When we first moved to Los Angeles, our two-bedroom apartment had more than enough room for our family of five.
Once my husband, my three daughters, and I arrived in March of 2012, we were more than happy with our two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath apartment, which came with a dishwasher. In all, the place was 950 square feet. It was especially great because we lived near good schools, and it was in a very safe area. Plus, the apartment was in a gated building with a parking lot.
For years, this apartment worked for us. But then another baby came, and our family continued to grow.
We added two people to our family
While living in LA, my aunt visited from Chicago frequently because she loved spending time with my kids; they were little and adored her, too. As time went on and my aunt got older, she retired. We invited her to live with us, even though she refused.
Then, in 2017, I had my 4th child, a son. When the pandemic hit, we had three teenagers and a toddler living in the apartment. In early 2020, my aunt had been visiting us for a while and hadn’t set a date to return to Chicago yet; then she got stuck here. For a while, we weren’t sure when and if she was going back to Chicago. We discussed giving up her apartment and moving to California for good as she was getting up there in age. I was worried about her living on her own as health problems began to arise.
My husband then had time off from work due to the pandemic. That meant the seven of us were stuck in our 950-square-foot apartment — full-time.
I was homeschooling the three oldest kids with a 3 year old running around. It wasn’t easy.
I constantly felt overwhelmed and had a great lack of privacy. My husband, son, and I shared a king-sized bed in our small bedroom, while my three teens shared the second bedroom. My aunt got the living room.
My only solace was my desk with my computer, where I would play video games or write to take my mind off the fear of what was happening in the outside world. To say I was stressed out was an understatement.
We wanted to move out, but we decided to redecorate instead
By 2021, we decided to move, which was easier said than done. We currently pay $2,100 a month for our apartment, but we realized that if we wanted a bigger place in LA, we needed to pay $3,000.
Finding a new place during the pandemic was another bag of problems. Many places were holding crowded open houses, which we tried to avoid. It seemed like everyone was trying to move at the same time. It was impossible; we couldn’t find the right place for us. Many places seemed to frown when we told them we were a family of seven.
After lots of looking, we finally gave in and decided to stay put for the time being. With more free time around the house when the pandemic let up, I started decorating and remodeling. We ordered new furniture and housewares. The older kids were disappointed we wouldn’t be moving but were willing to help reorganize and redecorate.
We started with the three teenagers. Having three kids in a bedroom is never ideal, but thankfully, they all get along well. We bought a new bunkbed, and the oldest child got a loft bed with a desk at the bottom.
My son continued to share a bedroom with us, but on his 7th birthday, we got him his own bed, which he was excited about. My husband and I bought ourselves a new bed frame. I then transformed the bedroom into the cottage core room of my dreams. I hung fake flowers, vintage postcards, and frames with K-pop groups.
Lastly, my aunt got a comfy reclining chair and a bed in the living room. After a certain time of night, the living room becomes her bedroom. Eventually, we also bought two new sofas for family movie nights that we could all fit on.
We’re still looking to move
We still occasionally have issues with only two bathrooms, but we remind our kids that my husband and I grew up with one bathroom and several siblings.
We’re still planning on moving. We look at rentals from time to time when something good comes up on Zillow. We have even seriously discussed moving out of Los Angeles as our rent continues to go up. But for now, we’re staying put and making it work.
