Ritz Carlton + 1B/1BA apartment costs less than 2B/2BA apartment?

We have guests coming to town this week, which reminded me that there’s just something wrong about the equation above.

When we were looking at relocating to the Peninsula (San Francisco Bay Area), the company paid for an agent to take us around the area and show us some complexes. We saw some nice 2 bed/2 baths that were equivalent to what we had previously rented just outside Portland, OR for $950 a month that were going for $2800 and up. No utilities included, of course.

We were looking at 2 bedroom places because we thought guests would value the space and privacy. But at those prices, we had to be honest and realize that guests come to visit us only a handful of times a year. To put it into concrete terms, if we gave up a bed and a bath, we could pay for our guests to stay 2 days in a room at a local Ritz Carlton each month, and we’d still be better off, and they undoubtedly happier with the living situation, too. Needless to say, we decided to look elsewhere.

We ended up renting a small 2 bed/1 bath house with a nice garden in the back for $1950 instead. We use the second room as an office and physically swap out the desk for a bed on those rare occasions when guests come. If my relatives in Japan can swap out their beds every morning, this should be nothing. Of course, any of our bachelor guy friends from school still get the air mattress in the living room when they come!

So, never fall in love with the apartment (or maybe even house) without considering its price tag. There’s bound to be a better deal elsewhere if you’re flexible.

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