Becoming a single mother with a 1.5yo, need help deciding between two apartments 🙏 please share your thoughts!

Which one feels like “the extra hand” you are going to wish you had while you do it solo? Is the convenience for the work week offset the extra on the weekend? Or is the weekend hassle were you will be the more stressed? Both of them sound reasonable so it’s really what you prioritize and knowing what makes your life easier in this season of change and what inconveniences you are willing to accept. For me the weekly conveniences and being able to work from home and keep my kid out of view (but still close) that would win me over (plus that valet trash pickup…) but that’s just based on myself and what I value most.

I personally wouldnt be able to work from home with my nanny in the apt with the baby if I didnt have an office door I can close, if its just a year lease I would go with the home office at this age and then have a think through everything at the end of the year

1.) a community with valet trash pick up, packages go straight to the front door, a pool with a swallow area the baby can play, also a floor plan with a small office so I could be out of sight when working from home while a nanny watches over the baby. The only con is that it’s not walkable to anything, so anytime we would need to go anywhere, I would have to walk the baby to the central garage in the middle of the community, get her in the car seat, silver lining is that everything is pretty much within 5 mins drive.

2.) more of a high rise within a shopping center, walkable to shops, cafes and also a Whole Foods (although we would probably just get grocery delivery). There is also a kid gym in the shopping center, Saturday morning, I can just walk the baby downstairs and walk to her gym class. But this place doesn’t have valet trash pick up, I would have to drop off trash at the end of the hallway, and pick up mails and packages from the mailroom. The floor plan is also more open, so no place to ‘hide’ from the baby. It has a bigger balcony that I can actually imagine we would use. With this place, there will be more mild inconveniences, but I also wouldn’t have to get into a car during the weekends while keeping the baby entertained.

Price, size and distance to work are all comparable to the first option.

Driving around with the toddler will be less inconvenient over time. I'd go with the first option

Option 2 sounds better. My son got more and more difficult to put into his car seat over time and I’d have loved walkable options. Also toddlers are easily amused and a quick walk to the grocery store or shop or cafe would be nice easy entertainment. And your nanny could take the baby out on walks too without you worrying about someone else driving your child places. The bigger balcony is nice for toddler toys. The lack of a dedicated study is unfortunate. I found that my au pair struggled to keep my son away from distracting me as he got older and more mobile. It probably comes down to your child’s temperament. My son is very rambunctious and needs a lot of outdoor time and outings. If your daughter is chill your needs might be very different.

Option 1

Option 1, I feel like the office is a big pro, and the small day to day tasks would add up (taking the trash out with a small child!?)