Speaking of transitions, moving into a new apartment is a major transition. Most graduate students go through this experience again and again. I have moved 3 times in the past 4 years and I hate it. I always end up liking the places where I live – it is the packing and unpacking that I loathe.
But there are more mundane things about moving which take some getting used to. Primary among them is remembering where your things are. I do not mean finding them when they are in boxes, I mean finding them when you have unpacked them. For the past couple of days I find myself futilely opening one kitchen cabinet after another to locate a particular utensil or wandering through the rooms trying to find a book or piece of clothing.
The second thing is light switches. This apartment is a three-floor townhouse. The bottom floor is half den, half storage space; the second floor is a living cum dining room with the kitchen and half bath and the top floor has two bedrooms and the bathroom. This means that there are lights for the stairs – with one switch at the top and one at the bottom. I spend some time turning lights on and off as I can never locate the right switches at the right time.
The third thing to get used to are the sounds of the house. Every house has sounds – the one in Farmville was the noisiest house I had ever lived in. This apartment has sounds too – sometimes you hear doors slamming (which I have realized are car doors in the parking lot), sometimes you can hear people climbing stairs (this is the one that freaks me out but it turns out that this can be next door), sometimes you hear what sounds like the house settling. However, this house is remarkably quiet by any standards. It is carpeted and you cannot hear the people next door at all.
What about all your moves? What do you need to get used to in a new apartment or house?
3 comments:
Adapting to a new house is hard and exciting. When we moved here, we were so excited to finally settle into a place and call it a home. As you have, we've moved so many times in the last five years that it's so nice to finally be in a place that you can settle down in. We've bought art for the walls for the first time and are doing tons of garden work. I'm growing an herb garden that I'm really excited about. Once you settle in and get used to the apartment and the neighborhood, I'm sure it will get more familiar. I can't wait to see the place if we come visit over the summer!
Nothing beats the loud noises of those undergrad frat boys in Cville. Your apartment was terrible for that, and I don't miss the noises of the sorority house one bit!!
Light switches are definitely something you don't always think of but take some getting used to, and sounds too. Good luck setting in!
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