So, I’m moving to the Back Bay. Patrick and I returned from Europe yesterday, and we have to pack up our things immediately — debilitating jetlag or not — so that there’s time for our old apartment to get a paint job by September 1st, the day the new tenants move in. (Patrick insists packing can be completed today, though I remain quite doubtful.) I am attempting to enlist the help of various friends, who will be paid back via elaborate dinners on the roof once our new digs are properly furnished.

I’m excited about the new place and all the extra closet space it will offer, but I’m also pretty sad about leaving the neighborhood. Beacon Hill just might be the most charming and quaint part of Boston, and there’s even a Red Line stop. It’s 20 minutes from my apartment door to William James Hall, where the Harvard sociology department is located. That alone is worth the rent.

Mostly, I’m sad because this place was my first “real” home away from home. (Say what you will about dorms, but I’ve never considered the three I lived in very home-like.) At school, I hated on-campus living and made no secret of it. During my junior year, I lived out of Tiffanie and Tara’s living room for several months while keeping what was essentially a giant closet room in the Quad. Still, I never properly moved into an apartment, nor had I ever lived in the same place for over a year, until I met Patrick. My feelings about our apartment are inextricably tied to my feelings for him and Hamlet, so naturally, there’s something about the place that I’ll miss.

On the other hand, it feels good to move and make plans for the new apartment together. Even though Patrick was generous with space when I moved in, I never had much of a say in what the Beacon Hill place looked like because it was already fully furnished by then. I’m excited about the prospect of working with a blank slate.

A few months ago, when we decided to move, I told him, “How sad. This is where we fell in love and consummated our relationship.”

His response: “What kind of sick things have you been doing in our apartment?”

And that pretty much sums up my feelings about this place.