My wife and I recently made the decision to move. Actually, we made the decision a long time ago, not long after we moved into our current apartment. While we feel relatively safe in our neighborhood, there have been some things we don't like about it. Like Mike, we had to deal with a break-in not long after we moved in, and although the damage was relatively minor — enjoy that non-working PlayStation, punks! — anytime someone comes into your home uninvited it's a little disconcerting. We also returned from our honeymoon to find graffiti scrawled across parts of our building and the others in our complex, although it was quickly cleaned up.

But neither of those things are why we decided to move. We want to get a little closer to downtown Indianapolis, and, like Josh, we want to downsize to save money. When we moved in, we thought, 'oh, we'll need two bedrooms and two bathrooms, since we'll probably have guests over often.' Well, that hasn't been the case. The spare bedroom has come in handy, and I love having separate bathrooms, but the convenience doesn't justify the cost anymore.

Curious guy that I am, however, I've started looking past apartments and into the housing market. There are several affordable houses in the town we're looking to move to, and I can't help but think I could own my own little piece of property for close to what I would end up paying in rent. So, downsizing may end up leading to an upgrade.

The good news is we've got close to two months before we absolutely have to move, so there's time to weigh the options. The other good news is that if I need to find a good real estate agent, I've got Angie's List to show me the way.