We're renters.

This is our third apartment together. A while back I showed you how we lived. I went through a really long phase of wanting a house, not an apartment. Like really bad. I just loved the idea of having a driveway to park my car, possibly even a garage for those cold snowy mornings, having people over for cookouts, and spending time on the patio, sitting on the front porch, and painting the walls, and not paying a pet fee for animals who don't even cause any trouble.

But this week, I have to tell you I've never been so glad to be a renter.

You see... when you're a home owner, I'm told -- you have to take care of your home. Duh. So, say for instance, your washing machine breaks, and leaks all over your bathroom, ruins the walls/flooring behind it, as well as the baseboards on the sides, and ruins the carpet in the adjoining bedroom from all the water? If you're a home owner... you have to deal with that. You'd have to call someone who fixes things, and pay for it to be all better so you could do your laundry and not step on a wet carpet.

But you see... when you're a renter, I know -- this is what you do (via email, if you're lucky):

"Hey, our washing machine broke and is leaking. Thanks. Photo attached"

(turns out this photo only revealed the visible damage and that it was much worse behind. whoops)

But this is why renting is so great. We didn't have to do anything. We told them the problem and they came to fix it. Everything is better within 24 hours, and the painters will be here tomorrow so that it's not noticeable that something happened.

What are some other times renting is worth it? When there's a bat in the apartment (it happened) and when blizzards hit and the roof leaks (remember Nemo?). There's nothing better than knowing you're not responsible for things when they go badly and being able to seal up your wallet since it's not your problem.

So, while I love the idea of decorating a whole house and having privacy and maybe more space and being able to say we "own" something -- I think I'm comfortable with apartments. I mean, I still have real estate apps on my phone, and still love looking at houses in the area, and stalking home decorating blogs on pinterest but I don't think we'll be changing our renting status anytime soon.

I just don't see a need...