Moms/Mom's to be - flat hunt question (no, not pregnant!)

PittPurple

Hiya,

So DH and I are pretty done with our current flat due to a couple problems. We hate moving and have lived in the same place for 4 years now. So fingers crossed, that will mean that we'll be in our next flat while I'm pregnant and have a baby. (And no, I'm not pregnant, but I'm also 2 days late now which is just messing with my head!)

So I'm just wondering... what would you recommend for our next flat? We can't afford to have everything we want so I'm just wondering what's most important. Ground floor? Second bathroom? Outdoor space (kind of pointless in Scotland most of the time!)? Right on the bus route? 

Would love any thoughts you have! TIA :-)

The Irish Gal

I would think that an area that you would like to walk around would be important - so perhaps near a park?  I found this invaluable during maternity leave and even now.  A walk with the baby is good for you both (and means you might get baby to sleep!) and walking on noisey, grim, busy streets is not that enticing (and ambulance etc sirens are really loud when you have a sleeping baby!).  Even just to sit on a park bench with the baby asleep and reading a book... bliss...

If you don't have a car, then yes, bus routes would be handy.  But even just make sure there is at least a small shop (milk, bread, a treat...) within 10/15 walk of your place - but have that at a slower pace than you currently walk!! Trust me, you will slow down a bit...

For the actual flat, ground floor not a must have if there is a lift. Higher up will be quieter in terms of outside noise.  Think about where you would put a buggy/pram in the place - do you have to fold it down each time or is there a corner you could leave it set up?  Second bathroom I wouldn't think all that important... but a bath would be handy if possible.  Storage is a must, even just so the place doesn't look cluttered all the time... babies might be small, but they take up a LOT of space with all their crap...

Another thing you might want to think of is the positioning of the bedrooms in relation to say, the kitchen & living room - bedrooms directly off the living room will mean that a baby will hear the tv, conversations, etc and may not settle as quickly compared to having a corridor between them.

frlcb

For me a second bathroom would be a must, especially since once you have a baby (which will be soon hopefully!!) you will have visitors. Outdoor space is nice, but until they are older it probably isn't a huge deal. We had a ground floor flat in London and it made it so much easier with the stroller. Being close to the bus would be important too, especially if you don't have a car.

little red buttons

I think location is the most important thing, especially if you plan on living there for a few years.  I would pick somewhere you feel totally safe that has a park or green space really close by, a small selection of shops/cafes, and hopefully near to your GP, if possible. 

I would pick ground floor if there isn't a lift or somewhere safe to stash a pram because carting one up a few flights of stairs would get old really quickly.

A 2nd bathroom would not be important to me.  In fact, we have one now and we never use it because I don't want to have to clean it!

{fingers crossed for you guys!!}

titicole

I totally agree with, quiet green space close by, as well as a bus route and corner shop.  All of these we love with our place. 

Ground floor or one with a lift and a place to store the pram/pushchair. I also agree.

 Second bedroom if you can afford it.  I don't think a second bathroom is necessary, but a large one with a tub, would be a wishlist contender.  Our bathroom has a tub and a seperate shower.  Works great.

Another wish list is an open plan where you can see baby in lounge while you are in the kitchen.  And space for 3 people to sit at a table. 2 people and Highchair.

Anywhoo, really hope that this month is it.  Even if you have to have a non-alcoholic holiday in the castle. 

hamilton.ja

little red buttons:

I think location is the most important thing, especially if you plan on living there for a few years.  I would pick somewhere you feel totally safe that has a park or green space really close by, a small selection of shops/cafes, and hopefully near to your GP, if possible. 

I would pick ground floor if there isn't a lift or somewhere safe to stash a pram because carting one up a few flights of stairs would get old really quickly.

A 2nd bathroom would not be important to me.  In fact, we have one now and we never use it because I don't want to have to clean it!

{fingers crossed for you guys!!}

 

Ohh I can post on the iPad now! Awesome! Ok back to the topic at hand. I agree with this except the second bathroom. I say this only bc kids are germ factories and when there are three people throwing up in your house at the same time you'll be really glad you have a second toilet! Also. Keep in mind it might be better to have a bigger living space with one large bedroom you can share with baby than two small bedrooms and a small living space. We made that mistake and I wish we had saved our money and just had Bruce in our room, he was in there 95% of the time anyway. Obviously if you don't want to room share this would not work but it is worth thinking about I think. Especially if it can open up your options budget wise. 

PittPurple

Well, the update is this is definitely not my month. Am pretty terrified that it's going to take a year again but looking at the silver lining and will be spending this holiday drinking. A lot.

Interesting. It's really rare to find a place with a lift here (all old buildings) so I'll focus on the ground floor. 

We definitely want a second bedroom only because we'll need a guest room at minimum (both of my parents stay with us when they visit) but it's a good tip about having a large enough bedroom. A lot of the bedrooms we've seen are barely big enough for the double bed, I didn't even think about the fact that (G'W) we'll need to fit another person in there someday. 

Bananas0827

I would kill for a ground floor flat! Carrying baby + diaper bag + groceries up a flight of stairs sucks. Add in your stroller, and you're going to wish you had 10 arms.

Try to find a flat near a park (1 mile or less away), or at least one that's easily accessible by bus.

Definitely insist that your next flat have a bath tub. We only have a shower, and it makes bath time a huge mess. Toddlers love to splash, so our floor regularly gets soaked.

You'll need a 2 bedroom. Trust me. You'll also want room for a dryer. We go through tons of clothes, and it's hard trying to find space for our drying racks so they won't get in the way.

welshgirl

I would push for ground floor (we lived in a first floor flat for 9 months with W and I agree - such a pain always carrying everything and baby upstairs!), with a nice living space (I agree with Jackie about that vs two beds - but then if you need a guest room, you will want two beds at least anyway). But living space is good. And space to dry extra clothes - I think you can do without a dryer - we do, even though we have a hosue, but in witner it's all indoors - you just need space. A tub, definitely (some flats we've lived in only had showers). Near a bus route and a park woudl be good. If you really think that you'll be there for a while (like 5+ years) you may want to think about schools/nurseries too...

hamilton.ja

Oh and on the point of the tub, one that does not have doors we've had places where the tubs had those full size sliding doors. That does not work to bathe a little one in. It was the first thing we did when we got the keys to this house, dh came over and took out the shower tub doors. 

little red buttons

I woke up thinking about this for some reason and wanted to add that a washer is also really, really important.  You are going to be doing a lot of laundry at first, and 3.5 + years on, we still do at least one load a day. xxx