Driving
Today Michael and I took a long drive out into the countryside. We had a few places we wanted to drive by, and it was the perfect day to go looking at houses and properties that we might want to consider buying.
There are so many factors that we are realizing we must consider. Houses that need work tend to be cheaper initially, but they need work. Houses that don’t need work are too expensive. Beautiful pieces of land are so tempting, but the purchase price is only the beginning of the cost of the property as we consider what we might want to build.
I don’t think we came to any great conclusions during our drive today. But we enjoyed each others company, and we have much to think about as we reflect over what we saw.
Should you, Dear Reader, have any thoughts to share with us as we consider the pros and cons of living in town versus in the country, or choosing a nicer house initially versus a “fixer-upper”, we would greatly appreciate your input.
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3 Comments »
December 5th, 2009 at 8:14 am
There are so many different choices to make! I think the deciding process is fun
We started by figuring out just how much we wanted to drive. The thought of land was nice but did Ian want a commute of 30min-1hr each way? Not really. Plus that would mean any other activities for the kids, bible studies, church events, everything would be a drive in too. So we went with a little over 1/2 acre closer in. If you want to raise animals (chickens) you can’t choose a neighborhood….the choices go and on and on…I hope you find exactly what you want!
December 7th, 2009 at 8:12 am
As a kid who grew up in the country (about 1/4 mile from any neighbors aside from our grandparents across the driveway), I LOVED it… the pure night sky, the stars, the lightning bugs. But, in the winter, there’s the not-plowed road to deal with. Knowing your love for “getting out for a while”, I’m guessing you’d prefer something a little closer to town. We were only 5 minutes outside of our hometown in the midst of farmer properties. It just depends on what you find and if it screams at you “it’s me – it’s me!”. That was the cool thing when I bought my condo, it pretty much said “yup – pick me” even though I knew i’d have a lot of superficial work to do – like priming, painting, pulling down some cabinets, etc. But you can usually find friends to help with that kind of stuff. It’s the harder, more serious stuff like plumbing, termites, etc. that you can’t just have friends help out. So, I’d venture to say to weigh the options based on which properties speak to you & Michael. It’ll help that you’ll be praying about it and not just jumping in.
Not sure if that helped, but I’d venture to say most of your kids would love the adventure that the countryside and imagination can provide!
December 7th, 2009 at 8:13 am
oh – and take into consideration that the utility companies fix country home issues AFTER town issues (fewer folks to deal with when it’s not working right).
AND – if the weather does stink, Michael may be able to work from home.
Might be a nice chance for you all to get QT too.