on moving and living.

when i moved into my studio, my rent was $525 and included everything except for a parking spot and cable/internet. i paid $55 to the city for night parking. i pay $25ish a month for internet. in september my rent increased to $599. that's quite the hike.

with my employment status always seeming questionable based on my boss' attitude with the amount of time i spend working, sometimes i worry.

a while ago my brother talked about moving to milwaukee with his family from madison. currently he works down here, but jess and the kids are up there. it's been really rough on him. they were worried that they wouldn't be able to afford a place here while trying to sell their house in madison. i offered to move in with them to help take care of ava and liam and pay rent if they found a three or four bedroom place. recently, they have decided to stay in madison until summer. then they will reassess. so that plan fell through.

ava+liam a couple of days ago.

recently my mom offered the idea of moving back home with her. the thing about that is that i'm 27. do i really want to move back home now?

the pros:

• no rent. no internet bill. saving money. 
• washer and dryer whenever i want for free.
• saving money for possible trips to far away lands.
• if i am let go from my job, it's not nearly as awful.
• nea and i would be reunited. 

the cons:

• i'm 27.
• i work and go to school downtown... so i'll have to buy a new car sooner.
• rush hour in the morning and evening. longer commutes. 
• i'd be living with someone again. this time it's my mom and she'll still question me on where i'm going and when i'll be home.
• yard work. snow removal.
• having to put my furniture and other things into storage. (how much does that cost a month?!)
• my mom is allergic to cats. so having three cats in the house would just be awful for her unless i found a way to keep the kittens on the second floor. 
• west allis has no awesome bike trails. 

i just don't know. it'd be super awesome to have an extra $600 a month to pay off my debt and student loans, to save for possible trips (if i ever get the time away to do so), to not have to worry about paying rent. but do i want to exchange that for my downtown studio and ability to come and go as i please?

my other option is to stick it out here until i find a suitable and affordable one-bedroom apartment (you never realize how much you miss having a real bedroom until you don't anymore. doors!). i'm not really down with having roommates again. john and sam were, without a doubt, the best roommates i've ever had. mark and blake were quite possibly the worst (and more recent). danny mentioned renting a two bedroom apartment, but given our state of confusion i'm not sure i realllllyyy want to commit to a year long lease with him.

if you are reading this, advise me. i'm so lost and torn.