we want to see it. That might be something I reserve for another visit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Friend has phone issues (with calls) so asked me if I could find and schedule electrician. Another friend gave me a contact and the electrician should be coming out to the house tonight so we can turn on the other window unit. Dd had her surgery today. She’ll be on a strict diet/taking it easy for 15-21 days. Guess I can’t take her swimming after all this summer. I had some plans to do with the kids this coming visit but instead we might just mostly stay home. I guess I could take her to get a smoothie lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 6 hours ago, heartlikealion said: Friend has phone issues (with calls) so asked me if I could find and schedule electrician. Another friend gave me a contact and the electrician should be coming out to the house tonight so we can turn on the other window unit. Dd had her surgery today. She’ll be on a strict diet/taking it easy for 15-21 days. Guess I can’t take her swimming after all this summer. I had some plans to do with the kids this coming visit but instead we might just mostly stay home. I guess I could take her to get a smoothie lol Oh wow, what kind of surgery did she have? I hope she has an easy recovery. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 33 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: Oh wow, what kind of surgery did she have? I hope she has an easy recovery. Tonsils & adenoids removed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Electrician quote for new plug seemed steep. So friend/landlord is going with a normal a/c window unit instead of the dual a/c heater one. We will make sure the heating is under control. I think the home currently has one or two functional wall heaters but they may not be enough. We’ll cross that bridge later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 35 minutes ago, heartlikealion said: Tonsils & adenoids removed. Wow, I had no clue the recovery time was that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 30 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: Wow, I had no clue the recovery time was that long. Same 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*LC Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 In our experience that hope your daughter has a much faster recovery than predicted. One of my high-energy kids had them removed, and recovery was a non event. I don't remember how long they said recovery would take, but the same kid who had no issues with tonsils/adenoids recovery whined a lot during wisdom tooth recovery as a teen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 1 hour ago, *LC said: In our experience that hope your daughter has a much faster recovery than predicted. One of my high-energy kids had them removed, and recovery was a non event. I don't remember how long they said recovery would take, but the same kid who had no issues with tonsils/adenoids recovery whined a lot during wisdom tooth recovery as a teen. Oh I hope it’s quick. I took a while to recover from wisdom teeth but I remember it being mostly an inconvenience rather than painful near the end. My cheeks were swollen like a chipmunk. But, I had 8 teeth removed at once… the orthodontist recommended second bicuspids + the 4 wisdom teeth to all be done at once and I certainly didn’t want two separate visits. I am loosely planning to take the kids on a ferry ride… but to get to the ferry they have to walk a good bit and dd might complain. They often sell Dippin dots near the ferry which would be a perfect thing to let her eat so we’ll see if she’s up for it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 Car feels like it’s struggling. I’m going to have a colleague’s boyfriend test it Sun morning. If it’s too dangerous I won’t pick up the kids and I’ll have to make other arrangements. She said maybe it’s the transmission. I said I wouldn’t be surprised; it’s been failing a while and I was not recommended to mess with it when I took it to a transmission place like 2 years ago (due to the age of the car they said sometimes that makes things worse to tamper with it). I’ve made one payment on the Firestone cc so far and was planning to pay this guy to do the brake pads. But if the transmission is the issue… I don’t know if there’s any coming back from that. Car is a money pit right now. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 I get stressed out by men that move with me if I think they will get snippy or rush me etc so I got a key last night and plan to move some items tonight to get a head start. The couch had to be taken apart so I did that last night. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 (edited) I assembled the top of the couch at the new house last night. I will do the trundle part later. Friend took off with the hand soap, dish soap, and paper towel holder in my kitchen. I didn’t know. These are the things that stress me out lol like come on, I might need those to do cleaning before my landlord does a walk through. Or because the oven isn’t replaced in the new place yet and I may cook here again/wash dishes. Luckily I have a refill of the soaps and a spare paper towel roll here. I sorta laughed it off. He’s intent on finishing the job. But I told him anything left behind I’ll deal with because I paid through the month. We’ve got a storm looming so I am not sure when it will pour. I’m not bringing the cat just yet so I know I’ll be back. Edited July 20 by heartlikealion 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 All the major stuff got moved