For baby boomers, moving to the suburbs when they got married and had children was part and parcel of the American Dream. It seemed to be the natural order of things that you would leave behind the strife and stress of the city for a greener, safer place where you could raise your children.

Recently, though, I stood at the kitchen window watching an industrious gopher unearth a truly amazing amount of dirt into the middle of my back yard. As the excavation of his ever-expanding underground empire began to pile up, I began to think. That back yard is little used now, (except by the gopher), and the swing set is long abandoned by children who have gone off to make lives and families of their own.

I began to remember the care-free days of apartment living. No weeds to pull, no lawns to mow, no roof tiles to replace. Is it time to move back to the city?

The fact of the matter is, according to U.S. census data, large city centers are growing faster than their suburban counterparts for the first time in more than 90 years. As we discussed in a previous post, both baby boomers and the adult children they raised are looking for “urban villages”, where they are not tied to their automobiles as tightly and can walk and bike to the places they need to go.

But what if you give up your four-bedroom house for a two-bedroom apartment and then hate it? A very legitimate concern.

That is why renting a storage unit while you try it out makes a whole lot of sense. That way, you can move the furniture you are not sure you can use but aren’t ready to part with into storage, and give the whole “downsizing” trend a test drive. Renting a storage unit for a year will cost a lot less than replacing the $3,000 custom couch that won’t fit in your new apartment.

And if you love your new, simpler, more sustainable lifestyle? Perfect. Sell your furniture and recover the rental cost, or give the furniture to other family members, either way there are no losers.

Look for a Dollar Self Storage facility near you – our friendly managers can help you find a unit to fit your needs, and the first month is only $1!