Our move uptown

I’ve alluded to our new apartment but other than that I don’t think I’ve mentioned it once…which is madness, because it’s been two years since we made the decision to buy it. It was kind of an impulse decision (of course it was, I’ll wait months before buying a pair of sneakers, weighing the pros and cons, but when it comes to property I apparently have a problem) but it was a good one. We’re just so excited to move – the perfectly reasonable rental we’re in now seems to get smaller and sadder by the day – and put our own touches on the gorgeous design put together by the developers.

The apartment is in Eden Terrace, in Auckland’s uptown. It’s close to both of our jobs and right by a couple of good cycleways, so it’s incredibly convenient for us. Amelie’s daycare is close too, and so are a number of parks, including Myers Park with the super-cool playground (and good coffee nearby – as we all know it’s important).

So an apartment! It’s the perfect choice for us at this stage of life. Auckland has lots of suburbs with single-family homes in them, and while I can appreciate some of them, like the beautiful villas of Ponsonby or Grey Lynn, that lifestyle just doesn’t feel right for us at this point. We want somewhere low-maintenance – we have the country house and that’s quite enough high-maintenance property for us (there’s a lot of land in the country; we have no idea what we’re doing but at least we keep the neighbours entertained). There’s plenty of green space for Amelie with the local parks, and there are so many other cool things nearby – farmer’s markets, the waterfront, the Art Gallery, the Auckland Museum, cafes (kid loves her fluffies). We can get almost anywhere we want to on foot, on train, or on bike. Our jobs are demanding, and living this way gives us maximum time together, as well as freeing us up to enjoy that time together.

Our move-in date is nearly here. I can’t wait to be an uptown girl again!