in yesterday and then we hung out last night. I’m meeting with a staff member’s boyfriend today at 11 to look at my car. Part of me feels like I’m just being paranoid but the car feels like it’s making an unfamiliar noise so I just want to be sure. My dad said to update him as soon as possible and he’ll bring the kids if necessary ❤️ I really like the house and we watched the bats last night! They come every night next to the house and eat mosquitoes lol I’ve been introduced to a few neighbors and one is a cop. Very safe neighborhood. There’s a stray cat that comes here to eat (friend buys cat food for her) and I refilled its food. Eventually she’ll let me pet her. There are actually more places close by in this city so easy access to take the kids a ton of places. And I have two long time friends in this city so I’ll probably see more of them (former roommate and another friend I’ve known years that I hang out with occasionally). They left an air fryer here and showed me how to use it. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 3 hours ago, heartlikealion said: All the major stuff got moved in yesterday and then we hung out last night. I’m meeting with a staff member’s boyfriend today at 11 to look at my car. Part of me feels like I’m just being paranoid but the car feels like it’s making an unfamiliar noise so I just want to be sure. My dad said to update him as soon as possible and he’ll bring the kids if necessary ❤️ I really like the house and we watched the bats last night! They come every night next to the house and eat mosquitoes lol I’ve been introduced to a few neighbors and one is a cop. Very safe neighborhood. There’s a stray cat that comes here to eat (friend buys cat food for her) and I refilled its food. Eventually she’ll let me pet her. There are actually more places close by in this city so easy access to take the kids a ton of places. And I have two long time friends in this city so I’ll probably see more of them (former roommate and another friend I’ve known years that I hang out with occasionally). They left an air fryer here and showed me how to use it. Sounds really good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Dd is upset and being difficult. But I know it’s not her fault. She’s stressed and has a sore throat. Limited diet. Just got her to eat a boiled egg. Trying to get the kids settled so I can run to auto store. bad news - car does need a lot of work. Mechanic gave me a list of parts to order. I’m gonna try to juggle my schedule to get the car worked on asap without interfering with my job. good news - it’s not the transmission. The mechanic is gonna give me a discount. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Dd has wailed in pain 3x since last night. I gave her Tylenol but I don’t know how much that helped. She said she never got that loud at dad’s and thinks it’s stress… (new home?). I feel awful. I had her sleep in my bed hoping that would comfort her a little. I’ll go buy the lime sherbet today. She begged me not to go to work so I texted my boss that I’m not coming (explained why) and I’m gonna use sick leave and send documentation of her surgery. I just hope I don’t have to miss too much work this week. Thursday I already took off in advance as annual leave to have an extra day with the kids. Last night auto shop hours didn’t match what I was told on phone so I just ran into a dollar store and bought push pops amd more soft bread and bologna. But she didn’t want a sandwich. I also got spaghetti Os but she barely touched them. I didn’t know til the last min that she needs ice in every drink and nothing hot so the soup idea was kinda ruined. This house has ice in the freezer door so that’s a relief. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Oh, poor thing. Can you call her doctor and get specifics on how much pain relief medicine you can give her, and when? We've often been given the recommendation to alternate OTC Tylenol and ibuprofen three hours apart, but other doctors have prescribed stronger meds. IME, after surgery it is so important to stay ahead of the pain. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSera Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 Have you tried the liquid Tylenol and ibuprofen for sore throats? Is she allowed to use a numbing spray? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 5 minutes ago, JennyD said: Oh, poor thing. Can you call her doctor and get specifics on how much pain relief medicine you can give her, and when? We've often been given the recommendation to alternate OTC Tylenol and ibuprofen three hours apart, but other doctors have prescribed stronger meds. IME, after surgery it is so important to stay ahead of the pain. Initially they were doing that. She had the surgery days ago and Dad said that they were only doing it morning and night now. So I’m going to give her ibuprofen in a few min since she just got some food. I don’t know if we need to go up in frequency but last night she refused the pain med initially saying she was fine blah blah. Then later I made her take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 1 minute ago, KSera said: Have you tried the liquid Tylenol and ibuprofen for sore throats? Is she allowed to use a numbing spray? I own numbing spray but not sure she’s allowed to use and I never found them to work on myself more than a few seconds. I’ve tried 2 brands on myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Yes the medicine is liquid. I have her the strawberry Tylenol last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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