When my husband and I moved back to the Midwest last year, we spent a lot of time looking at houses before we finally bought one. A lot of it had to do with fear - we had moved to Phoenix at the height of their housing boom, at a time where the average house was $245,000 and if a house was listed on Monday, it was under contract by Wednesday. As a result, we bought a house that was a little (a lot) more expensive than we would have ever imagined, and in a neighorhood that was nice but not ideal. When we moved back, we decided to take a lot of time before making such a big decision. I made a list of all the characteristics I wanted from my new house - a newer home (or a home with newer appliances!), in a good school district, on a cul-de-sac, 3 bedroom/2 bath - the basic things you would look for in a home. But at the top of my list were two things, and one of those was that we would have good neighbors whom we could build a relationship with. Last September, we bought a home in a newer subdivision, on a cul-de-sac, 3 bed/2 bath, within walking distance to a new elementary and middle school...and in a neighborhood where kids can play outside without too much supervision, and where my neighbors are amazing. To the left of us is a family who happens to go to the same church we do - they have 2 kids (like us), a boy and girl (like us) ages 3 and 1 (pretty close to our kids' ages). To the right of us is a family with three kids, ranging in ages from 2 to 7, who are such a delight to get to know. Seriously. I love my neighbors. Last saturday we celebrated my husband's birthday, and had both sets of neighbors over for brunch - it was a blast. It was crazy, hectic, noisy and messy but it was such a great time! Tonight we went "trunk or treating" with a set of neighbors, and had such a good time getting to know them even better.
Every time I'm tempted to wish I had a different house for various reasons (no basement...abundance of crickets...), I'm instantly reminded how blessed I have been to be placed in such a wonderful neighborhood. And it's good.
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Awe, if you don't mind me asking, where is it?
ReplyDeleteI have been moved alot my WHOLE life. And I just moved to the Wolf Branch neighborhood (Huntleigh Place) in Swansea, and mind I say.. I love it as well. My neighbors are wonderful and would do anything to help us. Of course, we would do the same.
It's always such a decision on where to move, and I never really looked at it like it was all THAT hard. But I can honestly say that your blog might make me think twice. (:
It's great to hear your perspective on your house (home) and neighborhood. We have tossed around the idea of moving houses, but when the market slowed down, we decided to refinance instead. We are in a nice neighborhood, although we have had some turnover with families moving this past summer. New neighbors across the street have lots of people either living there or visiting. And the mom has a before/after school care. Needless to say, there are more kids around than I really like (they play b-ball in the street, etc.). But it's a good place for now.
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