I did a thing…and at least for me, it’s a pretty big thing! I bought a new condo in Chicago!

Ever since I moved to Chicago, I’ve lived in Lincoln Park – and about a year after I moved, I bought a condo in the neighborhood that I loved. It was perfect for 25 year old Maya – a lofted space with exposed brick that was 900 square feet and perfect for a single twenty-something living in a big city. It’s a beautiful space, and I loved having a home that was completely mine and decorating it just the way I wanted to (in a semi-broke, twenty-something kinda way).

I thought I’d live there for just a few years, but a few years became eight, and I kept putting off looking for a new place. But a few years ago, I realized that I was pretty quickly growing out of a one bedroom, and while I loved the location, I really wanted more space to grow into. But for some reason, I kept waiting – mostly because I justified that I shouldn’t move into a bigger space until I had someone to move into it with. I wanted to do the practical thing, I wanted to be the practical person when making big life decisions – and moving alone into a larger space for just myself seemed silly. So I waited, and waited…and waited some more. But then 2020 hit, and it was a royal disaster on a lot of fronts. And maybe it was a mix of salvaging the year and finally having the guts to make a big decision on my own – but I finally pulled the trigger and bought a new place in Bucktown – and I couldn’t be more thrilled and thankful for it. It’s two bedrooms (with doors! My last place was a loft so I’m so thrilled to have doors!), a beautiful living space, two bathrooms, and kitchen with a full size fridge (friends will know that this is literally making my LIFE!), and an insanely nice private patio that I’m so excited to entertain friends and family on once we can do those types of things again.

And honestly, I’m so excited to have a new place to call my own, but I almost wish I would have done it sooner. I’m lucky to be in the financial position where I’m able to buy a place myself, and have been for some time, but for some reason I bought into the idea that it wasn’t wise to do it by myself. But after doing it, I’m happy I did! And I’m planning to do more things without waiting on someone else to do them if that’s the so-called “practical” thing to do. Life’s too short to hold back on what you want because you’re waiting, for whatever unpractical reason you’re waiting on. And I couldn’t be happier to have a new space to call my own.

And now I just need to get it together to start decorating! I’m planning on tackling the master bedroom first with a fresh coat of paint, (mostly) all new furniture and sharing the reveal in the next month or so! Wish me luck 😉 xx