Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Alternate title: A moving post

With apologies to David Bowie, from whom I borrowed the title of his seminal 1972 rock anthem as a hackneyed segue, I want to talk about the costs associated with moving into nicer living accomodations.

My girlfriend and I currently live in a 1-bedroom apartment that hovers somewhere between "milk-crate-bedecked-student-accomodation" and "Volkswagen-Passat-clad-yuppie-pad" depending on how motivated to clean and or decorate the walls either of us happen to be at any given moment. Since we've both apparently recently figured out that we haven't been full time students for over two years, we've decided to test out the condo marker -- the condo rental market, that is -- to see what life is like for mid-20s urban professionals with a modicum of disposable income to spend.

We've found a nice place in a mid-sized, newish building with all the amenities (a patio, a gym, parking included) we were looking for. We'll be signing the lease imminently, the net result of which will be about an extra $200-$300 more in rent, per month, for each of us. In and of itself, that's an entirely manageable increase in monthly spending to accommodate -- expecially considering I was worried I've been cheaping out for a little while and not taking the time to smell the roses that life has to offer. (That shouldn't be a problem now as my rooftop patio allows or my own personal rose garden should I want it.)

But it's the other, ancillary costs that come with a move that can really add up. Because you're not really just signing up for an extra $250 a month. You're signing up for an extra few hundred square foot of space -- which you're probably going to want to plonk a $1000 worth of sofa into. And those extra cupboards in the kitchen need a slow-cooker and a pasta-maker to fill them up, for the low low price of a few hundred bucks.

I've never really been one of those people who gets drawn into "keeping up with the Joneses" but doing the math in my head, I think we're both going to be out as much as $1000 upfront in moving-related expenses, what with moving fees and a smattering of new furniture to be purchased.

They say buying a home is one of the most expensive things you'll ever do. I may not have a huge mortgage to worry about just yet, but in my experience -- so is moving into a bigger apartment.